thealbapoems's reviews
119 reviews

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

dark sad fast-paced

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

4.0

It's haunting to read a book so telling of the author's mental state.

I wonder if Plath, like her main character, lost all hope after being disappointed and hurt by a bad doctor. I wonder if her writing Dr. Nolan for Esther was an effort in manifesting one for herself.

One of the things that stood out to me the most after finishing the novel is the clear divide between the female and the male atmospheres. It's something that's done through the use of space (the female only Amazon, the female college, later the female asylum) but also through character.

Throughout the novel, the pain Esther suffers is always inflicted by male characters. I don't think there is a single character in the text that leaves Esther better than he found her. It's true that the female characters aren't exactly all good either, but the contrast remains stark. Like Dr. Nolan says to Esther, it's in women that we find tenderness.

This book was not what I expected at all, and Plath's prose is a joy to read- I am amazed by the subtlety with which she communicates to the reader the mental state of her protagonist. I read this book in one afternoon, which should be telling of how much I enjoyed it. But also, I think I read this book at the perfect time, the fig tree metaphor resonated but didn't hurt, so I'm grateful for that. 

Shine, Darling by Ella Frears

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

Ella Frears ladies and gentlemen. What a poetry collection, full of moon, dirt, and witnesses. The turning point is definitely PASSIVITY, ELECTRICITY, ACCLIVITY, but the collection manages to hold its own even after such a master piece. Reading this collection has made me incredibly jealous, but in the best way. Will be reading more from her. 

Ozone Journal by Peter Balakian

challenging medium-paced

3.0

This is a hard book to review. I don’t think I read this at the right time, maybe I didn’t have the mental capacity to take everything in, the message, the context. I would like to re-read it at some point. The imagery and language was at times opaque and beautiful. Difficult to unravel, but magnetic. 

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

adventurous fast-paced

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

2.75

God, I recently saw a video where they said that Jack Kerouac writes like ticker tape and that’s the best way to describe this book. A weird read, but one I felt I had to read at some point. I don’t know what I was expecting but it wasn’t this. What a strange tale of manic misfits and their various abuses to the women in their life. Would not read it again. 

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

inspiring reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

3.25

Although this book contained some beautiful reflections on humanity, what binds us together, and our propensity to diverge, for me it fell short as a novel. The description passages are interesting at first, but after 14 orbits, it gets a little repetitive (which might’ve been done in purpose if it wasn’t because the narrator states that our cosmonauts never got tired of the same sights). I guess I would have liked a slightly more ‘attached’ narration if that makes sense. Chie was definitely the most appealing character, and her lists were some of the highlights of this novel. 

Goodlord by Ella Frears

dark funny reflective fast-paced

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

4.75

I didn’t mean to finish this book in a day, but I did and that’s all you need to know about it. 215 pages of a genre bending poetry confessional email about the shitty state of real estate in London, desire, and property. Which, after reading this, you’ll be able to see are more closely intertwined than you might think. This long poem only works because of Frears’ mastery of voice and narrative, her style is powerful, moving, direct, and playful and at the same time vulnerable and opaque. The best collection I have read in long time. Potentially because I too have had to deal with an Ava. I will be buying Frears’ debut collection and counting the days until it arrives. 

This is not a book for new poetry readers, but god is it good.  

Food for the Dead by Charlotte Shevchenko Knight

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

3.75

A pressing and moving collection, dealing with war and the scars it leaves on a nation through the scars of grandmother’s hands. 

La casa de los espíritus by Isabel Allende

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

I have a terrible weakness for books like this, spanning over generations, love, war, and more than anything, that delightful magical realism that keeps me turning the pages. A family, a haunted man and his redemption after years of rage and misguided decisions, a house turned labyrinth, a woman who spoke to the dead and played the piano with her mind. 

Panza de burro by Andrea Abreu

4.0

With My Back to the World by Victoria Chang

challenging reflective medium-paced

3.75

A somewhat challenging but striking collection that utilizes Agnes Martin’s oeuvre to explore, through shape poems, themes of identity, grief, and death. Chang’s style deceives, it might seem simple upon a first read, but much like Martin’s work, it contains a terrible weight in its lines. An inspiring read.