sianjkh's reviews
26 reviews

The Pear Field by Nana Ekvtimishvili

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

this was a weird one. for being based in a residential school for intellectually disabled children it is rarely brought up outside of talks of "normal" kids. i found the writing style added to the general ambience and setting (that being said, i wonder how much of the book was lost in translation). it's overall incredibly cinematic and it makes perfect sense that the author is a director. i wish there was more action, more anything really. i wish the characters has been described more and I wish Lela was able to see her plan through 
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The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i am eleanor she is me.
The Margot Affair by Sanaë Lemoine

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

this was good. so good. the descriptive language covered my brain like a blanket. my mother asked at some point if i felt I was suspending disbelief and truly this book had me captivated at every moment. however, this book suffers from the Elena Ferrante effect. Gorgeous writing and then! suddenly! there is a relationship with an older man. if it wasn't for the ending it would've gotten 5 stars
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The Importance of Music to Girls by Lavinia Greenlaw

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emotional funny informative reflective fast-paced

3.0

I felt like a cloud struck by lightning. This was how someone once described being in love to me, and it could be said that in terms of how the world acted upon me, I was in love.

filled with so many references I didn't get and so many songs I wish I knew. girlhood never ends.
Crush by Richard Siken

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dark emotional reflective slow-paced

4.5

because you want to die for love,/you always have.

i am drowning and i am free and i am victim to richard siken and pure obsession 
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

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challenging dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

i feel genuinely queasy. I had heard that Murata's other novel was dark but Jesus fucking Christ. I finished the book out of spite that i had paid $25 for it, and because although every single topic in the book is atrocious the writing is gorgeous. god is not merciful and me reading the teacher scene in my school library is proof.
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The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka

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emotional reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

The Swimmers is two entirely different books stiched together which, unfortunately, didn't work at all for me. The beginning is playful, funny, and reminiscent of Nightvale in its descriptions. The second half is a slow burning ache in your heart. 
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Wild by Cheryl Strayed

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

5.0

Blood is thicker than water, my mother had always said when i was growing up, a sentiment I'd often disputed. But it turned out that it didn't matter whether she was right or wrong. They both flowed out of my cupped palms.

I started this book at 8am in a small coffee shop before my therapy appointment. I spent the following hour and a half trying not to bawl my eyes out. Cheryl Strayed has managed to write the most honest autobiography I have ever seen and made me fall into a world of her making. I also desperately want and need to hike the PCT now.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

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emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

it was very hard to snap out of the mindset that i was reading those cute little instagram posts of animals having birthday parties and hanging out (you know the ones). the drawings are gorgeous and the words are warm but i cannot find a way to see this as anything but a motivational quotes booklet. I expected more from the hype i heard over it 
The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante

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challenging emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

i wanted to like this so bad. i wanted this book to become a necessity for my life as i know it. when i read the opening line, "[t]wo years before leaving home my father said to my mother that I was very ugly" i texted everyone i knew a picture of the page with the caption "holy fuck"

the writing is gorgeous. i mourn the writing lost in translation if the writing that was kept is this good. unfortunately, this book drags on for an eternity; spanning the course of two years and a miriad of issues only rich people deal with. however i will in fact be reading the rest of ferrante's work.
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