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i_love_big_books's reviews
63 reviews
The Divorce by César Aira
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Chef's Kiss by Jarrett Melendez
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I loved the art work and the characters. This was all about food, friendship and finding your path in life.
All the cooking made me hungry especially as it was all vegetarian.
I found this book while randomly browsing and it was a pleasant surprise how much I enjoyed it.
All the cooking made me hungry especially as it was all vegetarian.
I found this book while randomly browsing and it was a pleasant surprise how much I enjoyed it.
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was as dark and disturbing a read as the premise suggests. Really uncomfortable in places, it touches upon some very important issues that have been in particular focus in the post #metoo era.
It's about a relationship that should never have happened but does because of the cunning and manipulation of an older man who uses his influence over a much younger girl in such an insidious manner that she is trapped.
Years later, when called upon by another victim of his abuse to help expose him, she cannot give up on the idea that what they had was 'a love story' because if that isn't true, what in her life is?
Vanessa Wye is 15, low on confidence and self esteem and very lonely, having just fallen out with her best friend and away from her parents in an elite boarding school. Jacob Strane, her English teacher, draws her into his orbit by paying her extra attention and making her feel special. Starting with a smile here and a meaningful 'pat' there, he gets her to spend time with him discussing poetry and prose of the controversial kind,most often Nabakov's Lolita, impressing upon her the thrill of the 'forbidden romance'.
The way he coerces her into doing what he wants while convincing her that she is the one responsible for whatever is 'between them' is chilling. He is always telling her she is special while grooming her into a sexual relationship that has her then lying to everyone and keeping hidden. While isolating her from her peers and anyone who would expose him, the worst thing he does is make her think she isn't like other girls and wants his attention and so everything he does is permissible. He even has her feeling bad for and defending him.
Employing a 'pulling her close, keeping her at arms length' policy, he never lets her get over him. So much so that even 17 years later, stuck in a dead end job, she has not moved on from him. When Strane is accused of abuse by another former student of his and Vanessa is asked to corroborate that she too was a victim, she is completely thrown. She has nothing and no one else in her life and memories of those years. Not friends, not even her parents, all of whom she has lied to. Jacob Strane has been the only constant so if he was 'wrong' then nothing makes sense. She can't accept that he was using her and blaming her and what he did was just ugly without feeling even more horrible about herself.
This struggle to come to terms with a most unpalatable truth is at the core of the book that explores the psychological damage wrought by a predator like Strane who abuses his position as a teacher and continuously preys on Vanessa's mind to keep himself safe from exposure. He has her advocating for him to others and, more dangerously, to herself. She is shaped by his version of the truth to be a person who does not know anything else. Even when he's far away, her life choices are governed by his thoughts and influence. The dual timeline alternately portrays her struggle at 15 and in the present and it's clear that she's been defined by him.
It's a hard hitting book that does not hold back from presenting the sordid nature of men like Strane. Many times I wanted to reach in and pull Vanessa away! The book also highlights the unfortunate skewed judgement by society, of girls/women in Vanessa's position, which makes it difficult to speak out.
The combination of guilt and self hatred is stifling and brutal.
For a debut, this is a bold subject to explore and it's really well done.
It's about a relationship that should never have happened but does because of the cunning and manipulation of an older man who uses his influence over a much younger girl in such an insidious manner that she is trapped.
Years later, when called upon by another victim of his abuse to help expose him, she cannot give up on the idea that what they had was 'a love story' because if that isn't true, what in her life is?
Vanessa Wye is 15, low on confidence and self esteem and very lonely, having just fallen out with her best friend and away from her parents in an elite boarding school. Jacob Strane, her English teacher, draws her into his orbit by paying her extra attention and making her feel special. Starting with a smile here and a meaningful 'pat' there, he gets her to spend time with him discussing poetry and prose of the controversial kind,most often Nabakov's Lolita, impressing upon her the thrill of the 'forbidden romance'.
The way he coerces her into doing what he wants while convincing her that she is the one responsible for whatever is 'between them' is chilling. He is always telling her she is special while grooming her into a sexual relationship that has her then lying to everyone and keeping hidden. While isolating her from her peers and anyone who would expose him, the worst thing he does is make her think she isn't like other girls and wants his attention and so everything he does is permissible. He even has her feeling bad for and defending him.
Employing a 'pulling her close, keeping her at arms length' policy, he never lets her get over him. So much so that even 17 years later, stuck in a dead end job, she has not moved on from him. When Strane is accused of abuse by another former student of his and Vanessa is asked to corroborate that she too was a victim, she is completely thrown. She has nothing and no one else in her life and memories of those years. Not friends, not even her parents, all of whom she has lied to. Jacob Strane has been the only constant so if he was 'wrong' then nothing makes sense. She can't accept that he was using her and blaming her and what he did was just ugly without feeling even more horrible about herself.
