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tinyegg's Reviews (29)
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
*nodding head in approval* good for her
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry
Moderate: Sexual assault
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
this is my second time reading something non fiction (the first time was crying in h-mart—something about daughters and their mothers, i guess?) and wow, what a gut-wrenching memoir. it's extremely vulnerable and honest, detailing most of jennette's life and the many things she struggled with growing up and as an adult.
jennette writes wonderfully! she's very good at recounting all of the things she talks about in her book. in the earlier chapters, she perfectly portrays the thought process of a child who loves her mother and although thinks certain things are weird, does not attribute any of it to abuse. she captures the frustrating feeling of someone being able to dissect exactly why you feel the way you do when you're opening up or in therapy. she writes in a way that somehow makes these tragic (but also relatable) things humorous, and that's what keeps the memoir so engaging. it's fast-paced and straight to the point, but not missing out on things that are important for providing additional context.
basically, it's really good, and i'm glad that jennette was able to pursue writing, one way or another. i am only wishing her the best after everything she's been through.
jennette writes wonderfully! she's very good at recounting all of the things she talks about in her book. in the earlier chapters, she perfectly portrays the thought process of a child who loves her mother and although thinks certain things are weird, does not attribute any of it to abuse. she captures the frustrating feeling of someone being able to dissect exactly why you feel the way you do when you're opening up or in therapy. she writes in a way that somehow makes these tragic (but also relatable) things humorous, and that's what keeps the memoir so engaging. it's fast-paced and straight to the point, but not missing out on things that are important for providing additional context.
basically, it's really good, and i'm glad that jennette was able to pursue writing, one way or another. i am only wishing her the best after everything she's been through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual assault
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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
wow, this took me a while to read because i honestly found it difficult to get into at times. while i normally love media with slow plots where pretty much nothing happens, i felt this had a little bit *too much* nothing. it is a very character-driven book first and foremost, so a lot of the story is just their daily interactions with one another and the slice-of-life happenings at the thrift shopwhich isn't necessarily bad, BUT. the summary kind of paints this as a romance, which is what i was expecting, so i was pretty disappointed when the romance was more of like, a c-plot, if anything. the book does not have a primary focus on either hitomi or takeo, and seems to share the focus equally with haruo and masayo. the pacing gets thrown off a little when hitomi and takeo make some romantic progress followed up by (i am exaggerating) 50 pages of something random that haruo is fixated on.
however, despite the book being pretty boring, it is boring in a soft and intimate way and i feel it captures the sort of lackadaiscal life someone would have if majority of their life was showing up to their thrift shop job. there were a lot of conversations between characters i found thoughtful and personal and i liked the dynamic they shared with each other. i'm not sure. i think i was just expecting a little more. this is a book to kind of go through when you want to turn your brain off a little bit /pos
however, despite the book being pretty boring, it is boring in a soft and intimate way and i feel it captures the sort of lackadaiscal life someone would have if majority of their life was showing up to their thrift shop job. there were a lot of conversations between characters i found thoughtful and personal and i liked the dynamic they shared with each other. i'm not sure. i think i was just expecting a little more. this is a book to kind of go through when you want to turn your brain off a little bit /pos
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
read this book in practically one go — this is such a vulnerable piece of work weaving together memories of a complicated mother-daughter relationship from childhood til death. michelle zauner's writing is absolutely gorgeous! her storytelling really reels you in and makes you feel as if you were right there. this book made me want to hug my mom.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Grief, Death of parent
Minor: Abortion
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i'm starting to grow fond of quirky, slice of life media where nothing really happens. interesting commentary on society and what one must do to be "normal", as subjective as that is. a long time before this book had even piqued my interest, i thought to myself that if i could live comfortably just working at a convenience store, that's all i would do. this mindset of mine made me resonate quite a bit with keiko, and i found her thought process regarding the convenience store cathartic in a way. i also think that shiraha is one of the worst characters i've ever had to bear witness to.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
absolutely beautiful and lovely read—i felt so at peace upon finishing it, like satsuki and hiiragi coming to terms with the death of their loved ones had me coming to terms with myself too. i wasn't expecting much since i figured it was just an additional short story after kitchen, but it impacted me in a way kitchen didn't; and i loved it so much more than kitchen too. banana is fantastic at writing about grief, so much so that i believe i feel the pain of her characters too. perfect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
quirky slice of life-y story about grief and loss. the way banana writes is very comforting and feels like home. i was always so happy reading the parts where mikage, yuichi, and eriko lived together. wish there was more emphasis on kitchens. i know this was written a while back, but i still can't help and feel disheartened & put off by eriko never truly being seen as a woman by any of the characters, that she was never more than a man in a dress. at least the ending was really cute though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Transphobia
Moderate: Hate crime
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this is the first book i've read in a very long time. i liked it a lot. it was very intimate and tender and thoughtful, but also terribly melancholic, sad, and painful. the main characters were frustrating, but they weren't necessarily bad people either. they felt real, in a sense, with how many mistakes they made and how badly they handled things sometimes. you could even say they were 'normal', ha-ha.
it made me think quite a bit about how much each of us are shaped by other people. the nature of marianne and connell's relationship throughout the book was cyclical, and although i felt that they both helped each other become better people, they were still kind of... the same at the end. i do not think that is a bad thing, and i quite like that this kind of complicated character development sort of gives them more depth. there's room for interpretation on that end.
regarding the ending,i knew this book was going to be open-ended as soon as i had a good understanding of marianne and connell's dynamic with one another. some people might think that connell leaving for new york would have them repeating the same mistakes they have been since highschool, but i'm choosing to believe this time is different. if there was a chapter after the last one, they still would have been together.
it made me think quite a bit about how much each of us are shaped by other people. the nature of marianne and connell's relationship throughout the book was cyclical, and although i felt that they both helped each other become better people, they were still kind of... the same at the end. i do not think that is a bad thing, and i quite like that this kind of complicated character development sort of gives them more depth. there's room for interpretation on that end.
regarding the ending,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
Minor: Eating disorder
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes