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theshiftyshadow's reviews
328 reviews
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue
funny
fast-paced
3.25
Pretty funny and enjoyable while reading it but it just kind of ends, and I didn't mind that it had ended?
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Did not finish book. Stopped at 31%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 31%.
Didn't get this finished before loan ran out. Will probably return to it eventually
Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This is the first book I've read in a long time that I couldn't put down. I read it in 3 days, and it would have been all in 1 go if I hadn't had a life to get on with.
Not sure I can structure this in any meaningful way, so here's some thoughts.....
I loved that when Lucy starts realising her feelings for Susannah she's not really bothered by them, she's just confused, until she's not, and then she's still mostly fine with them. That felt like a different view point of someone realising they're queer, especially in god fearing 90's Ireland. Even when Susannah reciprocates she's mostly fine. It's only when the rest of the world creeps closer to their bubble that we see the awful position the heteronormative (straight up homophobic at this point in time) mindset has put her in. All the things she clings to aren't actually good for her, but she's been put in this position where she must live a lie, or lose everything she knows as home.
The contrast between Susannah's family life and Lucy's is fascinating too. Susannah's parents don't care if she likes girls, but mostly because they don't really care about her. Lucy has a very traditional Irish family, and she fears losing them even though they're not actually that close, and her mother's love is conditional. Even her relationship with her friends isn't what she thinks it is. And yet she clings to them all for too long.
I liked that even though it was from Lucy's POV the writing does a good job of giving Susannah some back story, and we get a bit of insight into her character from Lucy even if Lucy doesn't realise what she's seeing at the time. Susannah's being mean to her at times when they're younger mirrors the way she looks for attention from her parents. Lucy doesn't realise that this is what she's doing. Susannah says she's liked Lucy for longer than Lucy's liked her, later we find out it's since they were 6!! Lucy thinks she's been pining for ages but Susannah has her beat by nearly a decade. This little detail also explains why Susannah is so far ahead of Lucy in terms of self acceptance, but also why she'll put up with as much as she does for as long as she does.
The writing is really beautiful at times too, and I think more than anything I've read it is so good at expressing the love Lucy and Susannah share as just love. As I said before, Lucy doesn't really feel shame about it early on, and even when the outside world makes her wobble, she expresses many times how what they have feels like the most natural thing, and how Susannah is everything good in her, and how she feels like herself so fully with Susannah, so how can that possibly be a bad thing? It's actually kind of sad at times to read it and think that's what a judgmental society has done (is still doing) to kids. I know Lucy is fictional, but her thoughts feel very real.
I don't think I usually like first person narratives but this one is really good. Lucy is self aware enough to know she's hurting people, but we see enough of her upbringing to understand the choices she makes, even if we hate them. She hurts Martin, but really he's been hurt by the same thinking that has Lucy trapped. The assumption they'll end up together, that if he waits long enough she'll realise she loves him, that they'll do like their parents and marry young and stay in town. That's not to say Lucy is blameless where he's concerned but it's not as simple as her just using him.
I didn't go full 5 stars for 2 reasons. I liked the ending, but it felt like the last 5 or 6 chapters kind of moved very fast compared to the rest of the book. Although I do understand that it was about getting Lucy to the place she needed to be, and it does do that. Also, for purely selfish reasons, I would have liked to read more about what happens after then ending, but as I said, that wasn't really the point.
Side note - I'm sure she has a million other ideas to write about but I would 100% read this same book from Susannah's POV.
Not sure I can structure this in any meaningful way, so here's some thoughts.....
I loved that when Lucy starts realising her feelings for Susannah she's not really bothered by them, she's just confused, until she's not, and then she's still mostly fine with them. That felt like a different view point of someone realising they're queer, especially in god fearing 90's Ireland. Even when Susannah reciprocates she's mostly fine. It's only when the rest of the world creeps closer to their bubble that we see the awful position the heteronormative (straight up homophobic at this point in time) mindset has put her in. All the things she clings to aren't actually good for her, but she's been put in this position where she must live a lie, or lose everything she knows as home.
