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willowbiblio's reviews
450 reviews
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
"You don't recover. Not all the way. But you do move on. You have to."
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This is an unexpectedly complicated reviewing experience for me. I *LOVED* reading this with the Reading is Subjective Book Club, but I felt pretty neutral about the book itself. It started really strong with Marcellus' emotionally complex character, but sort of lumbered to the final pages. Based on the synopsis, I expected a lot more page time for Marcellus, and honestly would have preferred that.
The reveal happened way too soon for it to be momentous to me when Tovahanded Cameron the ring. I also felt like Van Pelt made Marcellus redundant to the plot because Ethan knew the connection already, as did other characters. It felt like the whole octopus friendship thing was a marketing gimmick.
I took a star off for Van Pelt's non-ironic use of the term "perky boobs". I cannot stand that phrase and the underlying nonsense. Cameron's character was deeply unlikeable for 99% of the book, and the 1% of his redemption at the end was rushed with no foundation laid. It felt inauthentic. The dialogue in general also felt really clunky to me.
I liked how Van Pelt wrote about Tova's grief, but I felt like her character was almost unrealistic in her stubbornness. Her shift to openness also felt really sudden/rushed. I think I was just expecting a very different book and so I was thrown off by this. Some of the tone (mostly Cameron) also felt a bit juvenile.
Love the club, felt meh about the book. April is much more promising!!
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This is an unexpectedly complicated reviewing experience for me. I *LOVED* reading this with the Reading is Subjective Book Club, but I felt pretty neutral about the book itself. It started really strong with Marcellus' emotionally complex character, but sort of lumbered to the final pages. Based on the synopsis, I expected a lot more page time for Marcellus, and honestly would have preferred that.
The reveal happened way too soon for it to be momentous to me when Tova
I took a star off for Van Pelt's non-ironic use of the term "perky boobs". I cannot stand that phrase and the underlying nonsense. Cameron's character was deeply unlikeable for 99% of the book, and the 1% of his redemption at the end was rushed with no foundation laid. It felt inauthentic. The dialogue in general also felt really clunky to me.
I liked how Van Pelt wrote about Tova's grief, but I felt like her character was almost unrealistic in her stubbornness. Her shift to openness also felt really sudden/rushed. I think I was just expecting a very different book and so I was thrown off by this. Some of the tone (mostly Cameron) also felt a bit juvenile.
Love the club, felt meh about the book. April is much more promising!!
The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.0
"She rested her weariness upon things that had crumbled for centuries and yet still were upright; she dropped her secret sadness into the silence of lonely places, where its very modern quality detached itself and grew objective, so that as she sat in a sun-warmed angle on a winter's day, or stood in a mouldy church to which no one came, she could almost smile at it and think of its smallness."
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This was so close to 5 stars, but some of the slower paced scene setting and character descriptions bored me to tears.
I found it so interesting that the novel as a whole metamorphized along with Isabel. It began as a fairly light, whimsical, and silly story- especially the wry humor in dialogue. As she got further from her self and deeper entangled in others' plots/intrigue, the tone of the novel became more serious and melancholy.
I also loved the parallel of Touchett Sr. and Ralph Touchett dying at Gardencourt, an unchanging place, but Isabel underwent extreme challenges and changes and so she herself was almost an entirely other person, echoing the actions but not the sentiments of the earlier death in the novel. This made the contrast even more clear.
What she was most afraid of, losing her freedom, came to pass in part out of the ignorance/arrogance of youth. Each of the women in Isabel's life represented a distinct kind of womanhood- all held up in sequence as potential lives for Isabel. In the end, she chose none of them.
There was also a kind of bitter irony that Ralph's intention to free Isabel through financial independence was the thing that led to her capture. Without her wealth, Osmond would never have pursued Isabel. It seems James wanted to lay the blame foremost with Osmond, because he gives us sympathetic insight into Mme Merle's motives and wretchedness, but really they all played a part.
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This was so close to 5 stars, but some of the slower paced scene setting and character descriptions bored me to tears.
I found it so interesting that the novel as a whole metamorphized along with Isabel. It began as a fairly light, whimsical, and silly story- especially the wry humor in dialogue. As she got further from her self and deeper entangled in others' plots/intrigue, the tone of the novel became more serious and melancholy.
What she was most afraid of, losing her freedom, came to pass in part out of the ignorance/arrogance of youth. Each of the women in Isabel's life represented a distinct kind of womanhood- all held up in sequence as potential lives for Isabel. In the end, she chose none of them.
Bunny by Mona Awad
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
"I mean, why bother if I'm just going to *tell you exactly*. Where's the fun in that? Why bother making art at all?"
