daneroberts's reviews
21 reviews

Wellness by Nathan Hill

emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wellness has been on my list for a while and I couldn't be happier that I got around to it when I did. Not only did I gravitate towards this book for being about artists in Chicago, but the literary elements about love and relationships being such a huge theme is definitely up my alley.  Nathan Hill's writing just glides across the page and keeps you absolutely enthralled. Even when he goes on these informative and knowledgeable, although at times tedious, explanatory rants about certain topics, I still found myself engaged- and the way it relates to the character's and the present plot is what's most important. My favorite thing about this novel is how cosmically important he made Jack & Elizabeth's relationship. Referencing and explaining science, history, art, technology, and love felt like they were the most important beings in the universe. It was fascinating, and at over 500 pages, it really flew by. This novel went into way more detail than it needed to but that's not a bad thing. The way we grow up and live and how that shapes the relationships of our future is the most interesting and important thing to me ever. This book is one that will stay with me throughout my life in Chicago, and I'll often revisit it to experience again the magic and drama of Jack & Elizabeth's life. 

The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks
Did not finish book.

i'll come back i promise!!

The Guest by Emma Cline

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

WOWWW that ending really slayed me. I feel like the characters actions and thought process shined in that last chapter; how everything she did throughout the book was amalgamated into a simple action, very well done.

I am a huge fan of Emma Cline’s writing in this novel. The third person POV for Alex was done perfectly and allowed me to see this character at a certain distance that was appropriate and exciting. I couldn’t help but clench my jaw and visibly cringe at certain points. This main character is self-obsessive, a low-rent gypsy that deludes herself into her circumstances by “necessity” taking almost no blame or responsibility for her actions. I love it!! Even the first couple pages as Cline sets up Alex by explaining her past failures and her desperate attempt to cling onto her youthful naïveté was SO relatable to me. Being the same age as Alex made me reflect on my own transition from adolescence to adulthood and how being helpless transitions from expected to cringe. Even the title, “The Guest” alludes a certain detachment and lack of responsibility to yourself and your surroundings.

As exciting as the many sticky situations Alex put herself in, I feel like it dulled in the middle. There was a time when I couldn’t keep up. I didn’t know where she was, what she was doing, or who she was with. After a few pages I eventually found my footing but with each scenario being centered around an upper class gathering of some sort, I got lost in the shuffle. Which, in a certain way, felt like the desired intention of the author. Alex is truly a little bit insane for being able to coast along these households and as an outsider I felt lost and confused, as I’m sure any normal individual in Alex’s position would.

I throughly enjoyed this ride. I was sad to reach the end, a certain part of me wanted to keep following Alex around to see what uneasy situations she would get herself into only to inevitably get out of it and justify it. There’s something so fascinating and relatable about a self-destructing woman. Definitely one of my favorite books I’ve read in a while.

Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi

relaxing fast-paced

3.5

A quick and easy read but left more to be desired for sure. I personally liked reading about Shibata’s routine and how a realistic working woman in Tokyo lives her days but the concept of a fake pregnancy has such an interesting array of potential havoc and instances that were seriously lacking here. I wanted this to be more dramatic for sure but overall, I liked it and enjoyed the ending as well. 

Nevada by Imogen Binnie

emotional informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No

2.0

I was definitely intrigued by the concept of this book and I was pleased to find that it dived in so personally and candidly into the trans experience but jeez did that get old fast. I like the conversational tone of this book but it definitely read more as a memoir than a novel. There were maybe 2 or 3 major plot elements in the whole thing and everything else was just run-on paragraphs about this characters thoughts and opinions. It got interesting when the two main characters met but that lasted for about 20 pages at most. And they barely did anything in Nevada!!

Idk there were some intuitive points made but this novel didn’t feel like one at all.

Fight Night by Miriam Toews

3.0

Women Talking by Miriam Toews

dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Wow wow that ending was phenomenal. Honestly the whole thing was great. I wasn’t that confident going into this book regarding my own background knowledge of Mennonite culture and communities but the book doesn’t have a learning curve at all. It was a very well-paced book, probably one of the easiest flows i’ve ever read in a novel. Miriam Toews does a fantastic job at placing you among these women talking and struggling to find an answer for their decisions. That narrator voice is an unexpected amazing choice and the poetry so easily finds its place amongst the scenes. Really well done I can’t wait to read more from her, and the movie has a lot to live up to!

Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

An insanely massive slay! The whole thing was so well written and captivating and the imagery paired with the colorful cover art made everything look so nice in my head. Absolutely loved the complicated relationships that many characters had with their mothers and how that shapes them and their actions. A perfect length, not a single unnecessary word or paragraph out of place. Loved the climactic ending, truly a stellar novel.

Reminds me a bit of Gone Girl with the main female “protagonist” voice as well as it’s horror/gore elements.
Can’t wait to read more from this author.

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Undoubtedly one of the most exciting novels I’ve ever read. Had an absolute blast with this villain story and was throughly impressed with the pace and creative angles at which this story viewed modern day racism and cancel culture. The main ‘antagonist’ June was a lot more fleshed out than I thought, providing a through line critique at how some white people view today’s celebrated minorities. It was hypocritical and damning and victimizing. I was obsessed with how obsessed this character was at trying to alleviate herself of any wrongdoing. I will say that June had some good points about internet critique and how the shallow depth and lightning speed at which cancel culture affects human lives and reputations was accurate. That is truly something that hurts everyone. 

My only critique is that this took a good detailed look at the book publishing industry; a gripe for some possibly but not for me, I had a great time learning about the book release process. And this probably was a liiiittle bit too long but each chapter really stood on its own and moved the pace along well.

Incredibly impressed with R.F. Kuang’s range in storytelling. This could convince me to check out her earlier fantasy work.

Death Valley by Melissa Broder

funny reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

You can definitely tell this is a novel from an established poet. I’ve never felt so enthralled than how Broder writes about seemingly menial tasks and basic imagery. She really adds a certain modern magic that feels captivating somehow- who else could essentially write 100+ pages about a woman in a desert and make it interesting, reflective, and nuanced. I enjoyed the main characters dilemma between her father and her husband, something that I definitely wish was explored a little more concretely. The differentiation of where she placed her empathy and how that can speak to someone’s definition of love and care- you get a little bit of that for sure but could’ve been expanded upon. Overall really enjoyed this book and it was quite easy to fly through as well with each chapter being like 3 pages long. Excited to read more of her.