vlucet's reviews
84 reviews

Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

5.0

I hugged this book for a minute when I finished it. It's the most beautiful read I have had all year. It's the rawest piece of life altering, soul wrenching, eyes opening, litterature. This might my favorite BOOK of all times. 
You have to read this book.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide

Half-Earth Socialism: A Manifesto to Save the Future by Drew Pendergrass, Troy Vettesse

challenging hopeful reflective slow-paced

4.0

Although it was an odd choice for me to get out of my customary fall reading slump, this was a good read. Short and accessible utopian mix of fiction and non-fiction. Pairs very well with reading Red Plenty. I recommend.

The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced

5.0

Thanks Allalae for Becky Chambers.

To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

As usual, Chambers's novellas are a delightful read. If you are a scientist, like science, especially biology/evolution, there is no way you won't like this book. And if you're not that kind of person, try it out, you might become it by the end of your read...

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt

American War by Omar El Akkad

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I was convinced to read this book by the premice of a narrative based on a sort of climate war: the south rebelling because they want to keep burning fossil fuels? That picked my interest.
It had all the hallmarks of a good work of fiction: excellent prose, good characterization and credible settings/plot. It's a good read and If you have any interest in the themes of war it's a an excellent one.
And yet I remained disappointed by the book in two aspects. First and foremost, the author only got one half of the climate framing right in this book. Climate change is both a trigger, a player and a setting (flooded geography, persistent heat). And yet beyond that exposition, it plays almost no role in the story, beyond the South's obsession with fossil fuel. Supply chains disruption? Climatic refugees? Lifestyle changes? Not much of those things in the book. The solutions depicted for the crisis also lack creativity and all aspects of climate change fade in favor of the "human stuff". I think that's a major shortcoming of the book.
For the second shortcoming, I'm aware I may be perceiving this wrong but... In a war between the southern states and northern states, given the past differences in history (for example, slavery, gun control etc..), I would expect a major theme in the book to be difference in the kind of societies promoted by each side. Yet the book feels disconnected to the questions of religion, racism, health and economics. That was very surprising to me. In the end it feels like the emphasis in the title is rather on the "war" part than on the "American" part.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.

Sorry to all the fans but that was way too boring, repetitive and I just couldn't care about the characters. I think there is just better post apo books worth my time out there.

The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

A tight eco fable that I definitely recommend. Not much to critique about this novel, it achieves nicely what it sets for itself!

The End We Start from by Megan Hunter

dark reflective sad fast-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? N/A

2.5

I mean, sure it's climate fiction and sure it's an interesting style and take. I get the wanting to create distance with the fragments of prose and the characters being named by letters. But I think the author went too far, I could not connect to the characters, I could not follow the action with interest. Beware of making your commentary about the climate emergency so elemental that you forget to connect it to the real world. I did appreciate the almost "tunnel vision" on maternity and the feverish feelings caused by the style, but I kept gasping for air and substance and actual stakes. 

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

adventurous emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

This was quite delightful and kept me entertained to the end. Good luck to whoever is in charge of adapting this one to film, it's not gonna be easy.