mari_etha's Reviews (78)

Assembly

Natasha Brown

DID NOT FINISH: 33%

I wasn't in the mood for this type of book at that time
adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Beautiful 
adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
dark funny lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Indelicacy

Amina Cain

DID NOT FINISH: 33%
challenging dark emotional 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

I'm devastated. My high school literature teacher talked briefly about Macabéia and her story but nothing prepared me for the actual experience of reading it myself at one in the morning. 

The Hour of the Star has everything I dislike most in books: bland characters, a poorly told story and a narrator who doesn't let me breathe because he intrudes on my reading so much. But all of this was so well executed by Clarice that now I find myself in tears and asking for more. One more chance with Maca, more predictions of her brillian  future, more portraits of her, more sarcasm and hypocrisy towards life (damn, Clarice Lispector). I wish Clarice had spent more time on this story, which isn't anything special. I feel wronged. Is that all life is? An epiphany and (explosion) is the time of the star arrived?
Very raw, very dispassionate, very hopeless. Clarice says in an interview, herself after a consultation with a fortune teller, "how funny it would be if..." you, who read it, the rest already know. But who is it funny for??? This isn't a review at all, it's just an outburst from someone who lives in grief and fear of life. So mediocre, life. The book is fantastic.

Learning to Talk to Plants

Marta Orriols

DID NOT FINISH

I've had a toxic friendship with death since 2016. Reading about grief, as I realized for the first time reading this book, does not make me feel good.