You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

brian_ayers's Reviews (697)

Water, Water: Poems

Billy Collins

3.75

funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

To a God Unknown

John Steinbeck

4.0

challenging reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This Book Will Bury Me

Ashley Winstead

3.75

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Hunchback

Saou Ichikawa

3.25

dark funny reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Where the Axe Is Buried

Ray Nayler

4.25

challenging dark hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs

Jamie Loftus

4.0

funny informative reflective medium-paced

Darkmotherland

Samrat Upadhyay

4.75

challenging dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Probably too long for some, and I know much of this could be deemed reactive to today’s moment…

But I was hooked into these characters and their struggles/dynamics for nearly all of the 760 pages of story. Several moments that are tough to stomach are at least presented with purpose and realism in mind. While plenty is spelled out for us, there are many times where we’re led toward a development that gets revisited and reframed with context and clarity later in the story.

Picked this up on a whim, but I’m so satisfied by what Upadhyay wove together here.

Content Warnings