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joanaprneves's reviews
47 reviews
Sugar by Bernice L. McFadden
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
fast-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? Yes
3.75
The book is well written and doesn’t give in to a virtuoso handling of misery and grief. It allows for the reader to learn about the most terrible events with a certain directedness that is not sensationalist.
That is why the ending disappointed me, but also the fact that the reason why the Christian woman (Pearl) and later her husband Joe too, befriend the prostitute (Sugar) is more related to kin than to generosity of spirit. Rather than opening up the characters to a real Christian sense of humanity (or simply humanism), the book becomes a cliché of a lost daughter ending up in the arms (for a while at least) of her long lost father and substitute mother. Joe is described as an independent man, who doesn’t yield to gossip or toxic masculinity so the hardly credible plot twist of Sugar being his daughter undermines the sparkle of humanity to book seemed to build within a small community.
There was such a good opportunity, if one had to keep the topic of parenthood, to explore parental projections against pure acceptance and care: because they don’t know that Joe is the father, the couple who take Sugar into their homes as almost an adoptive daughter let her be who she is, although trying to steer her away from prostitution.
There are very strong moments, but they often feel like driftwood floating at the surface of things: Pearl discovering her body, her beauty, could be such an intimate and profound moment but it just “brings her back” as if things were that simple.
Nevertheless, the impeccable style of the book and the originality of the characters, despite what I mentioned make for a good read.
That is why the ending disappointed me, but also the
There was such a good opportunity, if one had to keep the topic of parenthood, to explore parental projections against pure acceptance and care: because they don’t know that Joe is the father, the couple who take Sugar into their homes as almost an adoptive daughter let her be who she is, although trying to steer her away from prostitution.
There are very strong moments, but they often feel like driftwood floating at the surface of things: Pearl discovering her body, her beauty, could be such an intimate and profound moment but it just “brings her back” as if things were that simple.
Nevertheless, the impeccable style of the book and the originality of the characters, despite what I mentioned make for a good read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Physical abuse, Rape, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content
Perimenopause Power: Navigating Your Hormones on the Journey to Menopause by Maisie Hill
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.5
Very helpful book that allows you to navigate your symptoms. The power comes from knowledge - tracking your period, knowing what is happening before and during « the change » - but also from Perimenopause itself. The author explains that the anger we feel at times during Perimenopause is not a delirium. It is simply what we really feel and have no hormonal cover up to ignore it. We. Are. Not. Crazy.
Moreover, this book is helpful because the female body seems to be a mystery for most GP’s so it is highly advisable to have a copy of this book, because it covers all aspects of the 4th decade of a menstruating person’s life. I didn’t give it a 5star because I do feel that there is too much talk about supplements and hormone therapy. But I may be biased here. Hill does talk a lot about herbal medicines too, as well as nutrition and exercise.
Moreover, this book is helpful because the female body seems to be a mystery for most GP’s so it is highly advisable to have a copy of this book, because it covers all aspects of the 4th decade of a menstruating person’s life. I didn’t give it a 5star because I do feel that there is too much talk about supplements and hormone therapy. But I may be biased here. Hill does talk a lot about herbal medicines too, as well as nutrition and exercise.
The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction by Ursula K. Le Guin
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
What better stimulation of the brain than having Le Guin’s text about fiction with an introduction by the fantastic Donna J. Haraway? This was such a treat. And quite emotional as I have always sensed that the hero (or the anti-hero) are patriarchal but never found anyone else likeminded about the issue. The way that Le Guin phrases this, with her usual sense of humour and unflinching logic is remarkable. How such a powerful book can be so small is certainly for us to be able to read it over and over and over again, until all the sentences are highlighted.
Endless Night by Agatha Christie
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This is one of those Agatha Christie books that takes an unusual approach to plot and, in a way, character. It is, however, one of those that works like a charm and that is better suited for the book form especially because the narrator is the criminal. The only reason why I didn’t give it a full rating was because one of the characters, Greta, is described in quite a cliched way, the sexualised evil tall blonde and not much more. I understand how it makes sense because despite her being the real objet of the murderer’s affection, it turns out that he was far more attached to his rich wife after all, despite having killed her. By the way, the writing and exploring of his emotions at the end is absolutely brilliant.
To Write as If Already Dead by Kate Zambreno
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I was completely blown away by Drift, by the same author and therefore jumped on the occasion to read her latest publication.
