mcrespo's reviews
16 reviews

Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder

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

3.0

i love and appreciate nightbitch's descent into madness and the power of female rage displayed in this novel. yoder's language is visceral, and the way that she links birth and motherhood to depictions of gore and brutality is very purposeful and powerful. at this novel's core, it is one mother's descent into madness, desire for community and support,  the embrace of female rage, and reverting to a feral state as nightbitch evolves from a depressed and frenzied housewife to an animal or monster who defends her child with her teeth and demands more from the world. one of the highlights of this novel is the way yoder critiques capitalism, and displays the way that capitalism disrupts the natural order by isolating mothers and preying on their need for support, self-reliance, and financial stability. unfortunately, this book falls short in the end for me. the relationship between nightbitch and white, the author of the field guide, is one big question mark, and it doesn't seem to conclude neatly or in a way that made a significant impression on me as a reader. overall, this nature of the novel felt repetitive, and if there were less descriptions of the mother's animal-like care taking of her child and more emphasis on this motif of the field guide and nightbitch's relationship to the author of the field guide, this may have made more of an impact on readers overall.  
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Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth

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dark funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

hogarth is such a wordsmith in this novel. her language is flowery, and her work is rich with linguistic devices that make her writing unbelievable. this book has everything: religious overtones, internalized misogyny, ghosts, murder, cannibalism as a metaphor for love, literal cannibalism, mommy issues, and so much more. if you love mitski's "class of 2013" or women descending into madness, and want to read about how men usually are a woman's demise, this book is for you. 
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Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

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challenging dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

cause you're just a man .... it's just what you do (@ Marcos). no but in all seriousness, this novel offers some apt commentary on capitalism, and i think it perfectly depicts how pressures from societal expectations and grief can push anyone to abandon their morality. i do wish that the theme of feminism, which seemed to be touched on with Dr. Valka, was more developed, and i think that Bazterrica had a few missed opportunities to offer some meaningful commentary on the way forces like capitalism, racism, misogyny all come together to play a role in society's demise, but if you're in the market for a dystopian fiction that critiques capitalism, this is a great novel with a strong conclusion. 
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Almond by Won-pyung Sohn

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

a very catcher in the rye-esque story. its super fast paced, and sohn has a command for tone and characterization. i especially love the use of metaphors with the almonds and the plum candies. i just wanted more almond metaphor in the end to tie it all up. 
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Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum

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funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

you know how sometimes when life sucks really bad and you hate like everyone around you because everything on the news is terrible and people are always hurting others, sometimes it’s nice to fall back on a fond memory of times where you appreciated humanity. like how i adored when people all across the country were gasping, cheering, and even crying just watching the solar eclipse with their own eyes. it was so cute to me that people still cared about the cosmos. i love when people from all walks of life find common joy in something like the solar eclipse. that kind of thing is what happens at the hyunam-dong book shop. this book reminds you how cute humanity is. it’s the perfect read for people who love literary fiction, slice of life, and people who don’t know what the hell they wanna do in life or if they’re living their life “right.” if you’re a 25-35 year old into coming of age stories, the human experience, human relationships, and the pursuit of happiness, this book is perfect for you. it does a wonderful job critiquing classism, capitalism, and how society values humanity. honestly, it felt like a book i really needed right in this moment, so i’m happy i found it. “Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop” is encouraging while also a warm hug to remind me i’m not the loser i’ve convinced myself i am. i’ll be tuning into anything that Hwang Bo-reum writes next. 
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

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challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-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

4.25

eileen is like the quintessential girl loser. she sucks, and because of that, she can be so relatable, but she’s also deeply flawed. as a girl, i can empathize with her self loathing, insecurity, and rage. she kinda gives off the vibes of A24’s pearl meets brand new city by mitski. however,  the ending of this books feels very rushed and underdeveloped. the climax doesn’t occur until the 85% mark, and things move very quickly afterwards. i just yearned for more answers. 
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No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

when dazai isn’t writing about women, his writing is raw, poignant and nothing short of incredible, and when he is writing about women, i yearn to punch him in the jaw. i rarely pick up books written by men because men can hardly ever resist the urge to be misogynistic, and dazai is not exempt from this, however, he writes this stream of consciousness ramblings of a depressed, anxious, and addiction-ridden person very well. the novel is reflective and, unfortunately, excruciatingly relatable. being in your twenties truly is the trenches, and dazai encapsulated that perfectly in “no longer human.” anyone who struggles with depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety, addiction, and navigating the world as someone neurodivergent might see themselves in dazai's main character yozo, so please mind the trigger warnings. <3 if you're like me, this book will spark some intense internal dialogue, reflection, and perhaps an existential crisis or two, and for that this book gets 5 stars, but for the demeaning, degrading, and disparaging women, i take away a star. 
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Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier

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challenging emotional funny sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

i loved so many of frazier’s writing choices and the style of her writing, and i appreciate the way she wrote about the american immigrant story of the main character’s mother. pizza girl, the main character, is deeply flawed and at times infuriating, but i’m also deeply flawed and infuriating so i held a lot of grace for the character. the last 30 pages of the novel were crazy in a wonderful way.  
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Temporary by Hilary Leichter

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

3.5

although i didn’t necessarily fall in love with the main character, i can say that this is a good read for anyone grappling with late stage capitalism and defining their value by their career. it has a pleasant level of absurdity, and leichter does such a wonderful job of playing with language and literary devices in this novel. i just wish i cared more about the main character. 
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Nana, Vol. 8 by Ai Yazawa

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emotional funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

“i’m pregnant” “that’s a shame!” • no but fr, nana and hachiko should be together forever (as in, they should be lovers), but of course a man gets in the way and ruins everything. as always with nana, 5 stars (i’m only rating this 4.75 stars so i don’t clutter my 5 star shelf with volumes of whatever manga i’m reading and loving). <3