myprettypages's reviews
47 reviews

Stories from the Tenants Downstairs by Sidik Fofana

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-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

3.0

This was out of my comfort zone but I did enjoy reading, for me this was an insightful read which focused on a part of society that is neglected and ignored. Each story had its own account on the character’s struggles to keep their home. This told tales of people struggling to get money for their rent and external factors that put them in a disadvantage of making enough income; like having a disability, being a single mother, careers being ruined etc. Each story had moments of hope and moments of despair and devastation. I really liked that Fofana wrote about a broad range of people and events whilst being able to intertwine all of the characters effectively.

I enjoyed how Sidik Fofana was able to put you into the perspective of the different tenants through their individual accents and dialects which made each story distinctive to each other. The informal writing did give an authentic style as it was reading about their lives through their eyes/experiences rather than the outside. Whilst I enjoyed the unique style of writing, it did make it difficult to get into each time there was a new story and the lack of speech marks did make it confusing at times but it was something I got used to.

This is a great debut and would be perfect for people who enjoy books that focuses on the joy and pain of human experiences like ‘Open Water’ and a collection of short stories like ‘Five Tuesdays in Winter’.

Many thanks to John Murray Press and Netgalley for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

This is a collection of short stories from different perspectives conveying tales of love, loss and growth. All of these centre around the narrator and their experience and interactions with other characters with a range of emotions such as love, hope, fear and anger. A consistent theme throughout is the impact people have on others and the way they shape them as an individual and their life; whether through a positive or in a terrible way. Death is also mentioned in a few of the stories and the vulnerability of life just like humans and their emotions which can affect and alter their reality.

I like how Lily King shows the importance of accepting who you are but also accepting what had happened, even in the hardest of the stories, that acceptance was cathartic and peaceful. Some of these short stories have a happy ending, some end on a more somber note but all have a very clear message about people and real life situations whether they’re showing the best in humanity or the worse. King presents these short stories in a concise way, building up the plot in a way to create mystery with the different paths the plot could take before the end.

Many thanks to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Content Warnings