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librarianlex's reviews
232 reviews
As I Descended by Robin Talley
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I have been trying to read more books that are written by queer authors and have queer characters. One of my favorite genres is horror/suspense and it’s been pretty difficult to find many books that are this genre so I got really excited when I stumbled upon this one!
As I Descended is a Macbeth-inspired story of revenge and redemption. A fast paced read, I was able to finish it in about three days. It is a faithful retelling of Macbeth, and of course, ends in tragedy. It’s eerie and spooky in all the right places.
Overall, I enjoyed it but I do have a few questions. The story is set in a private school that was once a plantation. The author likes to remind us every few pages that the owners had slaves and that this was a plantation. It gets to the point where it’s redundant. It’s also weird to me that a white woman keeps talking about slaves one and over again. I’m not sure what point she was trying to make, other than that plantations were places where horrible things happened to enslaved human beings and it’s definitely a good place for a haunted setting.
My other concern is the “diversity olympics” that seems to be going on. Given that it is a retelling of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, it is likely that this lack of development is purposeful. It just feels odd to use such diverse characters for a story like this that it almost feels like performative inclusion. This is a retelling of a white man’s story, written by a white woman…
If you enjoy face paced, spooky stories and Shakespeare retellings, I would recommend it. It wasn’t a bad book by any means. I couldn’t put it down, after all.
6/10
As I Descended by Robin Talley
I have been trying to read more books that are written by queer authors and have queer characters. One of my favorite genres is horror/suspense and it’s been pretty difficult to find many books that are this genre so I got really excited when I stumbled upon this one!
As I Descended is a Macbeth-inspired story of revenge and redemption. A fast paced read, I was able to finish it in about three days. It is a faithful retelling of Macbeth, and of course, ends in tragedy. It’s eerie and spooky in all the right places.
Overall, I enjoyed it but I do have a few questions. The story is set in a private school that was once a plantation. The author likes to remind us every few pages that the owners had slaves and that this was a plantation. It gets to the point where it’s redundant. It’s also weird to me that a white woman keeps talking about slaves one and over again. I’m not sure what point she was trying to make, other than that plantations were places where horrible things happened to enslaved human beings and it’s definitely a good place for a haunted setting.
My other concern is the “diversity olympics” that seems to be going on. Given that it is a retelling of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, it is likely that this lack of development is purposeful. It just feels odd to use such diverse characters for a story like this that it almost feels like performative inclusion. This is a retelling of a white man’s story, written by a white woman…
If you enjoy face paced, spooky stories and Shakespeare retellings, I would recommend it. It wasn’t a bad book by any means. I couldn’t put it down, after all.
6/10
Orange World and Other Stories by Karen Russell
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-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? N/A
4.0
Karen Russell has done it again with another magical realism short story collection.
White Oleander by Janet Fitch
Janet Fitch is one of my favorite authors. Her imagery is hauntingly captivating.