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casskrug's reviews
340 reviews
There Lives a Young Girl in Me Who Will Not Die: Poems by Tove Ditlevsen
4.0
really enjoyed the simplicity of these poems, very interior and addressing ditlevsen’s childhood self, tumultuous relationships, and her own children. i liked seeing how her writing style evolved throughout the years. a woman’s mind, the secret window, and the adults were my favorite sections. also loved olga ravn’s foreword and the translators’ note. made me want to reread the copenhagen trilogy!
thank you to fsg and netgalley for the e-arc - publishes march 11th!
thank you to fsg and netgalley for the e-arc - publishes march 11th!
The Passion According to G. H. by Clarice Lispector
3.0
i hate to say it but this one did not do it for me </3 i DNFed this last year hoping i’d have a better experience returning to it later and… i did not. i’ve often mentioned in my reviews of other lispector books that they work best when you let go of trying to understand every single thing, but too much of this book i simply could not make sense of. kind of ironic because so much of the book is about (not) understanding. the narrator, a sculptress named gh, has an encounter with a cockroach that spirals into philosophical ramblings on the meaning of life and what makes us human. as always, the passages that did resonate were incredibly impactful, but i had a difficult time sifting through to find them. i enjoyed the first half of the book more than the second. not sure what i’m missing here but an apprenticeship, agua viva, and near to the wild heart were much better reads for me.
“But I'm afraid of newness and I'm afraid of living whatever I don't understand-I always want to be sure to at least think I understand, I don't know how to give myself over to disorientation. How could I explain that my greatest fear is precisely of: being? and yet there is no other way. How can I explain that my greatest fear is living whatever comes? how to explain that I can't stand seeing, just because life isn't what I thought but something else-as if I knew what! Why is seeing such disorganization?”
Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa
4.0
this is definitely best read in one sitting - the ending made me go WAIT WHAT! this is a wry look at disability and class and reproductive rights, and i don’t think i’ve ever read anything like it. i appreciate what ichikawa was able to do in so few pages, and the way she was able to balance humor with the very real struggles of the narrator. asking a lot of big questions that i’d love to see explored more deeply. i’ve read one other book translated by polly barton and i think she does a great job stylistically!
thank you to hogarth for sending me an ARC of this book!
thank you to hogarth for sending me an ARC of this book!
Bright Dead Things: Poems by Ada Limón
3.0
this was nice! i still don’t feel like i have anything intelligent to say about poetry. i like how this was split into different sections that each had a loose theme, and i liked (forgive me idk the technical term) the style of paragraph-poem (??? i’m so sorry) that popped up occasionally. i fear some of the metaphors and imagery went over my head but there were some really beautiful lines!
I Will Write to Avenge My People: The Nobel Lecture by Annie Ernaux
4.0
she explains the things that make me love her writing better than i ever could:
“…starting with my fourth book, I adopted a neutral, objective kind of writing, "flat" in the sense that it contained neither metaphors nor signs of emotion.
The violence was no longer displayed; it came from the facts themselves and not the writing. Finding the words that contain both reality and the sensation provided by reality would become, and remain to this day, my ongoing concern in writing, no matter what the subject.”
“The prerequisite of sensation has for me become both the guide and guarantee of the authenticity of my research. But to what end? Not to tell the story of my life nor free myself of its secrets but to decipher a lived situation, an event, a romantic relationship, and thereby reveal something that only writing can bring into being and perhaps pass on to the consciousness and memories of others. Who could say that love, pain and mourning, shame, are not universal?“
“This commitment through which I pledge myself in writing is supported by the belief, which has become a certainty, that a book can contribute to change in private life, help to shatter the loneliness of experiences endured and repressed, and enable beings to reimagine themselves. When the unspeakable is brought to light, it is political.”
“…starting with my fourth book, I adopted a neutral, objective kind of writing, "flat" in the sense that it contained neither metaphors nor signs of emotion.
The violence was no longer displayed; it came from the facts themselves and not the writing. Finding the words that contain both reality and the sensation provided by reality would become, and remain to this day, my ongoing concern in writing, no matter what the subject.”
“The prerequisite of sensation has for me become both the guide and guarantee of the authenticity of my research. But to what end? Not to tell the story of my life nor free myself of its secrets but to decipher a lived situation, an event, a romantic relationship, and thereby reveal something that only writing can bring into being and perhaps pass on to the consciousness and memories of others. Who could say that love, pain and mourning, shame, are not universal?“
“This commitment through which I pledge myself in writing is supported by the belief, which has become a certainty, that a book can contribute to change in private life, help to shatter the loneliness of experiences endured and repressed, and enable beings to reimagine themselves. When the unspeakable is brought to light, it is political.”
The Life of the Mind by Christine Smallwood
3.75
finally got to this one after letting it sit on my TBR shelf forever! this was an incredibly quick read that i was entertained by while reading, but i’m not sure how much sticking power it’ll have as i get further away from the reading experience.
the life of the mind is exactly what the title sounds like - we are in the headspace of dorothy, an adjunct professor whose academic career is flailing. a lot of her thoughts and experiences center around the miscarriage that she recently had and is keeping a secret from almost everyone in her life. this is a classic woman on the edge, no plot just vibes book. reminiscent of practice by rosalind brown, especially the frankness with which the narrators talk about their bodily functions.
really enjoyed smallwood’s writing style and the way she blended humor with heavier topics. dorothy’s observations felt pretty poignant and relatable. it was a quick, incredibly readable book, but there just wasn’t much to hold onto and i fear i’ll forget it pretty quickly. waffling between a 3.5⭐️ or a 4⭐️
“What a strange and old-fashioned collective experience, she said, the idea that people could all die together in one heaven-bound moment; today you had to first watch other people, some of whom lived very far away and others of whom were technically neighbors, die online, and you couldn't save them, and all the while you could be next.”
The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante
4.0
i’ve had to really sit with this one for a little bit to collect my thoughts! i was really excited to read another standalone novel from ferrante, and the description of the book is right up my alley. however, i had a tough time getting fully immersed in the book until the second half, and felt like my progress through it was a lot slower than i would have expected or wanted it to be.
the days of abandonment follows olga, a mother of 2 who was just told by her husband of many years that he’s leaving her for another woman. we watch as olga’s life unravels over the course of a hot italian summer. ferrante is digging into desire and jealousy, the rage and grief that come with the end of a relationship, and gendered parental expectations.
the first half of the book took some time to get going, but as we approach the second half and realize just how unwell olga is, the stakes become much higher and i felt a lot more engaged. there’s an encroaching sense of doom and instability that made it difficult to predict how the book would end. i think there were some phrasing that felt off/unclear, maybe due to the translation? but the themes and writing style were classic ferrante - she puts everything on the table with her cutting prose.
i wonder if my experience would’ve benefitted from reading a physical copy of this book rather than an ebook - going to keep an eye out at the used bookstore so i can eventually revisit this in paperback! for whatever reason i find that i sometimes have more difficulty with ebooks.
the days of abandonment follows olga, a mother of 2 who was just told by her husband of many years that he’s leaving her for another woman. we watch as olga’s life unravels over the course of a hot italian summer. ferrante is digging into desire and jealousy, the rage and grief that come with the end of a relationship, and gendered parental expectations.
the first half of the book took some time to get going, but as we approach the second half and realize just how unwell olga is, the stakes become much higher and i felt a lot more engaged. there’s an encroaching sense of doom and instability that made it difficult to predict how the book would end. i think there were some phrasing that felt off/unclear, maybe due to the translation? but the themes and writing style were classic ferrante - she puts everything on the table with her cutting prose.
i wonder if my experience would’ve benefitted from reading a physical copy of this book rather than an ebook - going to keep an eye out at the used bookstore so i can eventually revisit this in paperback! for whatever reason i find that i sometimes have more difficulty with ebooks.
On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle
need everyone to read this and even though i don’t keep up with literary prizes i’m hoping this makes the international booker longlist!
5.0
i did not have starting a seven-book series on my 2025 bingo card, yet here we are! i’m so excited to have 6 more of these books to look forward to because this one sucked me in immediately. definitely recommend this for fans of i who have never known men by jacqueline harpman - they have similarly haunting, unexplainable circumstances, and are sci-fi adjacent while being beautifully written. they both also explore the urge to document our experiences, even if only for ourselves, and the comfort that writing can bring.
on the calculation of volume follows tara selter, a bookseller who finds herself repeating november 18th for a year straight. she is aware of the phenomenon, but no one else around her is. we see her grappling with repeatedly telling her husband what is happening to her before eventually retreating to be on her own, and trying to figure out how this happened and how she can set time back on its linear path.
there are so many different ideas and themes in this slim book and i can’t wait to see how they’re expanded in future books. loneliness, love, mundanity, memory, time and history, the will to survive, writing as i mentioned earlier… i can even see the series diving into commentary on consumption and climate change as the food tara eats does not replenish and she has no way of producing more. i also thought the translation was great and the prose was exactly the straightforward style i love.
need everyone to read this and even though i don’t keep up with literary prizes i’m hoping this makes the international booker longlist!
“That is why I began to write. Because I can hear him in the house. Because time has fallen apart. Because I found a ream of paper on the shelf. Because I'm trying to remember. Because the paper remembers. And there may be healing in sentences.”
“It seems so odd to me now, how one can be so unsettled by the improbable. When we know that our entire existence is founded on freak occurrences and improbable coincidences. That we wouldn't be here at all if it weren't for these curious twists of fate.”
“I have not found a way out of the eighteenth of November, but have found roads and paths through the day, narrow passages and tunnels I can move along. I cannot get out, but I can find ways in.”
