charbck's reviews
110 reviews

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

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adventurous mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

genius. the cover says “spellbinding” and ya its that exactly. i have not been this entrapped by a narrative in so long. the prose is incredible, and so deeply erotic without there ever being nudity. its incredibly impressive. louis’s character is AMAZING. im glad i knew anne rice lost a daughter before going into this book… it makes all descriptions of claudia and louis’s feeling for her much more impactful. and claudia…!!! such a nuanced character i found myself aching for her as louis does. i watched the show before reading and was surprised and excited that it was so different than the book.

-.25 for the dubious and “problematic” implications of louis beginning as a plantation owner. its deeply ironic that he cares so much for human life yet owned and abused enslaved people. my issue is not simply with him being a slave owner. there was an opportunity for louis to reflect on his atrocities against african ppl in the same way he repeatedly reflected on his killings and on claudia. rice missed this opportunity and instead perpetuated antiblack racism through his dialogue in the first 100 pgs. im glad the tv show kept louis morally dubious as a pimp, and he reflected on his actions within the first episode.

there is also the dubious and “problematic” implications of claudia.  one review calls it pedophilia, and i understand how the descriptions of her can be triggering. it’s frustrating that killing is so often compared to sex, and ofc louis and lestat kill and turn 5 y/o claudia. (this is a stupid comparison but its like how fusing in steven universe is compared to sex, but then STEVEN FUSES WITH HIS DAD.) claudia is based on rice’s daughter who she lost, who like vampire claudia, was stripped of the opportunity to grow old. this grief makes louis’s relationship with claudia so special, and to me, devoid of a sexual nature. louis (also madeleine) is clearly a self insert for rice. i LOVE the nuance of claudia’s struggles. the pain and frustration she feels as she grows older but is trapped in her toddler form… she cannot accomplish anything because of her size, despite her immortal mind… the guilt louis feels without being able to shake the notion that she will always be his baby. its so much different than the claudia of the show.
its interesting that the other vampires are disgusted by the demon child and think poorly of louis for it. there are implications there i find hard to dictate… what gets me the most is THE LOSS OF CLAUDIA. AND LOUIS GRIEF AND APATHY THAT HE CANNOT SHAKE AND LOUIS HOLDING THE INFANT AT THE END……. ITS SOOOO GOOOOOOD
for these reasons i understand claudia not as an outlet for pedophilia, but an outlet for adoration and immortal love of a parent, though i acknowledge the uncomfortable sensual descriptions of her. 

CANT WAIT FOR SEASON 2 CANT WAIT TO READ THE VAMPIRE LESTAT
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

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funny inspiring tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

good airplane read cuz queenie’s drama is CRAZY!!!! the middle 200 pages felt like whiplash it was vine boom after vine boom. i liked queenie’s character, though i was frustrated that she never asked after her friends (clearly darcy was groomed or something). some of the characters rlly bothered me like they tom gina and ted ended up to be the worst ppl in the wolrd??? lowkey cassandra also. the last chunk was all therapy speak which was a bit boring. always great to read a black perspective ofc!! i also loved reading a midsize-plussize protagonist. #relatabme
Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger

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challenging funny slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

really loved!! salinger is so witty and i love his characters and the themes they muse on. his prose was hard to parse through, and some bits were slogs. everyone should smoke cigarettes as much as the glasses do. will pick up his other short story collection soon so i can find out more about the glasses
Neighborhood Story, Vol. 1 by Ai Yazawa

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hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

sooooo cute!!!!!!!! ai yazawa is such a great story teller and illustrator. the fashion, per yazawa, is INCREDIBLE and the romance is so cute and funny. and i LOVE monkeys. ill prob pick one of the monkey illustrations to get tatted. cant wait to read vol2!!!
Morning in the Burned House by Margaret Atwood

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dark emotional reflective relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

incredible!! first time reading any of Atwood's work and i am EXCITED to read more! i guess i have never read any feminist poetry?!!! but ofc its Atwood so she had some in there and it was GREAT. i will def be reading more of her poetry and her other books — now i need the complete collection of her poetry on my shelf. amazing read!

some faves were:
- You Come Back
- In the Secular Night
- February
- Miss July Grows Older
- Manet’s Olympia
- Ava Gardner Reincarnated as a Magnolia
- Helen of Troy Does Counter Dancing
- Half-Hanged Mary
- King Lear in Respite Care
- Up
The Crucible by Arthur Miller

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

omg this book had me GRIPPED!!!! i was wound up in the drama. so so good and miller does a wonderful job at revealing all the court details to us slowly. regina george wishes she was as powerful as abigail williams! im gonna look up feminist interpretations of this text
If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho by Sappho

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emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

5.0

so beautiful. i am so happy to have this in my collection forever. we can learn so much from old masters. i cried and i also laughed out loud. not only was it amazing to bear witness to her love and her lust, sappho’s verses tell us a lot about women of her era, their rituals, how they are treated, what they think about, etc. sappho’s musings on virginity and crowns, on mothers and daughters towards the end makes me want to investigate classical women more. 

the fragment that stole my breath:
“someone will remember us / i say / even in another time”

sappho u will always be famous
Death in Her Hands by Ottessa Moshfegh

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dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

otessa moshfegh’s brain is crazy. for the first 200 pgs, i had never felt so indifferent about a reading experience before. i’m not very into mysteries. i did enjoy the ending, though.

the musings of an old woman over 3ish days, perhaps slowly dying the whole time. i didnt buy into her crazy theories, so the mystery wasnt really there for me. i feel like she hallucinated the whole thing?

anyway, still an entertaining moshfegh read
Nana, Vol. 2 by Ai Yazawa

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funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

this volume was so much fun!! i love seeing the 2 nanas together they r fr just so cute ! and once again the illustrations blow me away. ai yazawa plays with AWESOME textures and patterns on clothing or to represent smoke etc. and nobu <3333 great character introductions
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

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challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

when i pictured being an adult i definitely pictured willy and thats why i went to art school

the deterioration of every man under capitalism