The contrast between Susannah's family life and Lucy's is fascinating too. Susannah's parents don't care if she likes girls, but mostly because they don't really care about her. Lucy has a very traditional Irish family, and she fears losing them even though they're not actually that close, and her mother's love is conditional. Even her relationship with her friends isn't what she thinks it is. And yet she clings to them all for too long.
I liked that even though it was from Lucy's POV the writing does a good job of giving Susannah some back story, and we get a bit of insight into her character from Lucy even if Lucy doesn't realise what she's seeing at the time. Susannah's being mean to her at times when they're younger mirrors the way she looks for attention from her parents. Lucy doesn't realise that this is what she's doing. Susannah says she's liked Lucy for longer than Lucy's liked her, later we find out it's since they were 6!! Lucy thinks she's been pining for ages but Susannah has her beat by nearly a decade. This little detail also explains why Susannah is so far ahead of Lucy in terms of self acceptance, but also why she'll put up with as much as she does for as long as she does.
The writing is really beautiful at times too, and I think more than anything I've read it is so good at expressing the love Lucy and Susannah share as just love. As I said before, Lucy doesn't really feel shame about it early on, and even when the outside world makes her wobble, she expresses many times how what they have feels like the most natural thing, and how Susannah is everything good in her, and how she feels like herself so fully with Susannah, so how can that possibly be a bad thing? It's actually kind of sad at times to read it and think that's what a judgmental society has done (is still doing) to kids. I know Lucy is fictional, but her thoughts feel very real.
I don't think I usually like first person narratives but this one is really good. Lucy is self aware enough to know she's hurting people, but we see enough of her upbringing to understand the choices she makes, even if we hate them. She hurts Martin, but really he's been hurt by the same thinking that has Lucy trapped. The assumption they'll end up together, that if he waits long enough she'll realise she loves him, that they'll do like their parents and marry young and stay in town. That's not to say Lucy is blameless where he's concerned but it's not as simple as her just using him.
I didn't go full 5 stars for 2 reasons. I liked the ending, but it felt like the last 5 or 6 chapters kind of moved very fast compared to the rest of the book. Although I do understand that it was about getting Lucy to the place she needed to be, and it does do that. Also, for purely selfish reasons, I would have liked to read more about what happens after then ending, but as I said, that wasn't really the point.
Side note - I'm sure she has a million other ideas to write about but I would 100% read this same book from Susannah's POV.
Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan
slow-paced
2.5
I have to say, I really don't get the hype for this one.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
dark
slow-paced
4.0
I don't condone bullying but Piggy wasn't exactly helping his cause at any point.
Anyway.... obviously I've seen and read many things inspired by Lord of the Flies but until now I've never known the full original story. It's really a lot darker than I was expecting it to be. It's, unfortunately, quite believable too.
Anyway.... obviously I've seen and read many things inspired by Lord of the Flies but until now I've never known the full original story. It's really a lot darker than I was expecting it to be. It's, unfortunately, quite believable too.
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
3.75
I didn't realise when I was reading this that it was a sort of retelling of Antigone. I wasn't familiar with that story either, but it explains the turn the book took at the end, which felt slightly out of step with the more down to earth storytelling that came before it.
That's not to say I didn't like it, it just wasn't where I was expecting the story to go. It's purely coincidental, but the same day I finished reading this, Shamima Begum lost her appeal against the removal of her British citizenship. It's nearly 10 years since she left the UK, which goes to show that there's no neat way to wrap up a story like the one in Home Fire.
This book, I think, raises more questions than it answers. But that's probably the point. All of the characters actions are understandable, even if they're not all "good" choices. It looks at the legacy of decisions and actions taken in one situation, at one point in time, that will then have consequences for generations. I think it does a really good job of exploring the thought processes behind some of those decisions, without ever being overly sympathetic, or overly judgemental.
It starts off quite slow, and for a while I really wasn't sure if this was the book I thought it was going to be, but the change in POV between sections is a very effective way of telling the story. It does all come together at the end, I just felt it became a bit "extreme" in the last section, but then again the idea of extremism does lie at the centre of it all.
