I celebrated my birthday with my nose in this book and I can't think of anything more appropriate.

This book is about so many things. It's about love and loss. It's about grief, hope and healing. It's about loneliness and togetherness. It's about art, language and learning.

It's also about perspective: the perspective we have of ourselves, our loved ones, art, and the world -- all depending on where and who we believe ourselves to be. We create these perspectives, but like this book, they're not created in isolation. Our perspectives are a cosmic hodge-podge of all the experiences we've had, the people we've experienced things with, the books and art and knowledge we've absorbed. And like Cyrus Shams, the main character in this book, it can take a shock, a jolt, to see our place in the world a little differently.

I don't have the capacity to address the full depth of this book and so many have already taken a crack this that I won't even try. But I will say this book is a work of art, one that I don't think I'll fully grasp for many years (and a re-read or two) to come. And I know that with each reading, I'll understand the book differently and simultaneously, it'll reshape the perspective I will have of who I will be and my place in the world.

The Last Days of The Midnight Ramblers by Sarah Tomlinson

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase

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challenging dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Trespasses by Louise Kennedy

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emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

📚BOOK REVIEW📚 :: Trespasses by Louise Kennedy

Story premise: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Character development: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing style: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ending: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Northern Ireland and the world is reeling. Car bombs, assassinations, targeted attacks. In the midst of this, Cushla is a 24 year old teacher and barmaid living a fairly normal life. The Troubles haven't touched her the way they have so many others. But as she serves up a few pints to the soldiers and Protestants who come into her Catholic family's bar, she is reminded of the world she's living in.

And that's when she falls for Michael Agnew, a man who couldn't be more wrong for her. He was her late father's dear friend, a Protestant barrister fighting for justice at a particularly dangerous time, and oh yeah, he's married.

When they're together, Cushla and Michael forget the world around them. Kennedy's portrayal of a young woman in love is captivating. On every page, I became 24 again, excited about my dalliance with the ill-advised. While their romance had my heart racing, so too did the ever-present tension of the danger around them. While they didn't seem to pay it any mind, it was impossible for me, the reader, to forget.

Cushla's sincere, but problematic love doesn't end with Michael. It extends to her students, one in particular whose family falls on the "wrong" side of the political aisle. As a former teacher, my heart was with Davy and his family, and I could imagine no other way for Cushla. But it hurts.

Through Cushla, Kennedy reminds us just how dangerous loving apolotically can be in a world with nothing but political boundaries. While Cushla thought she could evade or ignore the barricades, bullets, and bombs, her love ends up costing her and those around her everything.

Kennedy's writing is intimate in a way few authors accomplish. Cushla's mistakes, her excitement became my own. By the last few chapters, I felt almost treacherous, knowing that soon I'd have to leave her behind in the pages. I'm grateful for this unique insight into a period of human history marked more by violence and loss than by love and hope.

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

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dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced