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czidya's reviews
75 reviews
Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Carrie Brownstein is a genius and so so eloquent. Not the best memoir I’ve read, but very well written and definitely a must-read/listen for fans of Sleater-Kinney.
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Mrs. S by K. Patrick
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Acts of Service by Lillian Fishman
emotional
reflective
medium-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
2.0
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Sex with a Brain Injury by Annie Liontas
Did not finish book. Stopped at 3%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 3%.
Seems like a good book , I realized I am actually lowkey traumatized from my concussion recovery experience like 4 years ago so it put me in a pretty bad mood
Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence by Anna Lembke
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.5
Matrix by Lauren Groff
Did not finish book. Stopped at 68%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 68%.
DNF because my mom was here and she reminded me not to read books that I’m not enthused about.
I didn’t like the pacing or plot structure (when they reveal Marie’s future success early on in the book it completely cuts the tension) , and like another reviewer said I didn’t like that the author seemed so in love with the protagonist that she doesn’t want to give her any real flaws or challenges, at least none that seemed serious in the first two thirds of the book.
I didn’t like the pacing or plot structure (when they reveal Marie’s future success early on in the book it completely cuts the tension) , and like another reviewer said I didn’t like that the author seemed so in love with the protagonist that she doesn’t want to give her any real flaws or challenges, at least none that seemed serious in the first two thirds of the book.
Still Life by Sarah Winman
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Italy, 1944: A chance encounter between a young English soldier and an elderly lesbian art historian kicks off a decades-spanning exploration of the beautiful and ugly moments that make up life.
Winman's writing style, with choppy sentences and immersive sensory descriptions, make this book a pleasure to read. I didn't have to work to immerse myself in the scenes of this book, because Winman's prose embodied them before my eyes.
The most glaring issue with Still Life is the fact that, despite being a fully character driven work, the characters themselves are not very compelling. While Winman is masterful in her descriptions of the external world, the inner lives of the two pivotal characters, Ulysses and Evelyn, are tragically underdeveloped. We spend more time with Ulysses than any other character, but I'm hard pressed to think of a word that describes him beyond "caring." Peg and Alys stand out as the most engaging, vivid characters. This is in part because they are more flawed than Ulysses and Evelyn, but primarily because each of their narratives revolves around a consistent motif, so we can track their development (Peg's troubles with men and Alys's coming of age). Ulysses and Evelyn, on the other hand, seem to drift unmoored through the narrative, and it's difficult for the reader to pin down what drives them.
The rest of the supporting cast fares even worse, and their characterization consists largely of quirks (Cress is knowledgeable, Col is cantankerous, Pete...plays the piano?). It was also a little off-putting that the only character of color, Mrs. Kaur, is introduced with the sole function of teaching a white guy about vegetarianism and nonviolence.
I legitimately loved the first 3/4 of the book. However, by the last 60 pages or so the descriptions of delicious Italian meals and the beautiful scenes of Florence, and charming/cute interactions between the characters start to feel repetitive, and I realized that the narrative felt flimsy and aimless. The scenes can stand on the merits of Winman's prose for a little while, but for a novel of this length, I needed the story to have more shape, whether that be through stronger characterization or a more structured plot.
3/5
Winman's writing style, with choppy sentences and immersive sensory descriptions, make this book a pleasure to read. I didn't have to work to immerse myself in the scenes of this book, because Winman's prose embodied them before my eyes.
The most glaring issue with Still Life is the fact that, despite being a fully character driven work, the characters themselves are not very compelling. While Winman is masterful in her descriptions of the external world, the inner lives of the two pivotal characters, Ulysses and Evelyn, are tragically underdeveloped. We spend more time with Ulysses than any other character, but I'm hard pressed to think of a word that describes him beyond "caring." Peg and Alys stand out as the most engaging, vivid characters. This is in part because they are more flawed than Ulysses and Evelyn, but primarily because each of their narratives revolves around a consistent motif, so we can track their development (Peg's troubles with men and Alys's coming of age). Ulysses and Evelyn, on the other hand, seem to drift unmoored through the narrative, and it's difficult for the reader to pin down what drives them.
The rest of the supporting cast fares even worse, and their characterization consists largely of quirks (Cress is knowledgeable, Col is cantankerous, Pete...plays the piano?). It was also a little off-putting that the only character of color, Mrs. Kaur, is introduced with the sole function of teaching a white guy about vegetarianism and nonviolence.
I legitimately loved the first 3/4 of the book. However, by the last 60 pages or so the descriptions of delicious Italian meals and the beautiful scenes of Florence, and charming/cute interactions between the characters start to feel repetitive, and I realized that the narrative felt flimsy and aimless. The scenes can stand on the merits of Winman's prose for a little while, but for a novel of this length, I needed the story to have more shape, whether that be through stronger characterization or a more structured plot.
3/5