navasketch's reviews
32 reviews

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

so many chapters in this book will stick with me— a classic for a reason

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden

adventurous emotional lighthearted reflective 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

4.0

Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo

mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

I knew i needed to revisit this the first time i finished it— this book is chaotic and grim and refuses to compromise on its obtuseness. but it’s beautiful and sprawling and a lot of the imagery is left swimming through my head

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

my heart sank as i finished the last sentence— but my journey with this book, much like the protagonist’s, must end at some point. Harpman’s writing is plain and sharp; fluttering on a knife’s edge of calm introspection and desolate bleakness.

Liarmouth by John Waters

dark funny fast-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

2.75

genuinely impossible to coherently describe the contents of this book. i think it would (and can) be a hell of a movie but as a book it feels like it overstays its welcome even in its short length

Either/Or: A Fragment of Life by Søren Kierkegaard

dark funny reflective slow-paced

idk how to give this a score— kierkegaard’s writing is at times thoroughly engaging and diabolically wild while also being comically obtuse and morose. a weird and archaic read!

Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

Dune by Frank Herbert

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

hard to overlook the mounting piles of orientalism crafted by Herbert, growing with each page turn. a beautiful and fright universe built out of fetishistic cultural malice, even if at times unintentional, is still developed harshly and pointedly.

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

dark emotional sad 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

4.5