tessieferro's reviews
164 reviews

Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars by Charlotte Graham

challenging reflective tense slow-paced

3.75

I hesitated upon rating it; I think this is the sort of book that deserves a reread before I can fully grasp what I think. In a way, I thought this book was steering me in a different direction; it sometimes felt like it didn’t quite know where it was going yet (it is, after all, a debut). But it was overall incredibly interesting, and it tied up in the end. I feel like I lost a lot by having expectations. This is a take-it-as-it-goes book, but it’s a really solid piece of speculative fiction, with such strong ambience it would actually keep me up with anxiety some nights. Would very much recommend.

Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

challenging dark funny fast-paced

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

5.0

"The existence of life here had already become a paradoxical joke."

Unexpected elegant subtlety, expect for a few heavy handed passages. I wasn't expecting to like this train-of-thought style of the second half, but it worked even better than the heavier first part. The more I think about the technical aspects of this book the higher I want to rate it, even if I'm only understanding its genius a few days after finishing it: it doesn't attempt to shock or horrify, it doesn't get there with the "easy" emotions. It makes you work for it, and it works when you reach the 3 last pages. She absolutely deserved the FBF award and this book deserves a reread.

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

"It is no secret. All power is one in source and end, I think. Years and distances, stars and candles, water and wind and wizardry, the craft in a man's hand and the wisdom in a tree's root: they all arise together. My name, and yours, and the true name of the sun, or a spring of water, or an unborn child, all are syllables of the great word that is slowly spoken by the shining of the stars. There is no other power. No other name."

I read "From Elfland to Poughkeepsie" after finishing this, for more insight, and it gave more context to her style. Her work is less character driven, slower and pensive, but more fantastical and whimsical than most, with a clear language that seems inspired by oral tradition, and atmospherical as no other. I'm excited to try her sci-fi, where it seems she will have "more to say", but she is definitely a master of her craft.

The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers

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? It's complicated

4.0

'"Worse still, you might set an example. You might inspire other writers to produce finer books and aspire to the Orm - to write less but better. (...) What counts is the paper we sell, not the words that are printed on it."'

A really surprisingly entertaining, fun, inventive, weirdly mature read. The illustrations are an incredible touch. Sometimes it dragged a little, and it is 450 pages, but it was still a blast of unspoken creativity.

The House of God by Samuel Shem

challenging inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

“I realized with alarm that I hadn’t learned how to save anyone at all, not Dr. Sanders or Lazarus or Jimmy or Saul or Anna O., and that what I was thrilled about was learning how to save myself.”

The right book at the right time. Does it have a lot of weird psychosexual stuff that maybe isn’s super necessary and that the author should see a therapist about? Yes. Is it also the realest I’ve seen medicine portrayed in media so far, and actually kind of disturbing and hard to read in the second half? Absolutely.

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

"Can there be any source of power outside of humanity? Even if God once existed, He died long ago."

New favorite genre just dropped: hard first-contact with aliens sci fi with overarching criticism of the modern world :) I will only take half a star because a person can only take so many physics, other than that it was close to genre perfection.

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

fast-paced

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

1.0

this is what would happen if you fed an AI a terry pratchett book, made it spend 2h on woke twitter and then told it to write a predictable fantasy novel

Dark Days by James Baldwin

challenging inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

4.5 

"The miracle is that some have stepped out of the rags of the Republic's definitions to assume the great burden and glory of their humanity and of their responsibility for one another. It is an extraordinary achievement to be trapped in the dungeon of color and to dare to shake down its walls and to step out of it, leaving the jailhouse keeper in the rubble."

James Baldwin, besides having a great mind, is just a delight to read. His essays are otherworldly, poignant and just plain beautiful.

Panenka by Rónán Hession

emotional hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

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

4.5

"I'm scared for you, and scared for myself, that something is already taking you away from me. But isn't that what allowing yourself be loved is all about - letting something greater than fear into your life?"

Who knew football can be sad? Brilliantly human and complex.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

dark hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.75

"Mariam wished her mother were alive to see this. To see her, amid all of it. To see at last that contentment and beauty were not unattainable things. Even for the likes of them." 

Bittersweet, so bittersweet.