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hounded's reviews
81 reviews
Glory: A Novel by NoViolet Bulawayo
5.0
This book is amazing!
The jumps between the cartoonishly silly politicians to the people then back to the antics was such a good set up for this plot. It made you laugh at first then showing you the effects on the people (animals) that come from those politicians actions was soo heavy. I could see so many people I know and have met in these characters. I felt like a part of the community in Jidada, from hearing the interview like segments. To the actual twitter threads written out! I've never felt like I was a part of a book but this one made me feel like it.
Not to mention the beautiful writting style itself. I'm shocked how many people didn't like the repetition? It read like poetry and gave such a good weight to the words when it was needed. I'm specifically thinking about the quote:
"We'd be cheering one moment, and then we'd remember all those the regime had claimed- the tortured, the jailed, the exiled, the disappeared, the dead, the dead, the dead, the dead- and wail."
and the part where it's "I can't breathe" for so long.
It just hits you over and over making the situation feel all too real.
I love this book with all my heart and could go on and on about it. It was exactly the book I needed to read right now and had the ending I hope to experience one day.
Please read Glory
The jumps between the cartoonishly silly politicians to the people then back to the antics was such a good set up for this plot. It made you laugh at first then showing you the effects on the people (animals) that come from those politicians actions was soo heavy. I could see so many people I know and have met in these characters. I felt like a part of the community in Jidada, from hearing the interview like segments. To the actual twitter threads written out! I've never felt like I was a part of a book but this one made me feel like it.
Not to mention the beautiful writting style itself. I'm shocked how many people didn't like the repetition? It read like poetry and gave such a good weight to the words when it was needed. I'm specifically thinking about the quote:
"We'd be cheering one moment, and then we'd remember all those the regime had claimed- the tortured, the jailed, the exiled, the disappeared, the dead, the dead, the dead, the dead- and wail."
and the part where it's "I can't breathe" for so long.
It just hits you over and over making the situation feel all too real.
I love this book with all my heart and could go on and on about it. It was exactly the book I needed to read right now and had the ending I hope to experience one day.
Please read Glory
Lakewood by Megan Giddings
4.25
wow I am so disturbed by this book. It was so good....
It was such a good and terrifying statement on trust in doctors and the systemic racism that is in the healthcare system. I felt the terrible feeling of dehumanization from medical staff very deeply and it made the book all that more difficult to get through. I really liked this type of horror and an amazing unreliable narrator I feel like I haven't experienced in a long time! Strongly suggest this book but read with catuion. I already don't trust doctors but now I'm even more like 😵💫
It was such a good and terrifying statement on trust in doctors and the systemic racism that is in the healthcare system. I felt the terrible feeling of dehumanization from medical staff very deeply and it made the book all that more difficult to get through. I really liked this type of horror and an amazing unreliable narrator I feel like I haven't experienced in a long time! Strongly suggest this book but read with catuion. I already don't trust doctors but now I'm even more like 😵💫
American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition by Neil Gaiman
1.0
I was really let down by this book :( The concepts are amazing but then instead of a good story about how diffrent cultures that come to america and how they live and are preserved here even after many many years. But All I got was a overly complicated fantasy mess that didn't make sense and just felt pointless.. not to mention sooo long it made reading it agonizing!
Plus not to mention the many many many! Racists stereotypes. THeres so much in here where it definitely reads like an English man wrote it....
and of course obvious contempt for women. As not a single woman in this story had a main role nor did they have anything more to them then "attracted to shadow" or basically a housewife.
The last reason I rate this book so low is the bootlicking. "Good cop from a small town does no wrong" trope that never sat right with me. Especially at the start of the book it showed horrible cops being themselves so this surprised me. But I'm sure it's some type of "One bad apple ruins the bunch" type of thought process :/
Plus not to mention the many many many! Racists stereotypes. THeres so much in here where it definitely reads like an English man wrote it....
and of course obvious contempt for women. As not a single woman in this story had a main role nor did they have anything more to them then "attracted to shadow" or basically a housewife.
The last reason I rate this book so low is the bootlicking. "Good cop from a small town does no wrong" trope that never sat right with me. Especially at the start of the book it showed horrible cops being themselves so this surprised me. But I'm sure it's some type of "One bad apple ruins the bunch" type of thought process :/
Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates
4.0
Was very enlightening! I had known a ton about the subject of incels and pick up artist but this showed me really how deep it goes. It also helped me a lot in not feeling crazy about all these things I felt llike I and only a few others noticed. Another thing that made me so glad to read this book is the fact now I have the words to articulate a lot of the feelings and thoughts I have had on men and the online manosphere.
However major problem I have with the book is the intense want for incarceration and saying the police need better training to deal with these kind of things. Which with the entire book was not a perspective I anticipated! All this talk of men and the abuse they cause over women but yet supports the police? Like how did you do all this research and not once stumble upon the insanely high domestic abuse rates that police officers have?? Then say they need to learn to help women more? She talked politicians but thought the police would be better?
