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jessdekkerreads's reviews
575 reviews
Bright I Burn by Molly Aitken
3.0
REVIEW: Bright I Burn by Molly Aitken
TY @aaknopf for the final copy, this one is out now
A reimagining of Alice Kyteler’s life - written as a way to give Alice her voice back. Alice was a woman accused of witchcraft in Ireland, and as Aitken says in the Notes, if not for this case of witchcraft brought against her, we might not have known she had existed, as like so many women of that time, their perspectives were often lost.
A historical fiction with lyrical prose, this was set up to be a huge success for me, and in some ways it was, but not completely, as I was greedy and wanted more from it.
“To be his wife is to be denied my animal self”
This quote pretty much sums up this novel ^
TY @aaknopf for the final copy, this one is out now
A reimagining of Alice Kyteler’s life - written as a way to give Alice her voice back. Alice was a woman accused of witchcraft in Ireland, and as Aitken says in the Notes, if not for this case of witchcraft brought against her, we might not have known she had existed, as like so many women of that time, their perspectives were often lost.
A historical fiction with lyrical prose, this was set up to be a huge success for me, and in some ways it was, but not completely, as I was greedy and wanted more from it.
“To be his wife is to be denied my animal self”
This quote pretty much sums up this novel ^
The Echoes by Evie Wyld
4.5
I love a good ghost story and I love Evie Wyld, so when I heard about her newest novel, I just knew it was the perfect combination and immediately preordered it from Blackwells. And I wasn’t wrong, it was indeed the perfect combination for me.
“Love is what brings about a ghost - isn’t it? The unfinished business of love.”
We open with Max, now a ghost, roaming the home he had shared with his girlfriend, Hannah, searching for answers as to how he died, but also observing her move through grief after his death. We are shown the Past, not only Hannah’s and Max’s relationship prior to the loss, but Hannah’s family’s secrets she has long since buried. We are given many POVs, and timelines, but I loved the twists and turns Wyld presented to us.
A layered story, unexpectedly full of humor, Max as a ghost narrator, provides so much levity to the story, which I loved. Wyld is an expert at revealing just enough and then putting all of the puzzle pieces together in such a clever way that I found myself wanting to reread the book right after I finished the last page. The story felt emotional, gothic, haunting, subtle and vivid.
What you’ll find: what we leave behind (the echoes), secrets, burying our past; mortality, last moments that you don’t realize will be your last; finding the courage to break generational trauma; complicated love and relationships; addiction and sexual assault; sibling dynamics, particularly sisterhood; abuse of Aboriginals, colonization and murder of Indigenous people.
I have not stopped thinking about this book since I finished it. Will be adding to my favorites shelf.
Thank you for your words @eviewyld , yet again you’ve captured my heart with these characters ❣️
“Love is what brings about a ghost - isn’t it? The unfinished business of love.”
We open with Max, now a ghost, roaming the home he had shared with his girlfriend, Hannah, searching for answers as to how he died, but also observing her move through grief after his death. We are shown the Past, not only Hannah’s and Max’s relationship prior to the loss, but Hannah’s family’s secrets she has long since buried. We are given many POVs, and timelines, but I loved the twists and turns Wyld presented to us.
A layered story, unexpectedly full of humor, Max as a ghost narrator, provides so much levity to the story, which I loved. Wyld is an expert at revealing just enough and then putting all of the puzzle pieces together in such a clever way that I found myself wanting to reread the book right after I finished the last page. The story felt emotional, gothic, haunting, subtle and vivid.
What you’ll find: what we leave behind (the echoes), secrets, burying our past; mortality, last moments that you don’t realize will be your last; finding the courage to break generational trauma; complicated love and relationships; addiction and sexual assault; sibling dynamics, particularly sisterhood; abuse of Aboriginals, colonization and murder of Indigenous people.
I have not stopped thinking about this book since I finished it. Will be adding to my favorites shelf.
Thank you for your words @eviewyld , yet again you’ve captured my heart with these characters ❣️
There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
3.5
I read and enjoyed The Island of Missing Trees in 2021
The breadth of this novel was impressive. If you’re patient with this novel, you’ll learn about three different characters in three different time periods, from Mesopotamia to Turkey, from the 1800s to 2014, and how water (and poetry) connects all three of them. And, like water itself, which is trapped and never able to settle, so too are these characters - immigrants, the displaced, but also like water, they are resilient.
These characters have suffered so much trauma, displacement, exile, genocide, poverty, diaspora, and more. I felt for each one.
This novel presents the questions: how do we make our ancestors proud? What (or who) makes a home? When we are gone, what is left of us? Who is allowed to share our stories? How do we maintain our humanity when it seems all hope is lost?
Recommend to fans of historical fiction; Anthony Doerr’s novels, and Maggie O’Farrell’s writing.
**Out by @knopf on August 20
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
4.5
REVIEW - Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
Thank you @fsg for sending me an #advancedreaderscopy - out 9/24
Zwischenzug also known as “intermezzo” in Italian and “in-between move” in English. - is an unexpected move [in Chess] that poses a severe threat and forces an intermediate response.
As with life, we observe Rooney’s characters expect their lives to move in a specific direction, however, something unexpected presents itself, forcing them to choose another path and we see the effects play out in very different ways in each of their lives; the grief over the life they had always wanted or the person they thought they would become.
With Peter and Ivan, it’s the loss of their father, their estranged brotherhood, their complex romantic relationships; with Margaret, it’s her previous relationship and how that affects her family and societal expectations felt in her mid-30s; with Sylvia it’s a tragic accident which leaves her with lifelong chronic pain and the realization that others now view her differently while she longs for them to remember her as she was before.
The heart of this novel is the strained brotherhood between Peter and Ivan, and the misunderstandings and resentment that occur within, but underneath all of that, a deep love and admiration for one another that remains.
THEMES/QUESTIONS EXPLORED:
-Age gap relationships, desire and pleasure derived from said relationships, the questioning of the morality of said relationships and how we are perceived by others
-Aging - the cruelty of time, purpose and existence; the collecting of experiences - not everyone needs to have meaning - “the trapping of ordinary life” - what constitutes a “meaningful life”
-Loneliness, aloneness, solitude
-societal expectations or norms,do we conform to those norms or push back? especially when they disrupt the happiness within the relationship.
-Grief - Grief of a past life, a past relationship; realizing you are growing into a new person, one your lost loved one would never get to know - How do we experience our own grief parallel to someone else?
-God & faith - what is God to you? Is God beauty, art & music?
ROONEY’S WRITING:
Rooney’s writing, this book, feels both bold and mature. Our main characters, Peter & Ivan have very distinct voices, Peter’s being a bit unexpected as far as Rooney’s characters go, it takes you a while to get into his stream-of-consciousness, clipped sentences, but you find your groove with it; whereas, Ivan’s voice there’s more structure to it; and you find yourself respecting the transformative nature and maturity of Rooney’s writing.
As with a game of chess, Rooney wants you to take your time with the text, and I promise, you’ll be rewarded in the end if you do as I’m still thinking about that ending.
THE STORY:
In Intermezzo we follow two brothers after the death of their father. Peter a 30-something, successful lawyer, caught in the middle of two very different relationships, and Ivan, a 20-something, chess genius who is pursuing a relationship with an older woman.
PS: in case it wasn’t clear, I loved it 🤍