st0bbit's reviews
100 reviews

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

challenging dark slow-paced

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

4.5

shiiit i actually really liked this. yes it was long, and i already knew about the plot twist going into it, but i was still super intrigued by the exploration of complex characters, the deconstruction of their family dynamics and the slow reveal of every important event which led up to d-day.

Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

dark 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

3.5

hmmm preferred this a bit to MYORAR although the front was so draggy, really only picked up about 60% in. this is the sort of unlikeable character that i enjoy though i think…. she’s pathetic but concerningly, there’s some stuff i can identify w her about…. um anyway. overall the ending also felt a bit abrupt to me, like what exactly happened to Rebecca? why did her plan change? nothing too big or spoiler-y, but loose ends i really wish could’ve been wrapped up. perhaps it’s intentional, to show how little eileen truly fixates on the people in her past and thus never bothered to follow up with them, but still. i wanna know!!!!!! give the people (me) what they want!!!!

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

easy to read and digest, and the exploration of parenthood + contrast against various parents made this a v compelling read. some of the language (mostly dialogue) just felt somewhat cheesy though 

Beloved by Toni Morrison

adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

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

3.5

loved the themes overall but also didn’t understand certain parts 😅🙏

Supper Club by Lara Williams

adventurous medium-paced

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

4.25

i rly liked the overall exploration of women’s relationship with food and how it plays such a big role in how she then perceives her body. the whole idea of going against what’s expected of a woman, to be acutely aware of our portions, eat daintily, maintain a certain size etc, was quite fascinating so definitely there’s a bit of me living vicariously…. the idea of consciously taking up space and asserting yourself, through eating what you want and however much you wish to.

the hypocritical aspect of supper club was briefly critiqued in the middle but i wish more attention had been paid to it. i feel like i can’t exactly comprehend that right now but it’s just nagging at the back of my mind LOL

regardless, the portrayal of relationships and different friendships was also something i enjoyed reading. everything relating back to the food, the recipes (though some were loooong and kinda draggy) was also a nice full circle kind of moment going on, with regards to the exploration between food and the female body. there’s more thoughts i can’t really coherently express, but i feel like this book has q a few things to unpack if given enough time

reminded me of “my year of rest and relaxation” but not in a bad way, i preferred this… just that some elements were strongly reminiscent of that book, especially arnold and roberta’s relationship. in some ways i felt like this book could almost serve as a prequel for how MYORAR’s mc chooses to slip into her hibernation

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Iron by Rona Munro

emotional reflective fast-paced

4.0

reading this for h3 and i think i read through too quick but i enjoyed this! my first non-compulsory study related play though it’s still for school….

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Did not finish book. Stopped at 19%.

tbh only rereading for h3 but i won’t be examining this text so… nah bye

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Did not finish book. Stopped at 53%.

honestly i just couldn’t stand the format. pity because the premise genuinely drew me in… i googled a summary which i haven’t done so far with books i DNF-ed. but this format just made it a whole lot of telling and showing. the writing was too literal, everything felt so draggy with information getting shoved in my face, especially with how good and wonderful and seductive daisy was. how natural and powerful and magnetic billy was. it became so repetitive and i simply got too bored

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

maybe i need more time to process but i found the ending somewhat underwhelming. the kind where oh wow i didn’t expect it totally, but it doesn’t completely make sense… i think the story also felt almost messy at times and i found it hard reconciling theo’s POV with the ending 

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

this was so weird but so interesting lol. the kind of book where nothing really happens, but u do get a weird perverse pleasure watching what she’s doing with her hibernation project. schaudenfraude, if you will. the ending felt too abrupt, and without much closure but i suppose that’s the nature of these sorts of books that weren’t really building towards anything. the last line though 🤌🤌🤌 felt really powerful and i only properly processed it when i reread the sentence. at certain points i thought of dnf-ing because it felt draggy and inconsequential, like i wasn’t sure what the purpose of having things described in such bland detail was for. i still don’t really get it and i will chalk it up to the MC’s fixation or whatever, i suppose. anyway i kept reading because i knew what the novel was building towards at the end and was just curious to see how it would all be executed. hmmmm maybe when i’m feeling adventurous i’ll explore more of this author’s works, because i’ve also heard that unlikeable female characters are sort of her thing.