It is still very much an essay in the first person with a mix of auto-fiction but this one separates more clearly the essay/reading of Hervé Guibert’s last books (from whom the amazing title is borrowed) and the biographic amplifications. Let’s say that Drift is more magical and TWAIAD is more poignant. Both books are an incredible endeavor of organizing the chaos and of writing as if from bellow the genres, or behind them.
One of the things I liked best was the precariousness of an academic life exposed and how the author addresses money issues combined with parenting and health insurance.
It’s like a desperate character of Jane Austen whose mum died and therefore there is no one to push her to do “the right thing”. And therefore, the author sacrifices the potential of a steadier and financially stable life in order to be able to write.
This is a love letter to writing, because (essay) writing is always done beyond death, in a dimension of pain, discomfort and occasional joy.
It is still very much an essay in the first person with a mix of auto-fiction but this one separates more clearly the essay/reading of Hervé Guibert’s last books (from whom the amazing title is borrowed) and the biographic amplifications. Let’s say that Drift is more magical and TWAIAD is more poignant. Both books are an incredible endeavor of organizing the chaos and of writing as if from bellow the genres, or behind them.
One of the things I liked best was the precariousness of an academic life exposed and how the author addresses money issues combined with parenting and health insurance.
It’s like a desperate character of Jane Austen whose mum died and therefore there is no one to push her to do “the right thing”. And therefore, the author sacrifices the potential of a steadier and financially stable life in order to be able to write.
This is a love letter to writing, because (essay) writing is always done beyond death, in a dimension of pain, discomfort and occasional joy.
Drifts by Kate Zambreno
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Le parfum des fleurs la nuit by Leïla Slimani
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.25
This is a series where an artist is invited to spend the night at a prestigious contemporary art museum. Leïla Slimani took this opportunity as a way to indulge her fantasy of being locked up somewhere where she can isolate herself, a fantasy she presents as being typical of the writer.
Before leaving she introduces her fears, that of the « outer world », of the obligatory platitudes of small talk, of contemporary art while in some ways falling prey to them. She spends a lot of the first part of the book talking about what she doesn’t want, like, identify with or enjoy such as the tourist paradox of not wanting to do touristic things only to arrive at Venice and behave like a - more cultured - tourist would. It’s a bit daunting to see someone with such a nuanced creativity going straight for the pitfalls of anyone who doesn’t regularly enjoy contemporary art museums: she does not avoid to saying that the object of contemporary art is not as sublimated as the artist intends it to be but she is well-read enough to counter-quote Marcel Duchamp, thus producing the abomination of the good student writing what the teacher wants to read.
After this first bit, the text ends up becoming a sort of art catalogue text for a group exhibition, redeeming the art through a personal critical analysis that gives the reader the best moments when it becomes personal. It always does. The book is an excuse to write about the solipsistic condition of the writer, and we end up understanding better why the writer is fascinated with emprisonnent at the end, in a poignant (self)-revelation. However, the book never reality took off, with the unnerving fact that the writer seems as conscious of this than the reader.
Before leaving she introduces her fears, that of the « outer world », of the obligatory platitudes of small talk, of contemporary art while in some ways falling prey to them. She spends a lot of the first part of the book talking about what she doesn’t want, like, identify with or enjoy such as the tourist paradox of not wanting to do touristic things only to arrive at Venice and behave like a - more cultured - tourist would. It’s a bit daunting to see someone with such a nuanced creativity going straight for the pitfalls of anyone who doesn’t regularly enjoy contemporary art museums: she does not avoid to saying that the object of contemporary art is not as sublimated as the artist intends it to be but she is well-read enough to counter-quote Marcel Duchamp, thus producing the abomination of the good student writing what the teacher wants to read.
After this first bit, the text ends up becoming a sort of art catalogue text for a group exhibition, redeeming the art through a personal critical analysis that gives the reader the best moments when it becomes personal. It always does. The book is an excuse to write about the solipsistic condition of the writer, and we end up understanding better why the writer is fascinated with emprisonnent at the end, in a poignant (self)-revelation. However, the book never reality took off, with the unnerving fact that the writer seems as conscious of this than the reader.
The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I learnt about Shirley Jackson through the film Shirley and became rather curious about her, especially because one of the short stories of the book, the one that gives it its title, has warranted a top record of readers letters to The New Yorker about a piece of fiction. The story must have felt shocking indeed, mostly because it was written by a woman in 1948, I suppose.
