jentang's reviews
80 reviews

Luster by Raven Leilani

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

as my taste in novels has evolved, i've found myself increasingly attracted to books like this one, where there's little plot development occurring since the entire plot is generally comprised of the everyday life of a character too realistic (and unfortunately a bit too relatable) to be found mundane. it isn't unusual for the relationships of the main characters to be a deciding factor in the quality of books like these. luckily, i felt that each relationship of edie's (within her new "family", at least) possessed depth and was written tastefully. her relationship with eric was what hooked me; i believe that anyone who enjoyed The New Yorker's short story Cat Person would share my sentiments. in discussing her feelings pertaining to him and their connection, edie mentioned things that no young woman in literature that i know of has mentioned to date. (this is definitely an extreme exaggeration, but i just found her candidness greatly refreshing) her relationship with rebecca did not fall back upon the usual archetypes utilized with "competing" women, and i was pleased with the power dynamic that settled between the two, as it once again made edie a touchable, understandable being, even as one committing actions that would violate the morals of most. i even thought edie's relationship with akila was sweet, despite usually feeling distaste for interactions with teenagers written by otherwise mature authors. this connection introduced a racial awareness element to the book, which i personally don't feel is appropriate for me to comment excessively on, although i will say that it may heavily enhance the story for some and otherwise seemed to bring about a more complete sense to the book; without it, i may have felt like the book was missing something. i was definitely more enchanted with the first half of the book since it was where i saw myself the most (her mentioning mazzy star, MF DOOM & portishead definitely added to this), but the jarring relatability was erased for me as things progressed. my selfish reasons aside, i did still feel less satisfied with the second half of the book as it made it easier to notice information added earlier in the story that turned out to be completely unnecessary and distracting, and as the focus of the novel seemed to switch to more of a major commentary on society above an exploration of a flawed individual.

Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction by David Sheff

4.25

i will have to read Tweak (written by Nic himself) at some point, but all-around, i found this to be a very valuable, solid memoir. while David's retelling of grappling with Nic's addiction fell flat in some aspects (his attempts at imagery simply did not strike a chord with me), i appreciated how multidimensional it was. he did a stellar job of reminding readers of the other lives interwoven with and deeply affected by Nic's, including Jasper's and Daisy's. in addition, he was able to explain addiction and its consequences in a manner simplistic enough for the average person distanced from the drug scene to understand without downplaying anything. as a reader, i was encouraged to consider the paradoxical nature of addiction and the moral questions it poses - is addiction more of a biological disease, or a conscious choice? which should it be treated as? how can you help an addict without enabling them? should you even help at all? i want to affirm that this book isn't a light read. desperation and exhaustion emanated so strongly from the pages of this book. even as a removed reader, pausing on a section on nic's recovery and looking up to see i was only through 50% of the book viscerally frustrated me. the finality of death hit me at some point while reading and completely darkened the mood. i don't think that the entirety of this book should be seen as vital reading. Nic's family had access to a lot more resources (ex. connections and money) than your average household, which caused a sort of disconnect for me upon my realization of this. nonetheless, much of this book was informative and moving; add in a good handful of excellent film, musical, and literary references (Dostoevsky, Kaufman, Weezer, Kant), and it makes for a read that won't waste your time, even if you have seen the movie already. (albeit, i must admit that i was unable to stop picturing Timothée whenever Nic was described)

Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory: Stories by Raphael Bob-Waksberg

4.25

i don't really have much critical commentary to provide on this book, seeing as i primarily bought it as a gift; however, i still wanted to review it to put my mind at ease. i found this to be a cute collection of stories. raphael's fantastical BoJack Horseman-creating mind didn't disappoint when it came to making each one creative and a fun read at the very least. nothing really blew me away, but i strongly appreciated how love was depicted in a myriad of ways (romantic, self, familial, platonic, you name it). none of the stories were too depressing or pessimistic - props to raphael for having range. i also must give him credit for extending an ability to craft actually relatable female characters to his literature. i didn't feel that any of the women fell flat or settled into a detrimental extreme of being either too sexual, snarky, emotional, or just generally millennial. (it's almost like women are multidimensional, interesting, real human beings that deserve to be written as such!!!) this book didn't profoundly impact me like BoJack did, but that's a deeply unfair standard to hold it to, so i'll just conclude by saying i did enjoy :)

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

4.25

this book, despite being a quick read, contains many elements that could appeal to a wide range of readers, from thinly veiled political commentary to posed philosophical questions, a feat which always earns my admiration. while the book lacked extreme diversity in thought and characters, the same cannot be said for its writing style; the narration caused me to think back to catcher in the rye, and the structure flowers for algernon. the content of the book provided a wild ride through which i was once again shocked by how quickly i empathize with any character who is humanized in any way. i found the novel's prominent "nadstat" slang to be a nice touch - even critical - although it certainly proved irritating in the beginning (however, even without a glossary, i did not think it to pose too much of an issue; most of the frequently used words are easy to interpret, especially with context clues). i was a big fan of the resolution in the book as it made it so that (mostly) no graphic scene was without its purpose (and of course i personally just appreciate when loose ends are tied up as a story concludes). the basis of the story is one which can be found in a multitude of dystopian novels, but the ending set this one apart for me; it felt age-appropriate and more realistic than i would've expected. if you can push past the slang and potentially triggering content covered in this story, the controversy with which you are left is exactly why i think this book should be read; it is not just a one-dimensional commentary on society/crime/reformation/character, etc. as many other similar novels are. 

