littlemiao's reviews
44 reviews

This Is My God by Herman Wouk

informative reflective

3.0

There is a lot I like about this book as an overview of Judaism, and as a snapshot of American Jewry in the 1950s. Unfortunately, the language and attitudes are dated to the extent that it serves as a painful distraction. Ableism, homophobia, and pejorative references to “primitive” peoples abound. Wouk describes Egyptian religion as “a foul tangle of idolatry - the rites were obscene, the myths childish.” As the child of an Egyptologist I can say unequivocally that this is untrue, nor is it necessary to make these claims in order to show the context from which Jews emerged.

The book is dedicated to his grandfather, Rabbi Mendel Leib Levine. The reminiscences he shares of his grandfather’s instruction, attitudes, and experience are the most interesting part of the book, though they are merely side notes to the whole. The endnotes, two hours at the end of the book, were as or more interesting than the main text. In particular, I appreciated his brief critique of Wellhausen and the documentary hypothesis. “Literary analysis is not a scientific method.”

Nearly seventy years later, there is still relevance to Wouk’s call for parents to give their children a solid Jewish education: “Most people lose their Jewishness because they have never had a chance to get a grip on it.”

All in all, it isn’t a book I can recommend as a general overview of Judaism because it is so solidly set in the 1950s, and because of the offensive language. The audiobook narrator mispronounces words, which detracts from the reading experience. But as someone who appreciates Wouk’s novels, I did find this book to be a worthwhile read.

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

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

4.0

It took me a while to get into this book. It was disjointed, purposefully as a result of how the narrative was organized. It is not linear, the POV switches a lot, and there are interludes of excerpts from a fictional book. I didn’t find the villain’s POV particularly interesting or engrossing. But I did ultimately get into the story, and it was well done. Not one of my favorites of Seanan McGuire, but they can’t all be, right? I am not super eager to read the next two books but I will get to them eventually.

Once More with Chutzpah by Haley Neil

challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

When I read young adult literature it is mostly fantasy and thrillers. This is a contemporary coming of age story, and at the beginning I didn’t think it would resonate with me. After an emotional gut punch about halfway through, I realized that I was completely drawn in by the protagonist Tally’s struggles. It isn’t just a book about visiting Israel, it is a book about grief and friendship, learning to ask for help, and learning that to connect with others, you have to be able to connect with yourself too. It was well written, covering a lot of ground in Israel without being rushed, with side characters sufficiently fleshed out to be more than stock cutouts like some books. There was thoughtful ace spectrum representation. Tally’s anxieties over whether she is “Jewish enough” because of not being observant, and the bullying she endures for being patrilineal, were well presented. Ultimately the book offers a positive, affirming portrayal of being Jewish, without glossing over complexities and difficulties. 

Jewish teens deserve this kind of positive representation. The author did not deserve the harassment and review bombing that occurred even before the book had been published. This book does not glorify violence against Palestinians in any way, shape, or form. It doesn’t matter that the author provides a complex portrayal of Israel. The book’s detractors would have a problem with any positive, affirming portrayal of the Jewish connection to Israel - historical, familial, and religious. It makes me angry that such an open hearted, inclusive book should be the target for so much hatred.

I enjoyed the book more than I expected to. I was impressed with the writing skill and the thoughtful treatment of complex subjects, and I look forward to reading more books by the author.

The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden

dark tense

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Not my cup of tea. It was not convincing as a thriller/page turner because the main character was so credulous despite the obvious clues, and the clues were so obvious that the “twist” at the end was kind of meh. There wasn’t a sufficient build up of tension throughout, more like growing disgust at the crimes and incredulity at the main character. Also, why would a competent doctor offer ibuprofen to someone with von Willebrand disease, which is a bleeding disorder? Maybe I should stick to young adult thrillers. (Reviewed 2024)

Witch King by Martha Wells

adventurous fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

I didn’t connect with this book at all. It had all the right ingredients but nothing came together for me. It could be my state of mind rather than any shortcoming of the book. I like original world building and there was plenty of it. The characters had the potential to be interesting, but came across as flat. The action and world building were strong but insufficient to make characters that I would remotely care about. It lacked whatever immeasurable spark makes a book come alive for me.