Jackson’s writing is not was was expected of a “lady writer” - it is dark, there is cruelty, the characters are often trapped in a web of social rules they don’t quite understand, or trap others in those rules. Moreover, the stories have nothing of what is conventionally considered a good end for a short-story. They simply unfold, or unravel, and there doesn’t seem to be any redemption or form
of escaping. They read a bit like Modern parables but they are also set in a reality that rings true.
The stories are impeccably written, with a rhythm, and a pace that are quite unique and never complicated or convoluted. They are deceivingly simple. They also never tell the reader what to think, leaving them a bit breathless in the face if evil, indifference, racism, greediness, peer pressure, dysfunctional group behaviour.
I imagine that all this - this handling of sheer cruelty at times - contributed for Jackson to remain unlauded and slightly forgotten when she shouldn’t have been.
I only gave it 4 starts because there are two or three longer stories that aren’t as accomplished as the other ones in my opinion, and where Jackson seems to be practicing for something else, perhaps her novels.
Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read her other books.
Jackson’s writing is not was was expected of a “lady writer” - it is dark, there is cruelty, the characters are often trapped in a web of social rules they don’t quite understand, or trap others in those rules. Moreover, the stories have nothing of what is conventionally considered a good end for a short-story. They simply unfold, or unravel, and there doesn’t seem to be any redemption or form
of escaping. They read a bit like Modern parables but they are also set in a reality that rings true.
The stories are impeccably written, with a rhythm, and a pace that are quite unique and never complicated or convoluted. They are deceivingly simple. They also never tell the reader what to think, leaving them a bit breathless in the face if evil, indifference, racism, greediness, peer pressure, dysfunctional group behaviour.
I imagine that all this - this handling of sheer cruelty at times - contributed for Jackson to remain unlauded and slightly forgotten when she shouldn’t have been.
I only gave it 4 starts because there are two or three longer stories that aren’t as accomplished as the other ones in my opinion, and where Jackson seems to be practicing for something else, perhaps her novels.
Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read her other books.
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Personally, this book changed my life, and helped shift perspectives for me. It is not enough to feel discontent with our lives. As people who do and make thinks (even thinking is making new realities), humans need to know where to go next, we need a sense of direction. It is also not enough to say "include indigenous thinking in our culture, in our society". We have to know indigenous culture, and indigenous history. As an indigenous botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer associates her knowledge of plants and trees, of the land and the soil, of the climate and the biosphere, of ecosystems with the ancestral knowledge of her people and the Indigenous Nations' wisdom. This is such a ground-breaking book that the care with which it was written is almost like a love letter to what the author calls Mother Nature. At first I didn't like that appellation: why Mother? Don't we know that not all women want to be mothers? Why gendering? But then I understood that words and meanings are never literal but material and deep in indigenous culture: you can mother without birthing, for instance. It is about a special kind of care and nurturing. I am fine with that, even men can be mothers. This is my feminism and the feminism of the earth. I want all in the feminine realm, like the Earth wants all human beings interacting.
About the latter: this is where this book is fascinating and breaks the mould of nature/culture: it explains how every animal and being is related to the growth and the organisation of life around them. Basket weaving reinforces the growth of Sweetgrass, ecosystems are fragile and strong. They will be powerful when we understand how everything works together and responds to one another. Human presence, like indigenous human presence, can be good in its intrusion in nature if there is an understanding of resources. It is explained how indigenous Nations know how to never take everything but half from nature, how they never take the first plant they see because it might be the last (they wait until the third if memory serves), etc.
There are so many teaching in this book that it would be impossible to list them all. But if there is one word that Wall Kimmerer choses to encompass her teachings, it's the work "reciprocity". It all comes from that: don't ask "what can this give me" but "what is this telling me?" and "what can I give back from what I took". This works for ecosystems but also for human relationships. It is, as it were, for me, the new ethics.
About the latter: this is where this book is fascinating and breaks the mould of nature/culture: it explains how every animal and being is related to the growth and the organisation of life around them. Basket weaving reinforces the growth of Sweetgrass, ecosystems are fragile and strong. They will be powerful when we understand how everything works together and responds to one another. Human presence, like indigenous human presence, can be good in its intrusion in nature if there is an understanding of resources. It is explained how indigenous Nations know how to never take everything but half from nature, how they never take the first plant they see because it might be the last (they wait until the third if memory serves), etc.