In Praise of Shadows by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki

3.5

this was a quick, reflective book - one which was written as an "essay on aesthetics"  according to the afterword. it read to me like an SAT reading passage, although oddly enough (especially considering that the subject matter generally always returned and became reduced to either structure, light, or color), my attention did not wander too far. this book was undeniably educational; in the span of its fifty-some pages a slew of topics were expanded upon fluidly, including everything from the Japanese toilet to persimmon-leaf sushi. the descriptive writing was pleasant and elegant. i disliked the book the most when it strayed from the boundaries of the typical essay format to include biased opinions from the author himself; Tanizaki held a grumbling attitude with most of the things he touched upon (e.g. the use of tiling in place of wood & Western lighting) and also injected a rather awful take of his on skin color which was both uncomfortable and unnecessary. while the subject matter of this book was unique and written in an easily digestible way, for those same reasons, i doubt i would ever reread this.

After Dark by Haruki Murakami

4.0

reading an excerpt of this book years ago kickstarted my general desire to read murakami's works. i will admit i chose to be a little less critical than usual when actually commencing reading due to this fact, but i do think that this book is genuinely deserving of praise. a little bit of every element unique to murakami's style can be found in this story, from the odd interjections of explicitness to the flowery prose to the local-heavy focus to the expected magical realism.  murakami exceeded my expectations when he gave dimension beyond clichés to the men and women of the book - incredibly, there was dialogue that actually demonstrated connection between both sides to varying degrees. of course, that isn't to say that the men were not still eccentric (for christ's sake, takanashi paired milk with both apples and tuna sandwiches) or the women broken non-simplistically. moving past that, i enjoyed how the storylines of all the characters were 1) connected through at least one link, 2) capable of cultivating completely different emotions within me, and 3) all authentic enough. although i did feel the sudden leaps from a basically sociopathic man to teenagers conversing about anything and everything to interdimensional boundary crossing were not done through seamless transitions, i liked how they created a mildly unsettling atmosphere while reading what was basically 3+ different genres of stories all combined into one. i recommend the read, especially considering the book's brevity.

Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami

3.25

while murakami is undeniably a good writer, this collection of short stories left me feeling irritated above all else. this book is filled with the typical kinds of murakami characters: lonely, bland, repetitive male protagonists and the tragic, unusual-looking women whose breasts are never safe from being mentioned and who never stick around long enough to bless readers with a feminine presence. sure, there was humor, nice imagery, and some philosophical lines every once in a while, but there was nothing really mind-blowing considering the only people really given the time of day in this book are, once again, lonely men with stagnant lives - there isn't exactly anything moving about such content. i do have to say that i am still a big fan of murakami's magical realism, however, as i found myself enjoying both "kino" and "samsa in love", which were the stories in the collection that were less traditionally fiction. although my displeasure with the prominent male gaze in this book may come off across as me despising it, that isn't the case; rather, i think it's an average book not without its flaws, but still one easy to get through and not horribly unengaging. 

Just Kids by Patti Smith

5.0

this was an incredible memoir. patti smith writes of a lifestyle which i couldn't imagine living in a million years - that of a free-spirited and youthful but broke artist in NYC in the 70s - but does it so spectacularly that her intense passion for all she did and everyone she loved practically oozes through the pages. i had an amazing time learning the intricacies of her world, although i must admit i skimmed a lot of the references to great artists and artwork, given my lack of art-related talent and knowledge. of course, i must speak on her and robert's relationship, as that was basically the central focus of the memoir. she wrote such a raw, touching recount of their almost unimaginable connection, and this is what made the book the most memorable to me. if there were even the slightest chance this book weren't a memoir, i would've immediately pegged it as some twisted fiction story too over-the-top to be actually believable, but it being a real account of lives so far removed from my own is what makes it so incredible.

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

4.0

this book was a really captivating read for me. it was nice to follow around a group of women for once; in addition, this story was an excellent commentary on the many societal issues which women today face, although of course through a largely korean lens, at least beauty standard-wise. there are 4 main characters, but readers get to know the entire group of 5 women all pretty well, i would say. it's a rare feat for characters to not annoy me, but i did find all of the characters to be likeable, and the friendship dynamics were realistic and even endearing. although the women are all connected, i also enjoyed the great variation in each of their lives, as it kept them from blending together. i found that i disliked ara's narrative the most. i missed the fact that she was randomly obsessed with a celebrity going into the book, and it definitely caught me off-guard. i was expecting it to become some sort of crazy obsession in the storyline with the way her internal monologue pertaining to him sounded. in addition, i felt that the reveal of how she lost her voice was very anticlimactic. the way in which she lost it and the lack of zeroing in on the immediate effects of the incident disappointed me. on the other hand, i was pleasantly surprised by the plot, which skillfully incorporated slice-of-life elements while simultaneously cultivating an air of suspense and tension which kept me heavily engaged in the book, eager to discover the newest developments for each character with every additional page turned. the only thing i really took issue with was the ending - although cute, i felt it would have been more appropriate for a book that was 10x more slice-of-life-ish. the book left off with so much unfinished business for all of the characters without employing nearly enough character development that it would have balanced out and made up for the rest of the plot which readers did not receive.

The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson

5.0

this book follows around an alcoholic journalist doing essentially nothing with his life, all while making a plethora of observations that are vaguely holden-esque. it's no surprise that there isn't much of a plot, although that isn't to say that nothing ever happens - the sequence of events in this story is hardly unremarkable, and i'll admit i expected far less from this story when i was beginning to read. the side characters in this book, while many, were all distinctive and contributed to the story. there was action, imagery, and pondering. something to note: the novel is largely dominated by drunk male presences. this made reading range from intriguing to irritating to downright infuriating for me, given that if there's one thing i detest in writing it's a prominent male gaze. if you are the type of reader who needs at least one realistically written perspective of a woman to get through a book, this one may not be for you. however, for all that this gritty story lacked, i felt that i gained connection with it and the mildly unhappy residents of San Juan.