prayushi_sharma's reviews
7 reviews

Normal People by Sally Rooney

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I am obsessed. I read the book after watching the show worried I wouldn't be as pulled in since I already knew the plot but I still ended up binge reading and finishing this in less than a week. I think it's really difficult to write character driven novels because the author can't rely of plot points (omg someone died, explosion, etc) to keep the reader engaged. Writing character driven stories where essentially nothing happens but so much happens internally is incredibly difficult and Sally Rooney does a stunning job. 

Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

dark emotional funny hopeful

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

Animal by Lisa Taddeo

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

2.5

At multiple points I was tempted to DNF and I wish I had 

Bunny by Mona Awad

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.25

I loved reading Bunny by Mona Awad. I had originally picked this up since I enjoy magical realism and had seen reviews detailing that the book was fast paced and I needed something to get me out of my reading slump. I loved how the more and more you read the more the lines between reality and fantasy started to become blurred. This is further propagated by the protagonist, who is an unreliable narrator. There were multiple points during the book where I would have to back and re-read passages to really understand what was happening. I don't say this as a critique by any means, but rather to point out this is definitely a novel that must be need to be read critically and with close attention to the prose. The best I can describe this book is akin to a Black Mirror episode in book form. 

I'm a Fan by Sheena Patel

dark reflective slow-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

4.5

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A

3.75

While the stories are amazingly written, I find them to a touch redundant. I understand that often among anthologies themes across short stories are similar to create an overarching theme for the book but I found that the short stories in this collection all had the same pessimistic outlook. I loved the second and third stories but by the fifth story I got a bit bored by the pacing of the novel and realized  every short story would end more or less on a bitter note. 

Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey
Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.

Didn't capture my attention