This struggle to come to terms with a most unpalatable truth is at the core of the book that explores the psychological damage wrought by a predator like Strane who abuses his position as a teacher and continuously preys on Vanessa's mind to keep himself safe from exposure. He has her advocating for him to others and, more dangerously, to herself. She is shaped by his version of the truth to be a person who does not know anything else. Even when he's far away, her life choices are governed by his thoughts and influence. The dual timeline alternately portrays her struggle at 15 and in the present and it's clear that she's been defined by him.
It's a hard hitting book that does not hold back from presenting the sordid nature of men like Strane. Many times I wanted to reach in and pull Vanessa away! The book also highlights the unfortunate skewed judgement by society, of girls/women in Vanessa's position, which makes it difficult to speak out.
The combination of guilt and self hatred is stifling and brutal.
For a debut, this is a bold subject to explore and it's really well done.
The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
The magic of The star touched queen flowed into this book as well and I really enjoyed it.
I love the colour and vibrancy in the world created by the author and her characters are so multi dimensional and interesting.
Science, magic, fantasy and history combine in this story that is set in 1889 in Paris, in what was called La Belle Epoque or The Beautiful Era.
The Exposition Universelle is about to open to the world to display the best minds of Paris. Severin, a wealthy hotelier is on a mission to gain his true inheritance which he has been denied by the powerful Order of Babel which controls everything that matters. Given the task of acquiring an artifact for the Order, which will then give him what he wants most, he gets to work with his team.. Laila, an exotic dancer with a quest of her own, banished historian Enrique, brilliant engineer Zofia who is socially awkward and Tristan, his brother in all but blood whom he has sworn to protect.
There is a lot of adventure and excitement as clues are unravelled and plans are hatched and the team pool in their individual skills to create wonders. The dynamics of the group was amazing with each having a distinct personality. The way they come together, banter and tease and protect and form a family was the core of this book.
This is the first of a trilogy that's completed and I'm glad because I can move onto the next book immediately!
I love the colour and vibrancy in the world created by the author and her characters are so multi dimensional and interesting.
Science, magic, fantasy and history combine in this story that is set in 1889 in Paris, in what was called La Belle Epoque or The Beautiful Era.
The Exposition Universelle is about to open to the world to display the best minds of Paris. Severin, a wealthy hotelier is on a mission to gain his true inheritance which he has been denied by the powerful Order of Babel which controls everything that matters. Given the task of acquiring an artifact for the Order, which will then give him what he wants most, he gets to work with his team.. Laila, an exotic dancer with a quest of her own, banished historian Enrique, brilliant engineer Zofia who is socially awkward and Tristan, his brother in all but blood whom he has sworn to protect.
There is a lot of adventure and excitement as clues are unravelled and plans are hatched and the team pool in their individual skills to create wonders. The dynamics of the group was amazing with each having a distinct personality. The way they come together, banter and tease and protect and form a family was the core of this book.
This is the first of a trilogy that's completed and I'm glad because I can move onto the next book immediately!
The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? No
4.0
The more I read of this book, the more I liked the story it told.
A woman transformed by a curse into a mermaid, charms David, a fisherman in a Caribbean village in the 1970s. When she is captured by an American father son duo who want to make money off her, David rescues her.
Trying to keep her hidden, he is the sole witness initially to her struggles as she turns back into her human form, even as he falls in love with her. Their bliss is threatened by others on the island though and from there it's a fight to survive.
The writing that goes back and forth between 1976 and David's journal entries 40 years later, evokes the wonder of this marvel of nature as well as the pain caused by human greed. It tells the story of the others in the village, on both sides of the divide, their lives and how ultimately the mermaid affects them all.
A short but unusual story.
A woman transformed by a curse into a mermaid, charms David, a fisherman in a Caribbean village in the 1970s. When she is captured by an American father son duo who want to make money off her, David rescues her.
Trying to keep her hidden, he is the sole witness initially to her struggles as she turns back into her human form, even as he falls in love with her. Their bliss is threatened by others on the island though and from there it's a fight to survive.
The writing that goes back and forth between 1976 and David's journal entries 40 years later, evokes the wonder of this marvel of nature as well as the pain caused by human greed. It tells the story of the others in the village, on both sides of the divide, their lives and how ultimately the mermaid affects them all.
A short but unusual story.
Babel by R.F. Kuang
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Loved the aspects of language and etymology of different words that is such a major part of the story. The silver working magic literally uses the power of words and their meaning. I found this very impressive.
The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest
funny
lighthearted
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? No
4.0
A very cute read. Loved the two main characters and the ensemble cast as well.