It was very strange being hit with that take in this otherwise amazing book! And luckily the police stuff was only about a chapter or two so I can look past that to suggest it to people otherwise! I will be suggesting it to people as it is incredibly thorough otherwise :)
However major problem I have with the book is the intense want for incarceration and saying the police need better training to deal with these kind of things. Which with the entire book was not a perspective I anticipated! All this talk of men and the abuse they cause over women but yet supports the police? Like how did you do all this research and not once stumble upon the insanely high domestic abuse rates that police officers have?? Then say they need to learn to help women more? She talked politicians but thought the police would be better?
It was very strange being hit with that take in this otherwise amazing book! And luckily the police stuff was only about a chapter or two so I can look past that to suggest it to people otherwise! I will be suggesting it to people as it is incredibly thorough otherwise :)
Galápagos by Kurt Vonnegut
4.0
Man I forgot how much I liked this book. The style of writing really makes it feel like you are burning through it and all the characters no matter how big or little of a part they play feels so real and important (As is the point of the story)
I also learned this time around that That Kilgore Trout is the same author that's mentioned a lot in Slaughterhouse 5! Which was such a fun thing to learn!
Definetly give it a read and enjoy it <3
I also learned this time around that That Kilgore Trout is the same author that's mentioned a lot in Slaughterhouse 5! Which was such a fun thing to learn!
Definetly give it a read and enjoy it <3
Dawn by Octavia E. Butler
4.0
Octavia Butler!!!! She is so so amazing! I am not usually this heavy of a sci-fi fan but I loved this book and I am so so excited to read the rest of the series! Octavia butler really loves to write stories with unique societies and how the mingle with the world we know now! It always makes for an interesting read and I had so much fun listening to the audio book narrator as well!
I loved the aliens and the aspect of humanity and just the build up more and more as it went on! So good! I have no clue where the story is going next but I can't wait!
I loved the aliens and the aspect of humanity and just the build up more and more as it went on! So good! I have no clue where the story is going next but I can't wait!
In the House in the Dark of the Woods by Laird Hunt
2.75
It was an okay book. I liked the concept of the story itself and the (albeit heavy handed) calls to classic fairy tails. But the book felt a bit pretentious and I think the story suffered from having too many elements to keep it at least some what clear. The story struggled since the writing style was very confusing and more and more kept getting added on even though it felt like there was no purpose.
Updating my review because I reading some others I completely agree with is. This would have been written better by a woman. The main characters is supposed to have some tragic "Being a woman is hard so the life in the woods is more appealing" type deal but theres no development past that so. She ended up being a nothing character. As well as all the other women in this book. THey all have something similar but it's never expanded upon in anyway making the whole thing feel. Well. Pointless. I understand where the author was trying to go but. I don't think truly understands what he was trying to say.
Overall entertaining for a lighter read but I don't think I'll ever come back to it.
Updating my review because I reading some others I completely agree with is. This would have been written better by a woman. The main characters is supposed to have some tragic "Being a woman is hard so the life in the woods is more appealing" type deal but theres no development past that so. She ended up being a nothing character. As well as all the other women in this book. THey all have something similar but it's never expanded upon in anyway making the whole thing feel. Well. Pointless. I understand where the author was trying to go but. I don't think truly understands what he was trying to say.
Overall entertaining for a lighter read but I don't think I'll ever come back to it.
The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman
4.75
Wow it's been a long time since I read Maus but it's still as good as I remember. I don't even know what to say about it besides read it.
There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura
4.0
I really enjoyed this! It felt slow paced which was nice I haven't read a book like that in a long time. It also really aided in the critique of capitalism with how slow certain parts felt. As being extremely working class there was so so much I could relate to with the main character which is what made it so enjoyable to me. The characters that literally just go in and out of the narrators life is so realistic to how it is when you go through so many jobs....
It reminds me of the quote from City of Night by John Rechy "The long goodbye the life turns into"
Plus the characters you meet are very entertaining and the little bits of surrealism sprinkled through out made me want to finish the book so bad just to know what happens in the end!!
Definitely recommend reading while in between jobs or if you need that final push to quit a bad job
It reminds me of the quote from City of Night by John Rechy "The long goodbye the life turns into"
Plus the characters you meet are very entertaining and the little bits of surrealism sprinkled through out made me want to finish the book so bad just to know what happens in the end!!
Definitely recommend reading while in between jobs or if you need that final push to quit a bad job
City of Night by John Rechy
4.75
Wow This book is amazing! The characters really stay with me even after I've finished the book. Th e authors note at the end saying how when he thinks about the people in his life that inspired the characters and how he doesn't know where they are now but it makes him sad but whenever he thinks about someone reading the book that the characters come to life and begin their cycles anew. That really hit home and made me really love all the characters and all their little details even more....
Plus the plot of wanting love and mourning innocence and youth and the journey of finding oneself and realizing parts of yourself is so so so so good.
The final chapters tie it all together so beautifully and it was so so engaging and wonderful and great.
This book is going on my list of must read LGBT lit for people. Please PLease read it and think about it for a long long time.
Plus the plot of wanting love and mourning innocence and youth and the journey of finding oneself and realizing parts of yourself is so so so so good.
The final chapters tie it all together so beautifully and it was so so engaging and wonderful and great.
This book is going on my list of must read LGBT lit for people. Please PLease read it and think about it for a long long time.