sarahxify's reviews
691 reviews

Hospital by Sanya Rushdi

challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

Me: This has nothing to do with lithium, my mood was always stable. I was angry, it seemed wrong to force medication on me, and that was mistaken for mood instability. I'm not angry anymore because I have explained to myself that if I refuse the prescribed drugs, I'll be given others instead. Which is why I've decided that I'll continue to take lithium, even though it's poison. Or else I'll be killed even  more quickly with other kinds of poison. 
Dr Nevin: I can see you're still lacking in insight. You still don't realise there is something wrong with you. 
Me: There's nothing particularly wrong with me. And even if there is, medication is not the right way to treat it. 
Dr Nevin: What is the right way in your view? 
Me: With language. Through conversations. 
Dr Nevin: That's possible too. Counselling can be arranged simultaneously with medication. 

Graft by Maggie MacKellar

reflective medium-paced

3.0

The Maiden by Kate Foster

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Recitatif by Toni Morrison

5.0

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No

2.0

Quite an odd story when you get down to it 

Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
Did not finish book. Stopped at 49%.

For this kind of book to grab me it needs to have really beautiful, dreamy writing, and it doesn't have that in my opinion. I am about halfway through and finding I'm completely losing track of what's going on

Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

dark emotional slow-paced

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

5.0

Really loved this, a treat to round off a fairly crappy reading year. This tells the story of two women, Miri and Leah. Leah has just come back from a submarine mission that went deeply wrong, with Leah staying away for 6 months for a three week mission and she's changed since she came back. It's very unclear to Miri what exactly happened when Leah was under the sea, and Leah has become very dreamlike and unresponsive. 

The mood of this book is unsettling and quiet, very well done. For fan's of The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh or Hydra by Adriane Howell

The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Telltale: reading writing remembering by Carmel Bird
Did not finish book. Stopped at 14%.

Just didn't grab me, felt very disjointed 

The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

dark emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0