pangnaolin's reviews
98 reviews

Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad slow-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

4.0

Having not read the original Frankenstein, I was excited & intrigued to, yet slightly unsure about taking this book on, but it definitely turned out interesting and worth it. I loved the way Saadawi developed the Whatsitsname [or Frankenstein] throughout the novel-- first just a creation, and then something looking for revenge, and then just questioning itself and trying to stay alive, acting more like a human than a monster as it felt itself being taken advantage of more and more.

I felt like he took an interesting route, focusing not just on the 'monster,' but also on the lives of different people surrounding the monster and his creator, and although those stories were definitely worth hearing in one way or another, it also got really confusing to try and follow everyone-- especially while listening to an audiobook version. I almost wonder if he should've written another book about Iraq during the American invasion without the magical realist element as well and put those stories in there, because-- again-- they were good, just made the 'Frankenstein' story suffer. I just wanted more of the monster and his creator, and less of everyone else.

I also sort of wanted it to be darker and grittier than it really turned out, but I felt like that possibility got a little dampened as Saadawi just sort of... told us everything that was happening in plain words at all times. I wish more had been left for the reader to piece together, and that it had leaned a little more into the weirdness and confusion of it all. I'm not sure.

I definitely loved this, and I think it gave an incredibly interesting point of view on the invasion, while also tackling the idea of good/bad binaries and how they really play out, especially in things like war, but I also just felt like it was lacking in a lot of places, and found myself bored in between sprinkled really interesting moments.

Rifqa by Mohammed El-Kurd

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

Rifqa was an incredibly beautiful collection of poetry, so perfectly named and encapsulated by the story of the wonderful, powerful woman herself. It's not my usual style of poetry, but I loved it all the same-- especially the ones with more blunt and intense styles-- and it was so perfectly needed to have a space to sit with all of the emotions we hold around Palestine and its people, especially now. I am always thinking of and feeling these losses, but his words brought new thoughts and an opportunity for me to develop my own and let them sit. I adored the imagery, and the way he wove stories through each poem and throughout several, and I couldn't recommend it more.

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

Jesus Christ. I'm writing this the moment I've finished Martyr! because I really don't know what else to do with myself, I want to do so many things. When I read a book I love this much, I always feel inspired to do five million things at once, and it does make me laugh a little that two of the books that have made me like this are one by Tommy Orange and one heavily influenced by his work. Where to begin?

Martyr! was an incredible read from start to finish. The prose was bold, direct, and intense-- cutting in the most perfectly crafted and telling voice for Cyrus-- and had me stunned so many times. I actually dictated some of my favorite parts into my notes app because I loved them so much. I have to say, though, that even though the most quotably weird and interesting pieces of prose were near the start, I feel like the way those decrease means something to me. I got to watch the way Cyrus slowly changed his values and the melodramatic way he'd viewed the world & himself for so long, and the prose reflected that.

I also adored the odd pieces of his life that didn't quite fit, but persisted like the dream dialogues, and adored getting to read from other's perspectives, though I have to say that Cyrus's voice was always my favorite to read. I just couldn't get enough of the style.

I really don't know what to say about this book. Cyrus's story is incredible and intense, and I had at least a few moments where I just stopped and sort of let out a long-held-in sigh. I had to take moments to rest from how much it all weighed down on me. I fell in love with it and quite literally couldn't put it down, which isn't common for me and a book. I loved Akbar's poetry, and now I love his novels even more. I can't wait to see what more he brings into the world.

Black Movie by Danez Smith

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.75

I don't think I'll ever get over Danez Smith's poetry. It's beautiful in such a blunt, powerful, reflective way, and I absolutely adored the way this chapbook was both poetry and film. I absolutely adored Lion King in the Hood & Dinosaurs in the Hood, and I've reread them so many times since I first did.

I think there's something so special about his simultaneous acceptance and rejection of the constant deaths of Black boys, and how he pushes for both acknowledgement and for us to not force the Black experience to be just this story. He doesn't shy away from nuance to baby a white audience-- just says what needs to be said in the most stunning ways.

I have to say, though-- as much as I adore the to-the-point style, there was something especially striking about the moments he took to be more traditionally poetic, in pieces like Scene: Portrait of a Black Boy with Flowers.

I'm honestly not sure how to encapsulate my feelings on this chapbook. It was incredible in every sense of the word, and I encourage you to read & feel it fully. It's so worth it. 

Ghostroots by ‘Pemi Aguda

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.5

This was such a beautiful collection of surreal, confusing short stories that left me in awe. I definitely loved some more than others (ones like "24, Alhaji Williams Street" and "Masquerade Season" being favorites with others like "The Dusk Market" a bit more difficult to get through), but it was altogether a really lovely and relatively short read.

Some descriptions were definitely a bit winding, but it honestly added a lot to it, especially if I really loved that story. I knew I had to pick this book up the second I saw the name and title, and reading it proved me right! I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who likes magical realism or surrealism of any kind.