The Echoes: A Novel by Evie Wyld
4.0
this one unexpectedly drew me in and i ended up reading most of it in one day! part family history, part relationship autopsy, and part ghost story, the echoes has a lot of moving parts that work together to make a compelling read.
we begin by following max, a recently deceased writer who is now a ghost, stuck in the apartment he shared with his longtime girlfriend hannah. hannah’s family life has been a mystery to max, and the chapters alternate between max’s perspective as a ghost and hannah’s perspective before max passed away, as well as a chapter from the perspective of each of hannah’s family members during her childhood. sounds like a lot, but once you settle into the novel, this puzzling-together of hannah’s life becomes a really compelling way to move the story forward.
i thought hannah’s complicated family history was the most gripping part of the story. max’s role in hannah’s life and the plot dealing with their relationship didn’t feel as fleshed out to me, and max didn’t feel like as strong of a character compared to hannah and her family. i was unsure how i would feel about the ghost element, and despite it being the weaker plot, i thought it was a very effective device to demonstrate how you can never fully know someone.
the book deals with some heavy topics, most notably the stolen generations survivors of australia and how hannah’s family was living on stolen land. this was my first time reading about this topic and i’d be curious to hear opinions on how this was handled from indigenous folks. would be really interested in reading more about the topic!
thank you to knopf and netgalley for the early copy of this book, out 2/18!
we begin by following max, a recently deceased writer who is now a ghost, stuck in the apartment he shared with his longtime girlfriend hannah. hannah’s family life has been a mystery to max, and the chapters alternate between max’s perspective as a ghost and hannah’s perspective before max passed away, as well as a chapter from the perspective of each of hannah’s family members during her childhood. sounds like a lot, but once you settle into the novel, this puzzling-together of hannah’s life becomes a really compelling way to move the story forward.
i thought hannah’s complicated family history was the most gripping part of the story. max’s role in hannah’s life and the plot dealing with their relationship didn’t feel as fleshed out to me, and max didn’t feel like as strong of a character compared to hannah and her family. i was unsure how i would feel about the ghost element, and despite it being the weaker plot, i thought it was a very effective device to demonstrate how you can never fully know someone.
the book deals with some heavy topics, most notably the stolen generations survivors of australia and how hannah’s family was living on stolen land. this was my first time reading about this topic and i’d be curious to hear opinions on how this was handled from indigenous folks. would be really interested in reading more about the topic!
thank you to knopf and netgalley for the early copy of this book, out 2/18!
Bibliophobia: A Memoir by Sarah Chihaya
4.0
my most anticipated release of 2025 so far - out now! thank you so much to random house for providing me with a copy of the book.
this was a very engaging debut collection of memoir/connected essay/literary criticism - all things that i absolutely love. sarah chihaya explores the relationship that book-obsessed people have to literature through the lens of the “life ruiner.” in her case, toni morrison’s the bluest eye changed her life as a japanese american, making her aware of how she felt othered in the predominantly white suburbs of ohio. she also recounts her difficulties with mental health and her quest to find a book that would save her from herself.
really loved chihaya’s style, which made it easy to fly through the pages. her deep connection to reading and writing is palpable and you can tell she’s taken so much time to self-reflect on how that connection has impacted her life, both positively and negatively.
i thought she explored a really interesting group of books, as well. she did the impossible TWICE: made me reconsider my decision to take a break from reading ali smith, and made me think differently about the last samurai, which i did not enjoy when i read it. she discusses some books that have been on my TBR and i’m appreciative that a list of texts was included at the beginning of the book. also, super happy with my decision to read the bluest eye directly before picking up bibliophobia; i think it made me appreciate both books much more than i would have separately.
i had a bit of trouble following the timeline of events in chihaya’s life, which made it difficult to find my footing in some sections. there was also something in the tone that made her feel a bit distant as a narrator, despite the personal subject matter - i’m still trying to parse my feelings on what didn’t 100% click for me in that regard. overall, this was immensely enjoyable and thought provoking, and i’d love to reread it in the future! looking forward to sarah chihaya’s future work.
this was a very engaging debut collection of memoir/connected essay/literary criticism - all things that i absolutely love. sarah chihaya explores the relationship that book-obsessed people have to literature through the lens of the “life ruiner.” in her case, toni morrison’s the bluest eye changed her life as a japanese american, making her aware of how she felt othered in the predominantly white suburbs of ohio. she also recounts her difficulties with mental health and her quest to find a book that would save her from herself.
really loved chihaya’s style, which made it easy to fly through the pages. her deep connection to reading and writing is palpable and you can tell she’s taken so much time to self-reflect on how that connection has impacted her life, both positively and negatively.
i thought she explored a really interesting group of books, as well. she did the impossible TWICE: made me reconsider my decision to take a break from reading ali smith, and made me think differently about the last samurai, which i did not enjoy when i read it. she discusses some books that have been on my TBR and i’m appreciative that a list of texts was included at the beginning of the book. also, super happy with my decision to read the bluest eye directly before picking up bibliophobia; i think it made me appreciate both books much more than i would have separately.
i had a bit of trouble following the timeline of events in chihaya’s life, which made it difficult to find my footing in some sections. there was also something in the tone that made her feel a bit distant as a narrator, despite the personal subject matter - i’m still trying to parse my feelings on what didn’t 100% click for me in that regard. overall, this was immensely enjoyable and thought provoking, and i’d love to reread it in the future! looking forward to sarah chihaya’s future work.