lauren_elizabeth's reviews
183 reviews

4.5

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.75

i feel like this book has been (and will probably continue to be) misinterpreted and misunderstood. an intense and intriguing feminist noir about the interrelation of sex and violence, with an incendiary ACAB politic and a flawed protagonist whose contradictions are brought to the fore — primarily, her complicity while yearning for freedom. i absolutely love Jane Campion’s film adaptation and recommend it alongside this text. i have to say that i prefer the film’s ending, but in the cut remains brave and provocative and searing. how do women discover their sexuality in a terrain of misogyny and violence? how are their desires shaped by their fears?

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Boy Parts by Eliza Clark

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I love a good novel about the alienation and cruelty of the bourgeoisie. The narrator has interesting quirks: her habit of drinking two coffees at a time, her being driven purely by appetite and bodily instinct, conscience and morality always secondary, and her intense parasocial relationship with Whoopi Goldberg, for example.

I particularly find Moshfegh’s treatment of technology and film, and the narrator’s attachment to her VCR, interesting.

The narrator’s increasing sense of unreality parallels her growing conceptualisation of her life and experiences through a filmic lens; she imagines montages, flashbacks, smash and jump cuts to narrate herself. Her VCR becomes a hyperreality for her to vicariously live through, while neglecting all moral responsibilities to other people. This prefaces that particularly haunting ending wherein her friend ultimately becomes abstract, an image, aesthetic and/or concept to entertain the protagonist on her TV.

Truly a lesson in why the wellness culture of the privileged is disgusting!

Red Star Over the Third World by Vijay Prashad

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.5

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

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adventurous dark funny tense fast-paced