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surmayi's reviews
28 reviews
Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I loved reading this book. It was a wild ride experience. It is one of the most well-written books that I have read in some time.
Jean Swinney is a reporter who is contacted by Gretchen Tilbury who claims her daughter is the result of a virgin birth. We follow Swinney as she investigates the story for her job and gets into deeper relationships with the Tilburys.
The vibe of small pleasures is everyday life juxtaposed with investigating an out-of-the-ordinary miracle. I love how Swinney's columns on gardening tips, her chores, and recipes are peppered in between crazy discoveries. I also like how the everyday relationships are in turn impacted by each of these discoveries. Love the way it is written.
Jean Swinney's character is so much fun to follow, she is real, sometimes witty, and also genuinely nice. I like the writing. The way we discover more about the hospital, the friends, and Gretchen through Swinney's investigation. The way it unwraps is fun to follow.
The Mother-daughter dynamic between Jean and her mother is so well done, I loved every second of it. The dichotomy of their feelings, the conflicts, the banter, and Jean's patience, are reflective of real relationships.
I like Gretchen's character. I also like that as we discover more and also get to know her more, the book switches from representing her as this perfect angelic person to a normal human. I was thoroughly invested in all of the relationships.
Finally, I felt the discomfort and the burden of the truth that Jean felt in the last few chapters, it hadn't just been passed onto her but also to the reader.
BUT what the hell happened to the ending? It was completely out of nowhere and was unnecessary to the plot. The whole vibe was thrown off. It seemed like a scene put in for unnecessary shock value. At beginning of the last chapter, I was a little excited about the changed character perspective, I was excited about insight into this character's internal monologue. I am going to ignore the explanation in the Afterword and pretend it ended with the last sentence before it.
Jean Swinney is a reporter who is contacted by Gretchen Tilbury who claims her daughter is the result of a virgin birth. We follow Swinney as she investigates the story for her job and gets into deeper relationships with the Tilburys.
The vibe of small pleasures is everyday life juxtaposed with investigating an out-of-the-ordinary miracle. I love how Swinney's columns on gardening tips, her chores, and recipes are peppered in between crazy discoveries. I also like how the everyday relationships are in turn impacted by each of these discoveries. Love the way it is written.
Jean Swinney's character is so much fun to follow, she is real, sometimes witty, and also genuinely nice. I like the writing. The way we discover more about the hospital, the friends, and Gretchen through Swinney's investigation. The way it unwraps is fun to follow.
The Mother-daughter dynamic between Jean and her mother is so well done, I loved every second of it. The dichotomy of their feelings, the conflicts, the banter, and Jean's patience, are reflective of real relationships.
I like Gretchen's character. I also like that as we discover more and also get to know her more, the book switches from representing her as this perfect angelic person to a normal human. I was thoroughly invested in all of the relationships.
Finally, I felt the discomfort and the burden of the truth that Jean felt in the last few chapters, it hadn't just been passed onto her but also to the reader.
BUT what the hell happened to the ending? It was completely out of nowhere and was unnecessary to the plot. The whole vibe was thrown off. It seemed like a scene put in for unnecessary shock value. At beginning of the last chapter, I was a little excited about the changed character perspective, I was excited about insight into this character's internal monologue. I am going to ignore the explanation in the Afterword and pretend it ended with the last sentence before it.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty
dark
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I adored the book till I hit the 86% mark (or Chapter 16)
Grace was a brilliant unlikeable grey protagonist, I was annoyed with her at times, from her narcissism to the remarks she made about people's appearances and bodies (not including the general other remarks she made about the Artemis clan I found no sympathy in my heart for them) but I rooted for her throughout the book irrespective of the fact that she was annoyingly judge-y. I loved her coldness, at no point did I dislike her for the murders (except for one).
But Grace had a bit of a pick-me vibe which I did not like at all and she had it while posing as a feminist who read so much feminist literature apparently. I did try to dismiss it while reading to some extent because her character is revenge-driven to a point that she does not seem to have invested much time in herself and self-absorbed to a point that she was not very self-aware. (Yes, I'll forgive her murders but muddling feminism, no thnx lol).
The twist at the end, in my opinion, threw the book off. I had picked up on something like it coming up whenever she described her surroundings and people in it at the clubs and cafes, so I was not surprised by it but I was extremely disappointed by the course it took. I rarely find myself disappointed by endings, but this one just seemed a bit out of place and pretty unnecessary.
But the book was very absorbing and a super fun read, I enjoyed the detail that Grace went into while planning and the extent to which she went for all of them. For me, the book ended with the last sentence of Chapter 15 or even Chapter 17. I genuinely enjoyed the book and was very into it despite the other issues I had with it, but the ending just didn't do the book any favours. Maybe even just a reaction from Grace at the end would have helped, especially since the book was written like a conversation Grace was holding directly with the reader.
Also, a lot of discussion about class without actually getting into the theme properly. The book had a bit of an 'eat the rich' vibe which could have been fleshed out in a better and fuller way.
Grace was a brilliant unlikeable grey protagonist, I was annoyed with her at times, from her narcissism to the remarks she made about people's appearances and bodies (not including the general other remarks she made about the Artemis clan I found no sympathy in my heart for them) but I rooted for her throughout the book irrespective of the fact that she was annoyingly judge-y. I loved her coldness, at no point did I dislike her for the murders (except for one).
But Grace had a bit of a pick-me vibe which I did not like at all and she had it while posing as a feminist who read so much feminist literature apparently. I did try to dismiss it while reading to some extent because her character is revenge-driven to a point that she does not seem to have invested much time in herself and self-absorbed to a point that she was not very self-aware. (Yes, I'll forgive her murders but muddling feminism, no thnx lol).
The twist at the end, in my opinion, threw the book off. I had picked up on something like it coming up whenever she described her surroundings and people in it at the clubs and cafes, so I was not surprised by it but I was extremely disappointed by the course it took. I rarely find myself disappointed by endings, but this one just seemed a bit out of place and pretty unnecessary.
But the book was very absorbing and a super fun read, I enjoyed the detail that Grace went into while planning and the extent to which she went for all of them. For me, the book ended with the last sentence of Chapter 15 or even Chapter 17. I genuinely enjoyed the book and was very into it despite the other issues I had with it, but the ending just didn't do the book any favours. Maybe even just a reaction from Grace at the end would have helped, especially since the book was written like a conversation Grace was holding directly with the reader.
Also, a lot of discussion about class without actually getting into the theme properly. The book had a bit of an 'eat the rich' vibe which could have been fleshed out in a better and fuller way.