Definitely worth reading, and I feel like it's probably a starting point for me to explore more books around this topic.
That's not to say I didn't like it, it just wasn't where I was expecting the story to go. It's purely coincidental, but the same day I finished reading this, Shamima Begum lost her appeal against the removal of her British citizenship. It's nearly 10 years since she left the UK, which goes to show that there's no neat way to wrap up a story like the one in Home Fire.
This book, I think, raises more questions than it answers. But that's probably the point. All of the characters actions are understandable, even if they're not all "good" choices. It looks at the legacy of decisions and actions taken in one situation, at one point in time, that will then have consequences for generations. I think it does a really good job of exploring the thought processes behind some of those decisions, without ever being overly sympathetic, or overly judgemental.
It starts off quite slow, and for a while I really wasn't sure if this was the book I thought it was going to be, but the change in POV between sections is a very effective way of telling the story. It does all come together at the end, I just felt it became a bit "extreme" in the last section, but then again the idea of extremism does lie at the centre of it all.
Definitely worth reading, and I feel like it's probably a starting point for me to explore more books around this topic.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
slow-paced
1.0
I had to listen to this on x2 speed because it was so boring, I thought it would never end.
The only bit that was slightly interesting was when Max told her the truth about how.... *spoiler* Rebecca was a shamless hussy who liked to put it about *spoiler*. I want to read that book! In this era of feminist retelling of things, has anyone written it from Rebecca's POV?
The only bit that was slightly interesting was when Max told her the truth about how.... *spoiler* Rebecca was a shamless hussy who liked to put it about *spoiler*. I want to read that book! In this era of feminist retelling of things, has anyone written it from Rebecca's POV?
Kala by Colin Walsh
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This is billed as a "literary thriller" and I think that's the problem for me.
The first 2/3 of the book are definitely literary, and I was really enjoying it at that point. I liked the characters, I liked the slow reveal of who they were, who they are now, and what happened when Kala went missing. But, the last 1/3 of the book leans heavily into the thriller aspect and as the pace sped up I felt like the characters were left behind a little bit.
Kala reminded me of three other books, Claire Keegan's "Small Things Like These", Rebecca Wait's "Our Fathers", and Graham Norton's "Holding". It's purely personal taste but I felt like these books did a better job of handling this kind of story, the open secrets of small places, the turning a blind eye, hypocrisy, the legacy of good old Catholic Ireland etc. And most importantly, for me, I felt like those books always had their focus purely on the victims, they were giving voices to the women and girls. (more specifically talking about the Irish books here), and I just felt like Walsh didn't do that. He uses this tragedy to spin a bigger web of crime and corruption.
If you're a fan of thrillers or crime I think this is a really well done story, don't get me wrong. And as much as I felt like he did a bit too much with the ending, it's unfortunately still fairly realistic and believable. So I think your enjoyment of this book will come down purely to whether you care more about the characters or having the mystery solved. For me it didn't deliver on the things I cared about, but it was certainly a page turner, and worth picking up.
P.S. I still can's figure out if Mush was called Mush before he got his facial scars and they kept calling him that, or if they started calling him it after he got them. Either way it feels a slightly cruel thing to call him, but honestly it's also very Irish, I suppose.
The first 2/3 of the book are definitely literary, and I was really enjoying it at that point. I liked the characters, I liked the slow reveal of who they were, who they are now, and what happened when Kala went missing. But, the last 1/3 of the book leans heavily into the thriller aspect and as the pace sped up I felt like the characters were left behind a little bit.
Kala reminded me of three other books, Claire Keegan's "Small Things Like These", Rebecca Wait's "Our Fathers", and Graham Norton's "Holding". It's purely personal taste but I felt like these books did a better job of handling this kind of story, the open secrets of small places, the turning a blind eye, hypocrisy, the legacy of good old Catholic Ireland etc. And most importantly, for me, I felt like those books always had their focus purely on the victims, they were giving voices to the women and girls. (more specifically talking about the Irish books here), and I just felt like Walsh didn't do that. He uses this tragedy to spin a bigger web of crime and corruption.
