shafnut's reviews
98 reviews

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

emotional reflective sad

4.0

i did not expect this book to take a medical route when it came to the condition? so a lot of the earlier descriptions of Digby’s training to me were like ??? okayyyyy. But yes eventually when we got to Mariamma and how the book ended, I felt like it all made sense. 

I dont know if I like where the book ended. It does also feel like the book definitely could have been shorter? or started with Philipose’s generation.

Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder by Asako Yuzuki

4.0

great food writing - descriptions of recipes, cooking and textures of food, and the memories associated with food - a sense of nostalgia and also trauma). the misogynistic ways in which men expect food prepared from their wives and daughters - throwing tantrums (Rika’s father & grandfather, kaiji and the men that she murdered) so well done. 

 

Kajii seems to have contradictory ideas of misogyny? on one hand she thinks there are men who dont look for a skinny woman but at the same time believes that women should not want to overpower men? Her delusions of grandeur/of reality were very eye opening. 

 

i think there was a part of me that was expecting to be marveled by Kajii’s world - to be changed in some way, but I guess I didnt. I dont know if its the third person writing but i felt a sense of detachment from Rika’s suffering compared to the things that Reiko goes through. 

 

Some really interesting portrayals of relationships and the blurring of romantic & platonic friendships

Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt

I saw a lot of reviews about the trauma porn nature of the last part of the book, but the scene of Alice reading a transphobic hate comment that was PAGES long, was probably where I should have DNF-ed. 

It feels like once we find out what happens in the house, we could have gotten to the ending faster. I felt like there was some overexplaining of the facism metaphors/facist things about the world and the story did not need to drag on for that long. BUT the two main characters were so well-written and vivid and it was great horror writing, I truly was submerged in the world. Loved the use of the references to the real world, especially the band poster. 

Major major major trigger warnings.

Bellies by Nicola Dinan

emotional hopeful reflective relaxing tense

4.75

definitely a good read - loved Ming, her perspective and the mentions of Malaysian food 

but there’s some thing the reality of cis men that makes me detest men like Tom - when he brought up the topic of detransitioning, I was like nope, im not rooting for this guy. 

also,

wasnt lisa the one who wanted to make the play? im just not sure how the play became THE reason why things fell apart, i feel like I would accept life tearing relationships apart better than putting it on the play

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

dark emotional reflective sad tense

5.0

reaching the end of the book and realising that the Giovanni’s of the world really get fucked around by the David’s of the world - an incredible book

Love by Toni Morrison

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

now this is a perfect book about female friendships and surviving the patriarchy 

Mother of Strangers by Suad Amiry

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

If you looking for a book that tells you a little bit about the 1948 Nakba - this is a very good book for people who dont read non-fiction. Suad Amiry, thank you for this one. Ceasefire now. Free Palestine. 🍉🇵🇸

Subhi’s inner world and voice were so well written i felt like i knew him as a person, pacing was amazing and it is a very well told story. Reading that its based on

a real life story absolutely gutted me

there were some VERY VERY MINOR parts where dialogue felt like it was showing more than telling but everything i mentioned above is more than enough reason for you to pick this book up

If They Come for Us: Poems by Fatimah Asghar

5.0

Salt Houses by Hala Alyan

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective

5.0

Hala Alyan’s writing is so beautiful- the imagery, the themes if death, loss, loved ones and home are so beautifully explored. the highlights for me were the way the complex characters are so vivid and we watch them grow into their personalities 

i like the ending but it feels like i want more - not sure if its more of the book? or if the ending doesnt feel complete? definitely wished that

i had more time with Mustafa :((

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad tense

4.5

GREAT book - the themes of women and their role in society discussed in the book is veryyyyy relevant no matter what kind of background you come from. it gave me a good insight to the plight of Dalit people in India as well.

loved all the enduring and layered representations of female friendships and sacrifice.

the writing was very well done except for a few words being unnecessarily complicated in the context of the story? 

The only reason why this wasnt a 5 star is

the second last scene - the tone had a lot more humour compared to the rest of the book - which i didnt get any hints of the last time we saw the “don” character, 

so that took me out of the reading experience a LITTLE

I also cant

reconcile how Saloni was looking out for Geeta behind her back but being a bitch to her face during her marriage AND after her husband left? although maybe Saloni still harboured some resentment? idk