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mythicreader's Reviews (441)
A very slow start, but when it quickens you fall head first into the pages.
A story of lust, desire, stories and lies. A story of a little town life but with someone who wants more, and what happens when outsiders arrive.
The authors note at the end will also take your last breath.
A story of lust, desire, stories and lies. A story of a little town life but with someone who wants more, and what happens when outsiders arrive.
The authors note at the end will also take your last breath.
Favourite short stories:
• Blessed are the meek
• Fish, Turtle, Vulture
• Blessed are the meek
• Fish, Turtle, Vulture
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Did I read this book in one evening because it was that good?
Yes. Yes I did.
Yes. Yes I did.
"L-o-v-e is beautiful. Do you know that, Elsie? It doesn't always have to hurt."
AD - PR Product. Kindly gifted by @dialoguebooks
@livslittle has written an utterly gorgeous, evocative story of a sapphic black woman struggling to make it as a poet in London.
A big theme within the book is the idea of community. Whether it's finding your found family, losing your communities safe spaces and creating new ones. It's about finding your voice and carving out the life you want. It's finding your person, and battling the things in the way.
This book is so addictive. I found myself lost in the pages, almost missing my stop on the train. It's beautifully written, the characters lift on the page, and you really feel yourself in the different places that the story is set.
Rosewater is a gorgeous must read, out 20th April
informative
reflective
slow-paced
AD: PR Gift from 4thEstate
"The history of humankind is one of constant movement: we can see that in patterns of migration, back and forth, transporting new ideas, cultures, technologies. But it's also the story of pressure and coercion, of people trying to get other people to do what they want."
When I saw #ThePatriarchs by @angeladsaini on the table of books at #4thEstateLive, I knew I had to grab it. I wanted to learn more about the history behind our society and about feminism and this seemed like a great place to start - and it was!
Exploring the science, archaeology, philosophy, anthropology and history of patriarchy, Saini is searching for the answer of how we have ended up in such a patriarchal society. Was it genetic like some argue (the answer is Ofc not), has it always been this way (no), did one event cause it (no). This exploration into the past, with comparisons to today, explore how we've (society) put these narratives in place to explain the past without actually reading it. You put your own beliefs on archaeological evidence when you need to go into it with a blank canvas. We can look at our closest animal ancestors (primates) and see female primates taking charge. We can go into the past and find evidence of matriarchal societies, there are even a few about today!
If you can't tell I learnt SO MUCH from this book. Did you know who legalised abortion first? Soviet Russia in 1920 (though they did revert back in 1936 🙄). Who was the first female prime minister? Sirimavo Bandaranaike in Sri Lanka in 1960. I learnt about places like Catalhöyük - an important UNESCO site that started a debate about equality in past societies and how we read archaeological evidence. I could write a massive list of all the different societies, historical moments, scientific evidence and philosophical thought that I learnt about whilst reading this book - but it wouldn't fit in the caption.
If you're looking for a non fiction read that will fill you brain with so much wonderful facts and insight about the patriarchy and the fight against it - then this is the book for you. It's out 2nd March.
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
AD: PR product, kindly gifted by 4thEstate
"There are the goodbyes and then the fishing out of the bodies - everything in between is speculation"
With a first line like that, you know you're in for a beautiful, emotional read, and #Wandering Souls did not disappoint.
Cecile Pine has written a heart wrenching story about displacement, family, hope, opportunity, trauma, generational grief and the power of stories.
We follow 3 siblings who leave their village and begin their journey by boat, hoping to reach America with the rest of their family. What happens instead is the three are orphaned and they're sent to Thatcher's UK. We watch Anh become a parent over night whilst she's just a kid herself. We see Tanh and Minh struggle to grow up in a world very different to their old one. We see the three grieve their family and their old home.
Interspersed with their narratives we have an anonymous writer reflecting on the story (who you learn more about as the story progresses), you have Dao their younger brother - a restless ghost who has not be laid to rest that tags along with his siblings to try and live through them, and insights into the Vietnam war and operation 'wandering souls'
This book is so beautifully written, you ride the waves of the story from the emotional to the matter of fact.
You learn more about the experiences of these refugees and how they were forgotten or mistreated by society, you see the hopeful moments of a life they were reaching for.
This genre-defying little book packs so much in that you feel lost in its ocean until you close the book but feel the water still on your skin. Utterly gorgeous, profoundly thoughtful, and an important impactful read. I can see why everyone is loving it.
This genre-defying little book packs so much in that you feel lost in its ocean until you close the book but feel the water still on your skin. Utterly gorgeous, profoundly thoughtful, and an important impactful read. I can see why everyone is loving it.