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hostile's reviews
29 reviews
The Short-Timers by Gustav Hasford
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is my favorite book. There are many like it but this one's mine.
Daughters of the New Year by E.M. Tran
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
It felt like it was just hitting all the diaspora lit beats with added ghosts (which is a diaspora lit beat it its own right) I really don't like feeling like I am having myself explained to myself. Or feel like I am being looked at from the perspective of a tour guide. That and it feels like watching someone trying to prove that they exist to an audience that doesn't want them to be complicated (you know like a human being) so they lean on existing easily understandable narratives about themself lest said audience starts to feel guilty about doing war crimes to their family. Or we fall out of model minority favor. Which is an all around exhausting and painful experience and I don't really think that's the point being made.
Fish in Exile by Vi Khi Nao
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
Couldn't get into the style :-( maybe it wasn't the right time, might try again later
Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Whenever I read Notes of a Crocodile and reach that point towards the middle where the confusion and misery of Lazi's first heartbreak breaks open into growth, into attempts at understanding and reaching out towards herself and others, into lovingly recalled friendships my heart feels so big I worry it'll explode. And sometimes I feel so much grief that I look for Qiu's ghost in all of her words like I could save her (or myself) if I could just look hard enough for the cracks. That is until she's got me laughing at Meng Sheng, spellbound over her wonderfully absurd crocodile scenes, and I remember she was alive when she made this, that she had the bravery and love and determination to write a novel like this in spite of everything. I miss her forever and ever. ❤️🐊
Chinatown by Thuận
challenging
funny
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Chinatown is not going to explain itself to you because it is not a tour guide. If you are not able to look past the fact that it's a novel translated from Vietnamese that was not written to explain Vietnam to a foreign audience you probably won't be able to enjoy the book. For me the spiraling, obsessive and repetitive prose captured the anxiety of displacement and loss in a way I have never experienced anywhere else. It's uncomfortable and it's difficult, it's inventive and rhythmic. I love it, I needed it.
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