margozaldivar's reviews
31 reviews

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan

Go to review page

challenging emotional fast-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

Things I Don't Want to Know by Deborah Levy

Go to review page

challenging funny informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.0

Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami

Go to review page

emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.75

Content Warnings

The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks

Go to review page

challenging informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.5

Content Warnings

Bluets by Maggie Nelson

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

3.75

Content Warnings

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

Go to review page

dark funny reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Ottessa Moshfegh continuously surprises her readers with the way she can be subversive, writing about the most unorthodox themes– whether it be about the self-destructive ways a woman practices to get through life in the early 2000s, or the intricacies of human behavior explored through a medieval fiefdom. In many ways, she constantly challenges literary norms with “novels that live in an amoral universe, past the political agenda described on social media” (Bookforum, June 2021).

Grotesque and raw, with an accurate portrayal of religious hypocrisy, Lapvona is a musing on the human condition. There is no plot. The novel is character-driven, which— at this point— is what is so special about Moshfegh’s books. You get to delve into the mind of the persona without a harness. As for the setting, the imagery of what happens in the fiefdom stays with the reader. There is no middle ground. Some scenes are funny, demoralizing, and unsettling all at once. In spite of the age-old themes, the novel is a new take on bigotry and how it brings out the ugliest parts in humans, especially when they are starved of love.

Content Warnings

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

Go to review page

Did not finish book. Stopped at 51%.

No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings