Scan barcode
sandro_reads's reviews
41 reviews
Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I rarely read a book after already having seen the film adaptation but this novel was a whole different experience.
Told from an older Elio, reflecting on the summer in Northern Italy when he met Oliver, it perfectly captures the battling, all-encompassing thoughts of youth around identity and shame and love.
It’s that rare book that you can’t put down but want to savor. Beautifully poetic - it’s perfection.
Told from an older Elio, reflecting on the summer in Northern Italy when he met Oliver, it perfectly captures the battling, all-encompassing thoughts of youth around identity and shame and love.
It’s that rare book that you can’t put down but want to savor. Beautifully poetic - it’s perfection.
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
The Glass Castle is the memoir of Jeanette Walls who somehow managed to survive her unconventional (to say the least) upbringing to become a gossip columnist in New York City.
Walls’ matter-of-fact prose does not overly sensationalize the narrative to garner pity. Rather, it examines the complexity of family dynamics and the human capacity for love even in the face of neglect, alcoholism and more.
Walls’ matter-of-fact prose does not overly sensationalize the narrative to garner pity. Rather, it examines the complexity of family dynamics and the human capacity for love even in the face of neglect, alcoholism and more.
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I kept putting off The Nightingale despite many recommendations given the WWII subject matter and the 580 page length. Now that I am on the other side, I can see why people praise it but I just did not connect with it in the same way
I found both sisters insufferable for the plodding first half of the book, each one-dimensional in their persona: Vianne the anxiety-ridden mother and Isabelle, the reckless rebel. We are told countless times how beautiful they both are and they seem to fall in love the way that only happens in romance novels (with some truly cringey dialogue).
The second half picks up the pace as each does their part to rebel against the war and I found the perspective from an occupied France to be a part of history I knew little about. I appreciate that the book does not shy away from the brutalities of war and the end is beautiful. A mixed bag but worthwhile read.
I found both sisters insufferable for the plodding first half of the book, each one-dimensional in their persona: Vianne the anxiety-ridden mother and Isabelle, the reckless rebel. We are told countless times how beautiful they both are and they seem to fall in love the way that only happens in romance novels (with some truly cringey dialogue).
The second half picks up the pace as each does their part to rebel against the war and I found the perspective from an occupied France to be a part of history I knew little about. I appreciate that the book does not shy away from the brutalities of war and the end is beautiful. A mixed bag but worthwhile read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Antisemitism
Moderate: Child death and Rape
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Eleanor Oliphant, as the title wrongly states, is most certainly not fine. But, her journey to getting fine is captivating.
When Eleanor and her coworker, Raymond, help an elderly man, Sammy, who collapsed, the three form a bond that propels Eleanor to examine her life and the childhood trauma she experienced.
Eleanor is downright funny at times, extremely touching at others and also quite difficult but, it beautifully illustrates how small acts of kindness can cause huge ripple effects in someone’s life.
When Eleanor and her coworker, Raymond, help an elderly man, Sammy, who collapsed, the three form a bond that propels Eleanor to examine her life and the childhood trauma she experienced.
Eleanor is downright funny at times, extremely touching at others and also quite difficult but, it beautifully illustrates how small acts of kindness can cause huge ripple effects in someone’s life.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Domestic abuse and Child death
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I had enjoyed Murata’s Convenience Store Woman so decided to pick up Earthlings. Both deal with the societal pressures of Japan but where Woman was almost quiet, Earthlings takes it to the absurd.
Natsuki suffers abuse from everyone in her life but finds kindred spirits in her cousin Yuu and her husband Tomoya - all aliens from Popinpobopia. That is all I will say of the plot but it is a challenging read and will leave you with a WTF feeling.
Natsuki suffers abuse from everyone in her life but finds kindred spirits in her cousin Yuu and her husband Tomoya - all aliens from Popinpobopia. That is all I will say of the plot but it is a challenging read and will leave you with a WTF feeling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Sexual assault, and Child abuse
Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
The title, Vampires of El Norte, does the book an injustice. It is really a mash up of genres: part romance, part historical fiction and part horror - though the horror is not as prominent as the title suggests.
The main focus is Nestor and Nena, childhood sweethearts separated for 8 years by a misunderstanding and who can’t ever seem to say what they want, against the backdrop of early 1800s American colonization of Mexico.
An engrossing read but the pacing is a bit off with the first half of the novel moving slowly then picking up when the forlorn lovers encounter the animalistic depiction of vampires only to rush the ending.
The main focus is Nestor and Nena, childhood sweethearts separated for 8 years by a misunderstanding and who can’t ever seem to say what they want, against the backdrop of early 1800s American colonization of Mexico.
An engrossing read but the pacing is a bit off with the first half of the novel moving slowly then picking up when the forlorn lovers encounter the animalistic depiction of vampires only to rush the ending.
My Husband by Maud Ventura
dark
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Told in the first person, My Husband reads like one long downward mental spiral - full of neurosis and obsessive compulsions - both funny and disturbing. A quick, enjoyable ride that has forever changed how I will view a clementine.
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
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? No
4.5
Homegoing is an ambitious generational saga that begins with two sisters, Effia and Esi, unknown to one another in Africa in the 1700s. Each chapter then follows a subsequent descendant covering such topics as colonialism in Africa, the slave trade, and racism in the Jim Crow south to 1980s Harlem.
Yaa Gyasi has a matter-of-fact writing style and the format can lend itself to read more like a collection of short stories. But, the power of Homegoing lies in the totality of the book over some of its individual chapters.
Yaa Gyasi has a matter-of-fact writing style and the format can lend itself to read more like a collection of short stories. But, the power of Homegoing lies in the totality of the book over some of its individual chapters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The Reformatory tells the story of Robert Stephens Jr. who is unjustly sent to the Gracetown School for Boys and his sister, Gloria, who is desperately trying to get him out.
The school is full of ‘haints’ or ghosts but the true horror is the action of men in the Jim Crow-era south. Tananarive Due has created a fully realized world that will infuriate and shock but ultimately stands as a testament to the perseverance of the human spirit.
And, although a work of fiction, it is based on Due’s own connection to the very real horrors that took place at the Dozier School for Boys - which adds another layer while reading.
The school is full of ‘haints’ or ghosts but the true horror is the action of men in the Jim Crow-era south. Tananarive Due has created a fully realized world that will infuriate and shock but ultimately stands as a testament to the perseverance of the human spirit.
And, although a work of fiction, it is based on Due’s own connection to the very real horrors that took place at the Dozier School for Boys - which adds another layer while reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism
I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
dark
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
3.5
Perhaps my expectations were too high given my love of Makkai’s The Great Believers but, Questions felt like it was trying too hard.
Bodie returns to her boarding school 20 years after the murder of her former roommate, Thalia, and, together with her students, creates a podcast examining if the right man was convicted.
Part One was filled with so many characters across two timelines it was hard to keep track of who was who. And, there was the odd choice of having the book told in the first person but as if Bodie was talking to one of the suspects - which added to the confusion.
Questions tackles memory, true crime obsession, the justice system, cancel culture, #metoo, racism - the list goes on - which is the problem: it felt forced and took focus away from the core story.
Bodie returns to her boarding school 20 years after the murder of her former roommate, Thalia, and, together with her students, creates a podcast examining if the right man was convicted.
Part One was filled with so many characters across two timelines it was hard to keep track of who was who. And, there was the odd choice of having the book told in the first person but as if Bodie was talking to one of the suspects - which added to the confusion.
Questions tackles memory, true crime obsession, the justice system, cancel culture, #metoo, racism - the list goes on - which is the problem: it felt forced and took focus away from the core story.
Content Warnings
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment