capy's reviews
254 reviews

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

2.5

Wait, and perhaps you can love her again. A little, like she say. A little. Like you can love.

love the core idea of this book, to give a prequel to a character we read little of in a classic — especially considering i don't like charlotte bronte and having "bertha" as a plot device always felt icky coming from an 1800s white woman
i understand it was intentional to make the reading experience somewhat trippy, messy and dream-like, and while i didn't particularly LOVE reading this, i still enjoyed it more than zzz jane eyre
also mr. rochester can lick my b*lls

There are always two deaths, the real one and the one people know about.

Funny Story by Emily Henry

1.75

nour... the premise was solid, i think this is the first emily henry book where the main characters don't really have history? that ended up making the developed story a bit lackluster... and why was ghosting so much of the conflict? our (very consistently self-deprecating) main character kept struggling with people not showing up when needed or showing up when they're not needed, idk... definitely ranks low in the emily henry universe for me but still an entertaining fast read

Bliss Montage by Ling Ma

3.0

It is in the most surreal situations that a person feels the most present, the closest to reality.

interesting + weird collection; as someone who avoids blurbs, the title created a hopeful expectation for the book that i had to shake off — this is not a happy book!!! the stories are solid, never felt like a story needed more (maybe sometimes it needed less); 'peking duck' is definitely the highlight. ling ma feels like a trustworthy go-to author for a good weird time, will get to 'severance' as soon as i'm in the mood for a dystopian vibe

los angeles: ★★✰✰✰.5
oranges: ★★★✰✰.5
g: ★★★✰✰.5
yeti lovemaking: ★✰✰✰✰
returning: ★★★✰✰.5
office hours: ★★✰✰✰
peking duck: ★★★★✰ 
tomorrow: ★★★✰✰

A boy, at best, can adore his mother, but a girl can understand her. When the doctor told me it was a girl, I thought, Now I will be understood. 

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

2.0

Why am I trying to become what I don't want to be... when all I want is out there, waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am.

has that "almost there" feeling that never fully arrived at the peak imo; much like other older works that are stepping stones for plays today

Your Utopia: Stories by Bora Chung

2.5

nour... favorite story was 'a song for sleep' and 'to meet her'; otherwise, this was just okay for me... don't think i'm a big fan of the last minute plot twists as a hail mary to make everything else interesting

the center for immortality research: ★★✰✰✰
the end of the voyage: ★★✰✰✰ 
a very ordinary marriage: ★★★✰✰ 
maria, gratia plena: ★★✰✰✰.5
your utopia: ★✰✰✰✰.5
a song for sleep: ★★★★✰
seed: ★★✰✰✰
to meet her: ★★★✰✰.5

Foster by Claire Keegan

3.0

Where there’s a secret,’ she says, ‘there’s shame – and shame is something we can do without.

even if i haven't fully connected with claire keegan's writing style so far, it is easy to recognize what a talented writer she is

Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados

5.0

felt like this book was made for me sometimes... marlowe granados, you are the future

Winter by Ali Smith

2.75

That’s what winter is: an exercise in remembering how to still yourself then how to come pliantly back to life again. An exercise in adapting yourself to whatever frozen or molten state it brings you.  

ali smith is a master at fleshing out the brain of a character for us blessed readers to follow! i can't say winter is at the same level as autumn for me — there were running jokes that got boring to me (lux being "dumb", celebrities passing) but you can definitely still find fun anecdotes as you read. perhaps disliking most characters made it hard to care about wherever the story is going. i essentially got through the book to know what ali smith would come up with next, in what way would she express a certain character's specific world view in a moment in time

The Nose by Nikolai Gogol

4.0

felt exposed when i read this line on the book's wikipedia page: "Gogol was playing on the assumptions of readers, who may happily seek absurd stories but at the same time still want a normal explanation." oof... more often than not, i am that reader... regardless, this was silly, entertaining and the definition of a light read when it comes to classics

Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini

3.5

the watercolor-kind of illustrations were a great accompaniment to the heartbreaking prose, may they rest in peace