There are so many teaching in this book that it would be impossible to list them all. But if there is one word that Wall Kimmerer choses to encompass her teachings, it's the work "reciprocity". It all comes from that: don't ask "what can this give me" but "what is this telling me?" and "what can I give back from what I took". This works for ecosystems but also for human relationships. It is, as it were, for me, the new ethics.
Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
My rating of 2.35 is mainly for the writing talent of the author.
Rooney has a knack for finding an original and poignant way of describing banal things, such as a uterine ultra-sound without a pregnancy as taking a photograph of a house in ruins, among other compelling descriptions.
However, the plot revolves mainly around the main character, who speaks in the first person, Frances, and whose view of life is either completely cold or over-emotional to the point of self-harm, both literally and metaphorically. The story is so focused on Frances' inner life that the other characters hardly come to life, with the exception of one love interest (but one wonders if it's not just because this character is submissive and waiting for a partner to tell them what to feel and what to do).
This story is a case of a completely lifeless and uncaring character being the centre of attention - to the point of having their first short story, written in a feverish haze, published in a flash! The self-centeredness of the main character extends to the others (with one exception), allowing for the perspectives to shift suddenly because the characters are so enthralled with themselves (either as perfect speakers, too handsome or too talented) that they don't seem to notice anything other than their own feelings - even if they describe themselves as "not special" to value the main character. Ugh.
Moreover, there is positively no other relation with anything else (nature, history (apart from silly references to events as "we talked about refugees"), urban life, academic life etc. Nothing other than what a character wears (especially in rapturous scenes "I was wearing a faux-fur hat"), looks like (handsome or expressing focus such as wearing an "oversized sweater"), either eats or forgets to eat, and a vague relation with family that is never completely explored.
I hate to say this, but the people in this books feel self-indulgent and spoiled, a small community of people where a notion of being "poor" is living in a free apartment belonging to the family and not receiving an "allowance" for a month.
On a positive note, the sexual relationship between the characters is almost described with graceful lust, and is positively beautiful and expressive in its projected analysis of their psychological state. I wish the book had other passages where the mental states and issues arising in the character's lives were described through what they did, where they went and other forms of exterior behaviour, and relationships with nature, literature, art, theatre, whatever else than clothes and banalities such as the discovery that you can't judge people on niceness (!).
Rooney has a knack for finding an original and poignant way of describing banal things, such as a uterine ultra-sound without a pregnancy as taking a photograph of a house in ruins, among other compelling descriptions.
However, the plot revolves mainly around the main character, who speaks in the first person, Frances, and whose view of life is either completely cold or over-emotional to the point of self-harm, both literally and metaphorically. The story is so focused on Frances' inner life that the other characters hardly come to life, with the exception of one love interest (but one wonders if it's not just because this character is submissive and waiting for a partner to tell them what to feel and what to do).
This story is a case of a completely lifeless and uncaring character being the centre of attention - to the point of having their first short story, written in a feverish haze, published in a flash! The self-centeredness of the main character extends to the others (with one exception), allowing for the perspectives to shift suddenly because the characters are so enthralled with themselves (either as perfect speakers, too handsome or too talented) that they don't seem to notice anything other than their own feelings - even if they describe themselves as "not special" to value the main character. Ugh.
Moreover, there is positively no other relation with anything else (nature, history (apart from silly references to events as "we talked about refugees"), urban life, academic life etc. Nothing other than what a character wears (especially in rapturous scenes "I was wearing a faux-fur hat"), looks like (handsome or expressing focus such as wearing an "oversized sweater"), either eats or forgets to eat, and a vague relation with family that is never completely explored.
I hate to say this, but the people in this books feel self-indulgent and spoiled, a small community of people where a notion of being "poor" is living in a free apartment belonging to the family and not receiving an "allowance" for a month.
On a positive note, the sexual relationship between the characters is almost described with graceful lust, and is positively beautiful and expressive in its projected analysis of their psychological state. I wish the book had other passages where the mental states and issues arising in the character's lives were described through what they did, where they went and other forms of exterior behaviour, and relationships with nature, literature, art, theatre, whatever else than clothes and banalities such as the discovery that you can't judge people on niceness (!).