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heelturn2's reviews
84 reviews
Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
4.5
these books are making me deranged!! tragic uncategorizable relationships of care make me froth at the mouth. grimdark evil murder girls. extremely “are we the baddies????”books. the whole book I was exclaiming “god is just some guy!!” to my partner on the couch. And it just says that in the appendix at the back lmao. saluting tamsyn muir, godspeed you crazy homestuck bnf
The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I guess Meg Wolitzer is a bit of an Oprah book club sort of author but I do like her whole Thing about complex & morally-compromised characters & their relationships to one another over the course of 30 years. the other book of hers I’ve read, The Female Persuasion, does a similar thing but I think more successfully. this book felt a little unfocused, its characters don’t receive equal attention though it makes overtures like they might, and some parts move very weirdly and rapidly - like the sudden AIDS gala breakup lol
(ACTUALLY as an aside, I did joke to a friend that this was like the straight & not deranged version of A Little Life, down to the part where 1 “core” friend is really going through it and has to be rescued by everyone else but gets like very minimal narration time comparatively lol. also i think i don’t believe that an adult cartoon showrunner would be that rich and famous but i guess it’s not like i know matt groening’s life!!)
realizing that I finished this and found I liked most of the main characters much less on reflection than I did while reading. they’re all so obsessed with talent & being interesting that it makes sense! it is believable characterization. It’s not a negative thing about the book at all, & they’re well written, sympathetic characters generally. but I think the overarching theme of being swept into and seduced by interestingness and excitement/interesting and exciting people isn’t one that resonates (with me!) as much as themes around say, the clash between the stated and actual goals of liberal capitalist feminism in Female Persuasion. but both books do envy in an interesting way, & look at careers & work & identity in an interesting way.
(ACTUALLY as an aside, I did joke to a friend that this was like the straight & not deranged version of A Little Life, down to the part where 1 “core” friend is really going through it and has to be rescued by everyone else but gets like very minimal narration time comparatively lol. also i think i don’t believe that an adult cartoon showrunner would be that rich and famous but i guess it’s not like i know matt groening’s life!!)
realizing that I finished this and found I liked most of the main characters much less on reflection than I did while reading. they’re all so obsessed with talent & being interesting that it makes sense! it is believable characterization. It’s not a negative thing about the book at all, & they’re well written, sympathetic characters generally. but I think the overarching theme of being swept into and seduced by interestingness and excitement/interesting and exciting people isn’t one that resonates (with me!) as much as themes around say, the clash between the stated and actual goals of liberal capitalist feminism in Female Persuasion. but both books do envy in an interesting way, & look at careers & work & identity in an interesting way.
Content Warnings
Minor: iffy autism representation in the last 1/3 or so of the book; nothing offensive just a little eyerolley & grating if you’re sensitive to it
The Troop by Nick Cutter
Did not finish book. Stopped at 57%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 57%.
sometimes you simply do not have to finish a book that is making you feel ill!
idk she was not doing it for me. I think I like my horror a little vaguer and less interested in the specifics of horrible things - I’d like to not know exactly what the monster looks like, but this book tells you that within 100 pages. I dig the premise of biohazard parasite disease + teenage future serial killer terrorize boyscouts on small pei island! but the sections with Shelley or whatever, the future serial killer kid, were making me feel physically unwell. sometimes I’m down to stick with that (I love and recommend TITANE to everyone despite finding it physically difficult to watch that film!) but broadly the experience of reading this book was more like a too-long r/nosleep story and didn’t feel worth hanging around for. I hope those kids escaped and learned the meaning of friendship or whatever. I guess in the world of this book Falstaff island is an absolute no-go forever lol.
idk she was not doing it for me. I think I like my horror a little vaguer and less interested in the specifics of horrible things - I’d like to not know exactly what the monster looks like, but this book tells you that within 100 pages. I dig the premise of biohazard parasite disease + teenage future serial killer terrorize boyscouts on small pei island! but the sections with Shelley or whatever, the future serial killer kid, were making me feel physically unwell. sometimes I’m down to stick with that (I love and recommend TITANE to everyone despite finding it physically difficult to watch that film!) but broadly the experience of reading this book was more like a too-long r/nosleep story and didn’t feel worth hanging around for. I hope those kids escaped and learned the meaning of friendship or whatever. I guess in the world of this book Falstaff island is an absolute no-go forever lol.
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
in this house we love a reflection on death and grief. stylistically interesting! i like the idea of removing lincoln’s agency a bit at the end, that’s fun to me. but i think not 100% my thing or maybe didn’t approach the historical aspects i find most interesting?
Bad Gays: A Homosexual History by Ben Miller, Huw Lemmey
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
fun and thoughtful expansion on the podcast. i’ve been saying it for years but bad gays is excellent public history!!! histories of sexuality are discussed so differently in academia than they are in like, regular queer life (and imo this is a good & valuable thing!) & bad gays is really great at bringing that academic way of thinking about sex & sexuality to a non-academic audience.
however: not to be a cunt but this book needed another editing pass before going to print though. many typos and some structural/syntax quirks that didn’t help flow & comprehension. it was totally fine! but present enough that i noticed & commented. cmon verso!
however: not to be a cunt but this book needed another editing pass before going to print though. many typos and some structural/syntax quirks that didn’t help flow & comprehension. it was totally fine! but present enough that i noticed & commented. cmon verso!
The Years by Annie Ernaux
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
beautiful flowing prose (& great translation) - i dislike reading aloud but i read some of this to my partner & it was really enjoyable to speak the words on the page/hear it spoken. so evocative of time & place & especially collective mindset in a way that was fascinating and very recognizable to me. the way events happen & you feel yourself experiencing them with others, experiencing events the same way at the same time with others like you - the way certain elections and protests are described here draws up moments i’ve experienced in this collective way, the panic surrounding the 2016 us elections, excitement & possibility around police brutality protests during covid lockdown, horror watching the siege on gaza from afar… idk. one of those pieces of art that conveys its highly specific thing so well and so clearly that it gives you sense of shared human experience, rather than that of an outsider looking in.
Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency by Olivia Laing
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
4.25
lovely lovely writing
Closer by Dennis Cooper
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
the scat really took me by surprise to be honest but i dug this. utterly manic & deeply bleak
Devil House by John Darnielle
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
true crime author questions his genre. teens discover installation art. devastating!!
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
totally fun grimdark science fantasy. i forget how fun it is to be invested in a series that makes you want to guess and hope at how things will turn out.