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redheadreading's reviews
2018 reviews
Loop of Jade by Sarah Howe
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
Very well crafted, but I found some of the language choices clunky and I always struggle with poetry that is quite fragmented.
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.
I am so BORED!
When I Sing, Mountains Dance by Irene Solà
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
I don't really know how to feel about this little book but it is certainly unique! Because the perspective changes every chapter and some of them are very abstract, I struggled with some portions of this and felt at times that it lacked a purpose. I don't know if the latter half gets stronger or if I just settled in more but the final chapter in particular really worked for me and I felt real catharsis. I shall probably have to sit with this one to ponder it further and the rating may change!
The Atlas of Unusual Languages: Discover intriguing linguistic oddities and language islands by Zoran Nikolić
informative
fast-paced
3.5
A Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
Was just expecting a light and fun dabble in the magical girl genre but ended up kind of loving this! Writing style felt a little detached at the start but i think that really works for the way that the darker elements are sketched into the background. Really fab!
The Satyricon and the Fragments by Petronius, J.P. Sullivan
challenging
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
A strange and bawdy little read - I particularly liked the unexpected werewolf anecdote!
The Fat Lady Sings by Jacqueline Roy
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Gloria is such a warm and engaging perspective, you just take her into your heart instantly. Merle's narrative is more disjointed so it takes a while to get as strong a sense of her as Gloria, but as the book goes on you get to see how deeply the two have been shaped by their life experiences and trauma, along with the way they are othered while institutionalised. I really liked the openness of the ending - I felt like we were shown throughout how unreasonable it is to expect people to lay out their lives, inner thoughts and deepest wounds for inspection (and how that inspection is demanded in very precise ways without any guidance) so the fact that we're left with some ambiguity felt very fitting.