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gotossmycausticsalad's reviews
482 reviews
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
funny
tense
4.25
Grand. The author displays more confidence in her readers than she did with Babel - trusting us to pick out the (increasingly) problematic things her narrator thinks instead of hitting us over the head with them. Possibly a response to criticism of Babel on that same point, possibly because the narrator would have to be aware of her own faux pas to be able to hammer them home for us. There are a few comments the narrator makes about Athena's work that read as wry winks to this criticism, so I imagine it's the former.
The shiver that ran through me when the narrator decided to write a fictional account of the scandal. Chefs kiss.
Show Me the Bodies by Peter Apps
5.0
Almost unreadably devasting. This book is clear, detailed and precise in identifying the failures that led to Grenfell, while being incredibly moving as it tells the residents stories.
The structure of the book - with each chapter about the failures that led to the disaster bookended by ones focusing on a short window of time during the night - was a powerful way to centre the residents while also drawing a clear path from the "bonfire of regulation" attitude of governments, via the greed of private companies, the indifference of the local council and the unpreparedness of the fire brigade, to this utterly avoidable tragedy.
The structure of the book - with each chapter about the failures that led to the disaster bookended by ones focusing on a short window of time during the night - was a powerful way to centre the residents while also drawing a clear path from the "bonfire of regulation" attitude of governments, via the greed of private companies, the indifference of the local council and the unpreparedness of the fire brigade, to this utterly avoidable tragedy.
The Twilight World by Werner Herzog
4.0
Brief, dreamlike. Interesting how the portrayal of Onoda shifts as it goes on. At first we see him preventing his fellow soldiers from "looting" sugar, and shooting villagers, but then as we progress his war crimes are alluded to - mentioning the dead "among the natives", and near the end "the matter of those he had killed among the population never quite went away." Not condemned or expanded upon, but there are hints that maybe there was something more malicious behind some of them than 'merely' murders commited while acquiring food. "Not soldiers clearly, but sentries, guarding them while they work. How to react? Onoda decides on an attack. It's been too long since they've shown who's boss."
The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings
3.0
Mm, this book reminded me of the problems I had with Babel. No trust in the reader to get that Racism (and in this case Sexism) is Bad. Unlike Babel, the world building wasn’t strong enough to make it a solid read despite that.
There were some interesting tensions in the novel that weren’t explored as much as they might be - the mum teaching her daughter that women can only be safe alone, vs witchcraft being about community, vs that community seeming largely uninterested in helping women who haven’t made their way to the island.
I kept coming back to the thought that this is a novel about running away from your problems, rather than staying and fighting them, but I’m not entirely sure that’s fair. After all, Jo makes the decision to go back to the real world despite the consequences - that she does it for personal reasons, because she doesn’t want to hurt her family in the same way her mother hurt her doesn’t change that. What brought me back to that thought was that her big magic idea to help people was a path to the island. She says that it would help change the world bit by bit, but the how of that, the why she thinks that wasn’t clear. There’s nothing wrong with saving individuals who need help, sure. But that alone isn’t going to force change on the society she lives in.
There were some interesting tensions in the novel that weren’t explored as much as they might be
I kept coming back to the thought that this is a novel about running away from your problems, rather than staying and fighting them, but I’m not entirely sure that’s fair. After all, Jo makes the decision to go back to the real world despite the consequences - that she does it for personal reasons, because she doesn’t want to hurt her family in the same way her mother hurt her doesn’t change that. What brought me back to that thought was that her big magic idea to help people was a path to the island. She says that it would help change the world bit by bit, but the how of that, the why she thinks that wasn’t clear. There’s nothing wrong with saving individuals who need help, sure. But that alone isn’t going to force change on the society she lives in.
The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan
3.75
Took a while to warm up to it, decent but not amazing. Did very much enjoy the affectionate banter masquerading as abuse between the mum and nan - captured the exact way my family interact with each other.