The Girl from the Garden by Parnaz Foroutan

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Beautifully written. The timelines and points of view entangle with each other, seamless and disorienting at the same time. I felt almost immediately immersed in the claustrophobic world of the Malacouti family. The Persian Jewish setting is richly realized. The family drama itself is based on the author’s own family lore. This was a desperately sad story, full of unresolvable pain, personal tragedies compounded by a repressive patriarchal society. Something about the writing and the story has really stayed with me. Though I don’t seek out sad books, I’m seriously thinking of getting a copy for my own shelves.

Just a minor point of confusion, the mountain that Moses descends with the tablets is referred to as “the mountains of Zion.” I thought that was in Jerusalem.

The Dinner by Herman Koch

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

1.75

This book did not work for me at all. The narrator was contemptible, full of petty grievances, and also completely boring. I couldn’t stand his kvetching and his smugness. Maybe the audiobook narrator was too effective. I got through to the end and was completely unmoved. I don’t often feel like a book was a waste of time but this one qualifies. [slight spoiler] I admit I am curious what his medical situation was. A heritable condition of psychopathy detectable by amniocentesis, and also easily treatable by medication, with a German-sounding name? Honestly I think the author made it up. (Reviewed 2023)

Brobyggarna by Jan Guillou

adventurous emotional slow-paced

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

1.5

I chose this book to expand my Swedish language reading, which has been mostly confined to crime novels. The author is a big name in Sweden so it seemed a good choice for historical fiction. It is a choice I somewhat regret. It came across as colonialist, imperialist fanfic, told from the perspective of German-sympathizers. I’ll be the first to admit that I might be missing out on subtleties because, after all, Swedish is not my native language. However, I didn’t feel like I was missing much language-wise, just maybe zoning out from tedium.

The story follows two of three Norwegian brothers who become engineers at the close of the nineteenth century, one on a snowy mountain in Norway and the other in German East Africa. The brothers are heroic characters, as in larger-than-life doers of epic deeds. The tedium comes in part from the flatness of their characters, as paragons of ingenuity, morality, manliness (all by the author’s definitions, naturally). There is no tension - the two brothers overcome all setbacks with flying colors. 

A recurring theme is the superiority of German and Norwegian morals to other Europeans, English, and Americans. In some sections, it seems like every other sentence is the one brother Oskar patting himself on the back over the superiority of German colonialism, the German “civilizing mission,” and German morality. Readers are presented with grievance after grievance against other nations in an attempt to justify or even valorize German actions. It’s nauseating. Propaganda-esque.

The depiction of African characters is offensive, and offensive language is used throughout. The East Africa chapters seemed like the author’s own colonialist fantasy fulfillment - big game hunting, triumph over native superstitions, victory over cannibals, obtaining unimaginable riches, and of course, plenty of exotic sex rituals.

Sure, it is natural for the characters to think in terms of the prejudices of their times, but the recurring homophobic and racist language was tough to get through. There are ways of accurately portraying prejudice without being offensive to the reader. In this book, prejudices are echoed more or less uncritically.

The only reference to Jews that I caught was a prostitute who committed fraud being referred to as possibly Jewish. Rosa Luxembourg is also mentioned in passing. I am curious how Guillou handles the World War Two years, but that would mean reading several more of these relatively long books and I’m not sure I have the stomach for that.

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

Spoilers. I thought I would like it given the glowing reviews but it just didn’t work for me. These days, I feel bad giving less than three stars to anything that isn’t truly awful. This book wasn’t truly awful. Despite having the basic pieces for a good story, there was nothing compelling or emotionally involving for me. It seemed at first to be a richly imagined setting, yet quickly both setting and characters proved flat. There was plenty of intrigue yet no real tension. The stakes weren’t high enough or convincing enough. There were non-binary characters but no depth to the system of gender, except that the society is matrilineal, which while nice and all seems pretty binary. The plot was rather molasses-paced, and then all of a sudden Evermer and Kadou are on the same page and marry for reals. It was oddly anticlimactic. I don’t recommend this book but then again it might work if you’re in the mood for something long, fan-fic-y and light-ish in tone. (Reviewed 2023)

La ciudad de las bestias by Isabel Allende

adventurous reflective

2.5

I almost didn't finish reading this book. In fact, I started it about two years ago and it has taken me that long to finally motivate myself to get through to the end. The characters were mostly caricatures, the plot was predictable, and the action never built to any kind of suspense. The narration left no room for subtlety in the characters' thoughts and actions. I read it in Spanish so I cannot attribute any of these issues to awkwardness of translation. This certainly was not the best book to read as an introduction to Allende's work. (Review written in 2017)