thestoryprofessor's reviews
868 reviews

Present Laughter: A Light Comedy in Three Acts by Noël Coward

emotional funny lighthearted tense fast-paced

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

3.75

So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men by Claire Keegan

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

informative reflective slow-paced

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

1.5

I can see why Booker through a prize at this novel (the prose is beautiful and the idea of "space pastoral" is interesting and unique), but I’m annoyed. When an author inserts their thoughts, opinions, and rumination within the context of the story, it rips up the world of the play and the tone of the piece. I don’t think it is particularly brilliant; such inserts read as pretentious and arrogant. It’s self-seriousness that takes away from an otherwise beautiful and quiet story.

This isn’t storytelling; the characters and “plot” (the novella is marketed as having a plot but it does not) are barely rendered at all so that the author’s own rumination on life, religion, and existence can have a platform, and all of it reads like an undergrad philosophy course. Even the "space pastoral" elements are repetitive, pointless, and just fluffy, pretty similes.

Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Islamophobia, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Deportation

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

5.0

The Giver by Lois Lowry

3.0

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

3.0

Night by Elie Wiesel

5.0

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

5.0