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porcelain's reviews
62 reviews
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
4.0
given to me by a dear friend. a hopeful exploration into transhumanism and space travel
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
challenging
dark
emotional
4.5
Thinking you are the only one to experience such a relationship, the isolation that comes with the combination of queerness and abuse. Not having the words to describe what is, in actuality, a common experience. Holding on to little snippets of memory, of memorabilia, to prove it as a real experience, that it happened. Reaching into the past to pull at threads of history and finding yourself in them. The abuser's steps being almost comically textbook, revealed in a single Google search, yet still somehow so ensnaring. Mourning something you know to be terrible.
Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
best thing i've ever been recommended, such a joy to read :)
The New Carbon Architecture: Building to Cool the Climate by Bruce King
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
5.0
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
emotional
reflective
sad
- 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
2.75
I found the writing in this book some of my favorite. I enjoyed the luxurious and rich world within, and how said luxury cannot mend Jude's struggle. I loved the analysis of character and the relationships depicted. I loved how Yanagihara called back to the characters' younger years, to parts of the book read in real-time earlier becoming memories read about later, how the reader travels through life with these men. I really did enjoy parts of this book. This said, after researching Yanagihara, I cannot support her and the thesis of this novel. To tout the message that there is trauma that is insurmountable and that therapy does not work is wrong. It actively endangers readers who may relate to the characters of this novel. I myself found many aspects of this book relatable and was nearly drawn into the fetishization of mental illness and of staying ill. As someone working on recovery, this was not great. To hear that Yanagihara believes some trauma cannot be recovered from cut deeply. A reader's natural procession of thought is, if I relate to Jude, can I also not recover? Will I never heal? Am I doomed to a life directed by my past?
I also feel that Yanagihara was tormenting Jude, to some extent. I understand that trauma begets trauma and makes one vulnerable to abuse down the road. This said, moments of the book felt like she was playing god simply to make things more tragic, to torture her characters. What is Jude supposed to do? Genuinely, if he cannot succeed in therapy, what does Yanagihara want Jude to do? To die? To suffer unendingly? How is a person who has experienced horrible things supposed to recover? But, to return to the point about random tragedy: the sudden appearance of Caleb was inexplicable. There is no reason for his appearance -- he just suddenly appears at the moment of recovery to keep Jude down. The deaths of Willem and Malcolm are the more obvious random occurrence of pain shoved into the book by Yanagihara. It does not further the message of the book nor add to the story, besides Yanagihara's hellbent goal of trapping Jude in a suspended state of misery and suicidal ideation/intention. Also, the random aside at the tail end of the novel that Andy dies of cancer shortly after Jude dies was another example of her simply throwing pain around without meaning. Andy's death adds little substance; he dies if only maybe to say something on how his life was intertwined with being Jude's physician.
Moreover, Yanagihara managed to write a book with two men in a relationship while simultaneously demonizing LGBT people and avoiding true representation. Willem and Jude both do not actively state that they are either bisexual or gay. They do not engage with aspects of LGBT life or community. The only character to fully admit to his queer sexuality, JD, is cast in a subpar light, to say the least. Yanagihara also uses fatness as a shorthand for bad, something also demonstrated thoroughly in her portrayal of JD.
A Little Life is a novel I struggle to give a rating. I found the substance of the book, the writing and the content, excellent. The message, however, the deeper intricacies, are things I find morally abhorrent and damaging.
Moreover, Yanagihara managed to write a book with two men in a relationship while simultaneously demonizing LGBT people and avoiding true representation.
A Little Life is a novel I struggle to give a rating. I found the substance of the book, the writing and the content, excellent. The message, however, the deeper intricacies, are things I find morally abhorrent and damaging.