Disability Intimacy: Essays on Love, Care, and Desire by Alice Wong

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

This was such a beautiful collection of work. I genuinely appreciated every essay so much, and some of them taught or reminded me of things I really needed to hear, too. I thought the way Wong organized the essays (& poems!) was really interesting, because I honestly felt like there was a lot of overlap between the ideas of sex & intimacy and connection and creativity, and it felt like they blended so much that I wondered if the 'parts' were even necessary.

Listening to the audiobook, it was hard to really enjoy the poems-- I wish I could've seen them on the page and sat with them longer-- but they were still a cool & interesting inclusion. Hearing all of the different perspectives on intimacy while Disabled was just so incredible, and I felt like every single one was right in its own way.

I don't have too much else to say, especially because it was a collection of essays and harder to comment on as a whole, but I really did love getting to listen to and absorb what all of these incredible, thoughtful people had to say about their experiences. I really would recommend reading Disability Intimacy-- especially if you're Disabled, but even if you're not.

How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals by Sy Montgomery

emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

3.75

This was such a sweet + simple book, and I loved it a lot! It was so nice to hear about the animals and what complex + lovely creatures they are, and it was cool to see love through this new lens. I feel like I still don't know who Sy is, though, and I'm honestly not left that interested in her? 

Another review on here talked about how she was sort of just a girl with a lot of money that got to go on a lot of 'expeditions', and I sort of feel the same. She brought up a lot of really heavy things and then just kind of moved on, and I felt like it was a bit jarring. I think in general, her view of the world + natural world, specifically, felt really privileged and sort of lacking.

I liked it because I loved hearing about the animals + her unique connection with them, but I was a bit thrown off by some of the things she had to say. I'd still recommend it, but don't go in looking for a seriously thought-through memoir or something very science-y. Like I said, it's sweet and simple, and that's what it does best.

There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib

challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.75

This was such a wonderful book, I don't even know where to begin. I've never read a book that so beautifully weaved different stories and concepts-- place, community, growing up, and surviving.

It feels like a diminishing of sports writing to say it isn't sports writing, but I guess what I'd say is that it definitely isn't traditional. Basketball was an incredible and personal lens that allowed him to examine how people think & move through the world, alone and together.

I genuinely just adored this book so much. It feels like such a blur to try and think back through, but I'd really recommend it. Hanif loves his long-ass, vulnerable sentences and I love them, too.

The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling: A Hardcore, High-Flying, No-Holds-Barred History of the One True Sport by Chris Moreno, Aubrey Sitterson

adventurous informative fast-paced

3.75

This was a fun & lovely introduction to the world of wrestling! I felt like I learned an incredible amount in so few pages, and I'm honestly quite grateful for what I took away from it.

It's not rated higher not because of any fault of the book, but because I rate things more on a personal enjoyment level (yes, my reviews are for others, but they're also like my own personal book log). It did amazingly for what it was-- a quick overview of the history of wrestling in a fun little graphic novel. I just already am not biased toward graphic novels, the art style wasn't my personal favorite, and though it did amazing at the informative part, it just didn't catch my attention emotionally (which it wasn't meant to, I imagine).

I think my only actual complaint is that I feel like it skipped over anything that it deemed to dark? Like... it talked all about Vince McMahon as a professional and even did comment on how people ragged on him for his tactics as one, but it didn't ever decide it was worth it to mention his awful track record at all, and ended up glorifying him a bit in the process.

While I understand it's not the main purpose, I do think it's important to talk about the more serious & even shitty sides of pro wrestling, and I wish it had. That said, I really did enjoy this book and would absolutely recommend it as a starting point!

Salt Houses by Hala Alyan

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

"Palestine was something raw in the family, a wound never completely scabbed over."

This was such an incredibly beautiful read. I loved the way Alyan's style shifted with each character and gave them such unique voices, and the characters themselves were so important to hear the stories of, each one exploring what it means to find a place in the world when your roots have been torn up by war.

I was especially taken by Atef and his gentleness despite it all, especially as a father, but also with his intimate connection with Mustafa and how PTSD and depression ravaged him after the war. I think it's common to treat PTSD as something that will always make you violent, and he was such an important and sad but wonderful depiction of a different story-- especially as a victim of awful things and not the soldiers doing them.

I adored watching young Riham and her young exploration of religion (especially with Salma, and as an escape in some ways from her mother), and was struck by the choice to make her somewhat disappear into the background as an adult. I sort of wish I could've heard/seen more about her relationship with Atef did or didn't continue and how they both felt about it, since the bond was so deep when she was a child.

Each character echoed so many real stories, and I felt with them through every single trauma, family fracture, displacement-- from Palestine to Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, and the United States-- through every generation.

I just really would recommend you read this one. It was so moving, gut-wrenching, & incredibly worth it.