libraryoflanelle's reviews
633 reviews

Disobedience by Daniel Sarah Karasik

challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

2.5

‘Disobedience’ follows Shael as they navigate life in an oppressive and highly surveilled, prison-like system. We follow Shael as they endeavour to escape and, alongside their found family, defy the society they have grown up in.

The themes of transformative justice, identity, queerness, and community (to name a few) are explored within a dystopian world not all too different from our own. Daniel Sarah Karasik is evidently very knowledgeable and in touch with these themes, and this shines through throughout the story, which I really appreciated and long to see more of in fiction.

Unfortunately, the overall story and the prose itself left me disappointed and wanting more. Whilst I enjoyed my time getting to know some of the characters and seeing a glimpse into their worlds, I couldn’t help but long for more detail. With some additional world-building, character-building, and overall fleshing out, this could easily have been a new favourite for me.

If you are interested in these themes and don’t mind a narrative that may leave you longing for more, then this may still be worth checking out if it is already on your radar.

Daniel Sarah Karasik is definitely one to watch, and I’m looking forward to seeing what they do next.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc. All opinions are my own.

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

adventurous emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Private Rites by Julia Armfield

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

‘Private Rites’ contains many incredibly quotable reflections on life under the pressures of a drowning world. As always, Julia's writing is exquisite, and the way she writes dialogue in particular is some of the most realistic and easy-flowing I've ever read. 

 

I’d like to echo what many reviewers have said: this book is very different from what the synopsis implies. It leans more towards literary fiction than speculative/horror for the majority, with a significant focus on the dynamics of the sisters' relationships with one another and others who cross their paths. 

 

I tend to have a hit-or-miss relationship with literary fiction, and since much of this book centres on the relationship between the sisters and their day-to-day lives following their father's death, I found myself struggling to get through some parts. The incessant conflict between the sisters bogged me down a bit in the first half, but this is likely just a product of my own mindset and should by no means put anyone off reading it. 

 

This book is very different from Our Wives Under the Sea, which, for some, will be a good thing. For others, myself included, it may lead to this not being what you're expecting (don’t get me wrong I still really liked this book). The pacing felt a little disjointed to me for the first two-thirds, with it ramping up significantly in the last third. In retrospect, I can see how this may have been an intentional choice to add to the unsettling feelings. 

 

The setting is so realistic yet unsettling. I love how Julia illustrated the atmosphere of a future world different yet eerily similar to our own, so well in fact that I often forgot the world was drowning while people went about their seemingly mundane lives. 

 

The ending is one of those that will likely make or break the book for many people. For me personally, the ending took me by surprise in the best way and led me to skim through the whole novel again in search of references and comments that had definitely gone over my head the first time, perhaps owing to the fact that I read this book mostly in a daze before bed. It's definitely worth making sure your brain is fully switched on when reading this book to take in all the clever things that Julia does in her writing. 

 

Lastly, it should go without saying, but I also, of course, loved the abundant queerness, which, in my opinion, paired with Julia's writing, is reason enough to pick this one up. 

 
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc. All opinions are my own.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

adventurous challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The Rain Artist by Claire Rudy Foster

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Dinner on Monster Island: Essays by Tania de Rozario

challenging emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

'Dinner on Monster Island' is a masterclass in personal essay writing. Tania perfectly balances emotion and depth in her personal stories with elements of history and pop culture.

Prior to reading this collection, I knew very little about Singaporean history and culture. I truly felt privileged to glimpse into a culture so vastly different from my own, through the eyes of a fellow queer person who has faced so much homophobia and trauma purely for being who they are.

Tania's writing is absolutely stunning and incredibly engaging. This book was difficult to put down, I will be thinking about it for a long time. 

Having finished the collection, I can confidently say that it has found a place among my favorite essay collections of all time. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a deeply personal and reflective essay collection that is sure to teach you a thing or two. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Body shaming, Homophobia, Fatphobia, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Child abuse, Suicide, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Body shaming

Minor: Terminal illness

Dear God. Dear Bones. Dear Yellow. by Noor Hindi

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

Yet another stunning yet heart breaking poetry collection. This is one of the hardest collections I’ve ever read but so incredibly important. Poetry remains my favourite way to learn about experiences outside of my own and this collection was no different. Noor’s words and sometimes lack of words paints such a painful image of the Palestinian experience, past and present. I would recommend this to anyone looking to read more from the Palestinian experience. 

Head Above Water: Reflections on Illness by Shahd Alshammari

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness and Ableism

Moderate: Medical content, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Death, Grief, and Medical trauma

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

4.5

Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung

5.0