If you're a fan of thrillers or crime I think this is a really well done story, don't get me wrong. And as much as I felt like he did a bit too much with the ending, it's unfortunately still fairly realistic and believable. So I think your enjoyment of this book will come down purely to whether you care more about the characters or having the mystery solved. For me it didn't deliver on the things I cared about, but it was certainly a page turner, and worth picking up.
P.S. I still can's figure out if Mush was called Mush before he got his facial scars and they kept calling him that, or if they started calling him it after he got them. Either way it feels a slightly cruel thing to call him, but honestly it's also very Irish, I suppose.
The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
dark
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Really loved this. Not sure why, but there's something keeping me from giving it the full 5 stars, but it's certainly the best book I've read in quite some time.
I think maybe it's a little bit slow to get going, and I couldn't quite get a feel for the tone or the characters for a bit, but once I did it was such a great read.
It does deal with very dark things, and it uses humour a lot while talking about these dark things. That's not going to appeal to everyone but it was right up my street. It's genuinely laugh out loud funny. The relationships between the women are all so messy and complicated but so well fleshed out and believable. You go from hating someone, to rooting for them, to wanting to slap them and back to rooting for them from one scene to the next. We should all be bonobos!
Being set in India it's dealing with so many different social divides and issues, and while some books struggle to manage multiple threads like that, Bandit Queens does a really good job of acknowledging that even though all these characters are women fighting against a common enemy, they're not all doing it from the same starting point.
Just after I finished reading this I happened to see someone log a review of Promising Young Woman on Letterboxd which said something along the lines of "I needed more than just a woman killing men." Ignoring the fact that I'm pretty sure she doesn't actually kill anyone in that film, I did immediately think to myself that's a pretty good way of describing Bandit Queens. It's like if Promising Young Woman had a few extra layers of thoughtful commentary and was really funny. (For the record, I liked PYW as it is, but I know a lot of people think it's shallow at best, tone deaf and offensive at worst)
I even liked the little authors note at the end of this book, where she talks about trying to honour the real Bandit Queen without exploiting her, and how there are centuries of oppression and abuse in all societies and not enough is written about the historically marginalised. It finishes "For me, fiction is where research meets compassion; I believe this is why often facts don't change people's minds, but stories do."
I think maybe it's a little bit slow to get going, and I couldn't quite get a feel for the tone or the characters for a bit, but once I did it was such a great read.
It does deal with very dark things, and it uses humour a lot while talking about these dark things. That's not going to appeal to everyone but it was right up my street. It's genuinely laugh out loud funny. The relationships between the women are all so messy and complicated but so well fleshed out and believable. You go from hating someone, to rooting for them, to wanting to slap them and back to rooting for them from one scene to the next. We should all be bonobos!
Being set in India it's dealing with so many different social divides and issues, and while some books struggle to manage multiple threads like that, Bandit Queens does a really good job of acknowledging that even though all these characters are women fighting against a common enemy, they're not all doing it from the same starting point.
Just after I finished reading this I happened to see someone log a review of Promising Young Woman on Letterboxd which said something along the lines of "I needed more than just a woman killing men." Ignoring the fact that I'm pretty sure she doesn't actually kill anyone in that film, I did immediately think to myself that's a pretty good way of describing Bandit Queens. It's like if Promising Young Woman had a few extra layers of thoughtful commentary and was really funny. (For the record, I liked PYW as it is, but I know a lot of people think it's shallow at best, tone deaf and offensive at worst)
I even liked the little authors note at the end of this book, where she talks about trying to honour the real Bandit Queen without exploiting her, and how there are centuries of oppression and abuse in all societies and not enough is written about the historically marginalised. It finishes "For me, fiction is where research meets compassion; I believe this is why often facts don't change people's minds, but stories do."
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
2.0
I found this pretty dull, to be honest. It might have worked better if it didn't make it clear from the start what had really happened to the family. I guess it's one of those books that's more about atmosphere than plot, but it just didn't do anything for me.