readingthebacklist's reviews
320 reviews

Into the Planet: My Life as a Cave Diver by Jill Heinerth

adventurous informative medium-paced

4.0

La dimensión desconocida by Nona Fernández

dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

A Personal Matter by Kenzaburō Ōe

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Garden by the Sea by Mercè Rodoreda

reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

Reading this novel was like having an intimate conversation complete with asides and meanderings, in part bc the narrator is so richly drawn that he felt like a real person spilling the gossip on the owners of the villa he worked at. I was saddened to part ways with the gardener. 
Knowing that his is a way of life in its wane adds a poignancy to the story.

A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

dark funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

I loved the MC’s voice, she’s worldly and cynical with a sprinkling of dry wit. Fun exploration of foodie culture and our true crime obsession. Superb food descriptions. I did have an issue with the writing veering toward the pretentious and an overuse similes, but I didn’t really notice it past the initial 1/4 or so—either got used to it or lessened. 

El silbido del arquero by Irene Vallejo

mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century by Alice Wong

informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.25

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Feel-good, relaxing, cozy fantasy 

Hecho en Saturno by Rita Indiana

reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Hecho en Saturno reminded me of Radicales Libres by Rosa Beltran in that radical leaders/ideology is demystified. As with Rita Indiana’s Tentacle, art is an important aspect of the story. Goya’s Saturn Devouring his Son is referenced often as is the adage made famous by the French Revolution, like Saturn, the revolution devours its children. The former revolutionaries, have shed the ideology now that they stand to benefit from their place in the political hierarchy. 

 

I liked the concept of a recovering heroin addict serving as conduit between the story and the reader, his disillusionment and pliant manner lend a fragmented and dreamy quality to the narrative. Argenis, though often unlikeable and shiftless, also aroused sympathy in me. For me this novel felt more accessible than the author’s previous novel, Tentacle.