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mmcloe's reviews
235 reviews
The Last Days of Louisiana Red by Ishmael Reed
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I don't think this is as strong of a work as Mumbo Jumbo or Yellow Back Radio. The disjointed narrative was a bit too disjointed, and the satirical cultural elements were a little too satirical (bordering on South Park style centrism). The prose was often very bouncy and wiggly in a wonderful way though. Definitely a minor work in Reed's oeuvre.
Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
This was recommended by Marlon James and I can very clearly see the influence of this on Brief History.
This seems like the kind of novel that people will be quick to refer to as "surreal" or a "fever dream" but with the exception of a few dream sequences, I think Hagedorn keeps her depiction of the Phillipines starkly real, almost hyperreal. The way she uses structural and genre fragmentation to portray her home as a place divided up by foreign influence leading to domestic turmoil still remains incredibly relevant and helpful for understanding financial and cultural imperialism nowadays.
This seems like the kind of novel that people will be quick to refer to as "surreal" or a "fever dream" but with the exception of a few dream sequences, I think Hagedorn keeps her depiction of the Phillipines starkly real, almost hyperreal. The way she uses structural and genre fragmentation to portray her home as a place divided up by foreign influence leading to domestic turmoil still remains incredibly relevant and helpful for understanding financial and cultural imperialism nowadays.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Violence
Une saison en enfer & Le bateau ivre: A season in hell & The drunken boat by Arthur Rimbaud
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
I can definitely tell this was written by a gay 18 year old. Some really good band names in here though.
Overall I liked it! Thanks Rimbaud.
Overall I liked it! Thanks Rimbaud.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs
Corregidora by Gayl Jones
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.75
I think so many of the "trauma porn" authors need to take time to read this novel over and over again to see what trauma looks like and how it can affect the body, the mind, the family, everything.
Jones uses everyday speech and methodically constructed dialogue to depict Ursa's struggles and trauma as not just something experienced and half-remembered, but rather something embodied and ongoing. She does so in a way that allows us to listen and bear witness to Ursa without being voyeurs to scenes of intense violence. It's really quite masterful and I'm incredibly impressed Jones wrote this when she was just 26.
Jones uses everyday speech and methodically constructed dialogue to depict Ursa's struggles and trauma as not just something experienced and half-remembered, but rather something embodied and ongoing. She does so in a way that allows us to listen and bear witness to Ursa without being voyeurs to scenes of intense violence. It's really quite masterful and I'm incredibly impressed Jones wrote this when she was just 26.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexual violence
Duplex by Kathryn Davis
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh this book is delirious and sparkling and mocking and joyous and horrifying and reality I LOVE it
Girlhood is such a simultaneously bizarre, fragile, robust, and liminal experience and this novel does an exceptional job at capturing the mythological and social facets of girlhood and womanhood (at least, a specific mid-century suburban type of girlhood and womanhood) that successfully stabs at its reality in a way that very few "realist" novels do. I think the book warrants reading upon reading upon reading to tease out all of its subtexts and tricks and themes. I think a kind of post-structuralist linguistic reading would be deeply productive and fascinating - the book plays with language and syntax in such a way that I believe its mirroring the process of language production to draw similar attention to the way that gender and identity are similarly and differently mediated through language and social engagement. Really really standout.
I'm adding this to the category of books that makes me feel like the author has used the book to cast a spell of some kind - along with Mona, Yellow Back Radio Broke Down, Near to the Wild Heart, and Dhalgren.
Girlhood is such a simultaneously bizarre, fragile, robust, and liminal experience and this novel does an exceptional job at capturing the mythological and social facets of girlhood and womanhood (at least, a specific mid-century suburban type of girlhood and womanhood) that successfully stabs at its reality in a way that very few "realist" novels do. I think the book warrants reading upon reading upon reading to tease out all of its subtexts and tricks and themes. I think a kind of post-structuralist linguistic reading would be deeply productive and fascinating - the book plays with language and syntax in such a way that I believe its mirroring the process of language production to draw similar attention to the way that gender and identity are similarly and differently mediated through language and social engagement. Really really standout.
I'm adding this to the category of books that makes me feel like the author has used the book to cast a spell of some kind - along with Mona, Yellow Back Radio Broke Down, Near to the Wild Heart, and Dhalgren.
Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A lot to think about here. The first half had my eyebrow raised with the way Nightbitch talked about and treated her clearly very autistic son (reminds me a lot of myself as a little one) but my hackles mostly went down after her transformation and subsequent care for the boy. I'm left thinking through the dichotomy that goes somewhat unaddressed between Nightbitch's yearning for the magical women of the Field Guide and her art which is, at the end of the day, an elaborate performance that makes a ton of money (she's even got merch!). This is a dilemma at the bottom of all art under capitalism - how comfortable are we with marketing our experiences and identities? I was hoping through the entire book for some kind of refusal or escape from this system but I don't always get what I want. Heterosexuality really is a thorny trap.
My pet theory is that the narrator of the novel is Wanda herself (who may or may not also be Nightbitch).
Animal deaths made me sad :(
My pet theory is that the narrator of the novel is Wanda herself (who may or may not also be Nightbitch).
Animal deaths made me sad :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Gore
Vineland by Thomas Pynchon
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Funniest book I've read in a long time - still thinking about the Deleuze and Guattari music book gag.
The more I read Pynchon, the more I appreciate his almost scholarly understanding of the way that white heterosexuality structures so much of the political and social craziness of the United States. EVERYTHING is about sex and everything turns straight guys on, it's really quite fascinating.
Besides that, an excellent read about the 80s and how capitalism absorbs and morphs radical leftist movements to serve the needs of a government in cahoots with capital.
The more I read Pynchon, the more I appreciate his almost scholarly understanding of the way that white heterosexuality structures so much of the political and social craziness of the United States. EVERYTHING is about sex and everything turns straight guys on, it's really quite fascinating.
Besides that, an excellent read about the 80s and how capitalism absorbs and morphs radical leftist movements to serve the needs of a government in cahoots with capital.
All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
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
5.0
Sensational.
A Jamesian novel of manners for the 21st century. Anthropological in its detail, devastating in its prose, baffling in its psychological depth. This novel is generation-defining. I could wax on it for hours and hours and hours.
A Jamesian novel of manners for the 21st century. Anthropological in its detail, devastating in its prose, baffling in its psychological depth. This novel is generation-defining. I could wax on it for hours and hours and hours.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Transphobia
Falconer by John Cheever
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Interesting analysis of male intimacy in carceral spaces that I wouldn't expect from a mid century white guy! Not as vivid or hitting as his short stories but I nevertheless thought it was an interesting addition to the body of pre-AIDS queer writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Dreamtigers by Jorge Luis Borges
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
Lord have mercy Borges never disappoints (on paper at least, his politics are eeek scary sometimes). I genuinely think my life has been changed after reading back to back "A Yellow Rose," "The Witness," and "Mutations." We are all little creatures trying desperately to cling to our stories and myths and symbols - which are just as much affected by the world as they affect it. I want these stories tattooed on my soul.