danielleboldry's reviews
42 reviews

By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept by Elizabeth Smart

dark emotional reflective slow-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

3.0

i had high expectations for this one, although it is beautifully written and certain paragraphs gave me literal goosebumps, i just couldn’t get into it on the whole :(

i love the idea of a love so strong it can turn your whole world into gold, and then into grey once it’s gone. i think my issue was just that there wasn’t much of a story - almost too poetic for a novel. if it had been condensed into a collection of poems maybe i’d have enjoyed it more.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

wowwwwww. incredible. i only WISH i’d have read the book before seeing the movie because the twists and turns are genuinely so gripping. such a fascinating pair of perspectives to read from - amy is 100000x more crazy but i’m still somehow rooting for her HA

salt slow by Julia Armfield

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dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

i love julia armfield’s writing so much. she has a way of blending the most disturbing and the most mundane parts of life, where they become almost indistinguishable. which in a way is the most harrowing way to tell a scary story.

this was my first short story collection! a couple of the stories fell flat for me but throughly enjoyed the majority of them:

the collectibles - a girlie girls frankenstein
stop your women’s ears with wax - the inhumane, catastrophic cult of modern day fandoms spurred by the all consuming demonic infatuation with artists/music — something i deeply relate to but also detest
granite (possibly my favourite) - gorgeously written - a glimpse into a seemingly perfect relationship with a dark undertone - granite takes on the character of the boyfriend, symbolising the pressure from outside forces to not be alone
smack - the long-lasting effects of people coming in and out of your life, shedding their skin and leaving it by your feet on their way out. the use of the word smack has an abundance of layers: a smack of jellyfish washing up on the shore as something left behind and the sharp sting of this sudden violent act.
cassandra after - beautifully disturbing depiction of grief, a casual ghost story - “i was sweeping the bones of the girl i loved off the kitchen floor.”
salt slow - wow. just stunning. you can really see the similarities between this and our wives — the deep fascination with the ocean and what lives within it. a really raw depiction of miscarriage - “the sky is gory with stars, like the insides of a gutted night.”

A Room with a View by E.M. Forster

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

3.5

oh to be lucy honeychurch soul searching in italy and being kissed on mountaintops!

a gorgeously sun-drenched tale of romance and Edwardian life. it took me a while to get into and to remember who all the different characters were but it is written beautifully.

Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

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dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

a brutal and devastating tale of addiction, abuse, poverty and familial responsibility. every character is so well written and fleshed out entirely. my heart aches for the children at the heart of this story.

Content Warnings

Orlando by Virginia Woolf

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challenging funny lighthearted 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

such a fascinating read. an exploration into gender fluidity and sexuality with an air of wittiness that is way ahead of it’s time. feels like a fever dream where orlando’s identity outlives time and space. this did make the story difficult to follow at times but the writing is so beautifully poetic that it made it all so worth it.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. beautiful characters and a really interesting perspective for a ww2 story — the only thing i didn’t really enjoy was the narration :(

Content Warnings

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.

I know 30 pages is not really giving the book a chance but i just don’t think I can bring myself to carry on.

I’ve heard so many people say that this book is misunderstood due to the romanticism of HH’s crimes and lolita’s character in adaptations and popular culture, and I want to believe this is true. however I simply cannot read any more of it. I’m all for an unreliable narrator, but being inside of a paedophile‘s head is just too far. even if it isn’t the intention of the book to glorify the narrators thoughts, for me it just doesn’t work as a first person perspective - it is just far too uncomfortable and quite frankly sickening to read.

I’m still struggling to understand why this book is a classic. Yes, the writing style might be brilliantly unique with clever narrative devices but I just can’t wrap my head around why we need this book, or why anyone would enjoy it. You can argue that anyone reading this book should automatically know that HH is a criminal and the villain of the story and it should only be read from this perspective, (which is so true), I just still don’t think this is the right way to tell this story. But then again, I only read 30 pages so I guess my opinions don’t really mean much.

Content Warnings