-----------------------
I didn't expect to be quite so smitten with this book, but here we are. Awad is incredible. This is a sort of mix of Heathers, Fight Club, a parody of The Secret History, and something entirely new. Throughout the book she drops hints about Samantha's condition- her extremely vivid internal landscape, talking to the bunnies,the woman on the bus reading the schizophrenia pamphlet. But she also consistently keeps the reader, and Samantha, guessing at *which* parts aren't real.
Samantha's extreme disdain covers for an immense longing to belong and be seen. Samantha is deeply lonely, so of course she becomes a Bunny for a time. She is an unreliable narrator- something I tend to dislike. But Awad executes it perfectly. We know that the Bunnies have always tried to include Samantha, but her solitude and separatness is integral to her selfhood.
The scene where "Rob" screamed at Samantha was so perfectly sequenced.Awad was describing these truly horrific scenes of murder of the Darlings and gore of the exploding bunnies, and yet they were balanced so well with the humor of dialogue and banality/inanity of bickering between the Bunnies that the scenes were tolerable.
Part 2 opened with repetition, but a shift. "They" became "we", and the singular first person "I" also became "we". Being with Ava created a clear switch back to that singular first person: a reclamation of self. I loved the parallel of Max waving to Ava, and Samantha to the Bunnies, and the way Awad was teasing the truth to the reader then.
I also loved how Awad's voice was so clear in the criticism fromBunny-Lion and Bunny-Ursula, sort of heading off critique of the novel itself. The characters, surreal quality, suspension of disbelief, immersion, and incredibly strong use of literary techniques was astounding. Mona Awad is a genius in this novel.
-----------------------
I didn't expect to be quite so smitten with this book, but here we are. Awad is incredible. This is a sort of mix of Heathers, Fight Club, a parody of The Secret History, and something entirely new. Throughout the book she drops hints about Samantha's condition- her extremely vivid internal landscape, talking to the bunnies,
Samantha's extreme disdain covers for an immense longing to belong and be seen. Samantha is deeply lonely, so of course she becomes a Bunny for a time. She is an unreliable narrator- something I tend to dislike. But Awad executes it perfectly. We know that the Bunnies have always tried to include Samantha, but her solitude and separatness is integral to her selfhood.
The scene where "Rob" screamed at Samantha was so perfectly sequenced.
Part 2 opened with repetition, but a shift. "They" became "we", and the singular first person "I" also became "we". Being with Ava created a clear switch back to that singular first person: a reclamation of self. I loved the parallel of Max waving to Ava, and Samantha to the Bunnies, and the way Awad was teasing the truth to the reader then.
I also loved how Awad's voice was so clear in the criticism from
Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
"One had to go on living because it was less trouble than finding a way out, but the early ideals of the war were all shattered, trampled into the mud which covered the bodies of those with whom I had shared them."
---------------------
I cried at least 4 separate times while reading this book. The constant awareness from Brittain and her loved ones of the closeness of death was just astounding. It was truly heartbreaking to witness Brittain's transformation from a passionate, sure teenage Oxford student to an ex-nurse who lost almost all the contemporaries that were dear to her.
The losses of Roland and Edward were especially poignant as they deeply understood Brittain. They also felt this major drive to put themselves at the Front and right in the thick of things, which ultimately led to their demise. But it was this indoctrinated characterization of bravery, heroism, and patriotism that led to such immense waste and loss of life during WWI.
We witness a kind of awakening in Brittain that is completely devastating. To then witness her attempt to find some kind of purpose and meaning in a world of peers who have no way to relate to her, and vice versa, was incredibly sad.
I took off a star because I really had to push through the first 50 pages- they just didn't capture me. Similarly, much of the last 50-100 pages sort of lost me. I'm not 100% sure why, maybe it was the pacing or the dichotomy when held up to the depth of what occurred during the body of the novel (the war years). At any rate, this was a beautiful book and I especially loved the inclusion of her and Roland's poetry.
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I cried at least 4 separate times while reading this book. The constant awareness from Brittain and her loved ones of the closeness of death was just astounding. It was truly heartbreaking to witness Brittain's transformation from a passionate, sure teenage Oxford student to an ex-nurse who lost almost all the contemporaries that were dear to her.
We witness a kind of awakening in Brittain that is completely devastating. To then witness her attempt to find some kind of purpose and meaning in a world of peers who have no way to relate to her, and vice versa, was incredibly sad.
I took off a star because I really had to push through the first 50 pages- they just didn't capture me. Similarly, much of the last 50-100 pages sort of lost me. I'm not 100% sure why, maybe it was the pacing or the dichotomy when held up to the depth of what occurred during the body of the novel (the war years). At any rate, this was a beautiful book and I especially loved the inclusion of her and Roland's poetry.
Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
"We see so little of people. We forget how much submerged darkness there is around us at every moment. We forget until we're forced to remember."
-----------------------
This book continually surprised me. Both for the plot itself and the for the depth of self-examination and reflection it achieved in me and the characters. The way Schaitkin described such a complex and loaded power imbalance as vacation at a luxury resort on a tropical island was stunning. I love how she tied the gentrification of the island in Clive's flashbacks to a concurrent transformation of Brooklyn. I also thought Schaitkin's emphasis on the massive resources that were devoted to finding one missing white girl in a sea of other micro-aggressions and injustices was so poignant.
Claire's obsession with Clive becomes so total that she loses everything of importance in her life, and yet what she learns doesn't satisfy her. This is also a lesson about how to move forward when horrific things happen in your life and you don't get an explanation, something I am intimately familiar with. At some point, your life has to move on from that thing so it can stop consuming you. Schaitkin captured this experience well.
I think Clive's explanation also forced me to question why there were moments I too had thought he or Edwin were culpable. Instead, for him, the secret he was keeping was much more dangerous and life-shattering than assumed murder. It made me reflect about what growing up in different cultures means when these individuals are forced into the same scenario, and how that informs each of our perceptions. I also loved the minor character interludes. They added another layer of context and "truth".
Excellent book, strongly recommend this to everyone.
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This book continually surprised me. Both for the plot itself and the for the depth of self-examination and reflection it achieved in me and the characters. The way Schaitkin described such a complex and loaded power imbalance as vacation at a luxury resort on a tropical island was stunning. I love how she tied the gentrification of the island in Clive's flashbacks to a concurrent transformation of Brooklyn. I also thought Schaitkin's emphasis on the massive resources that were devoted to finding one missing white girl in a sea of other micro-aggressions and injustices was so poignant.
Claire's obsession with Clive becomes so total that she loses everything of importance in her life, and yet what she learns doesn't satisfy her. This is also a lesson about how to move forward when horrific things happen in your life and you don't get an explanation, something I am intimately familiar with. At some point, your life has to move on from that thing so it can stop consuming you. Schaitkin captured this experience well.
I think Clive's explanation also forced me to question why there were moments I too had thought he or Edwin were culpable. Instead, for him, the secret he was keeping was much more dangerous and life-shattering than assumed murder. It made me reflect about what growing up in different cultures means when these individuals are forced into the same scenario, and how that informs each of our perceptions. I also loved the minor character interludes. They added another layer of context and "truth".
Excellent book, strongly recommend this to everyone.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
"And as much as a person might try to shield herself from it, the possibility for the other outcome was always there. We are all living, at most, half of a life, she thought. There was the life you lived, which consisted of the choices you made. And then, there was the other life, the one that was the things you hadn't chosen."
----------------------
There were elements of this book that were fantastic, and a few that felt sort of lackluster. I liked how Zevin used things like interviews and articles to tease future plot developments. I also enjoyed how Sam and Marx's characters and friendship developed.
I felt like Sadie's POV was incredibly emotionally flat, which was disappointing given the scope of the issues her character was being used to address. I also felt like there was a strange cognitive dissonance, either intentional or not from Zevin, regarding her relationship with Dov vs. Sam. I thought the Pioneers interlude at the end was odd and felt sort of jarring to read so close to the end of the novel, with very little closure for the main characters.
I did like how Zevin explored the concept of how our misunderstandings/assumptions about one another can lead to a sort of compounding effect that is hard to get away from. I also really enjoyed the various worlds and games there were created, and how Zevin used them a as a reflection and growth point for the characters throughout the story.
I'm glad I read this but not certain if it was 100% worth all the hype for me. I'd be interested to see how her other novels compare!
----------------------
There were elements of this book that were fantastic, and a few that felt sort of lackluster. I liked how Zevin used things like interviews and articles to tease future plot developments. I also enjoyed how Sam and Marx's characters and friendship developed.
I felt like Sadie's POV was incredibly emotionally flat, which was disappointing given the scope of the issues her character was being used to address. I also felt like there was a strange cognitive dissonance, either intentional or not from Zevin, regarding her relationship with Dov vs. Sam. I thought the Pioneers interlude at the end was odd and felt sort of jarring to read so close to the end of the novel, with very little closure for the main characters.
I did like how Zevin explored the concept of how our misunderstandings/assumptions about one another can lead to a sort of compounding effect that is hard to get away from. I also really enjoyed the various worlds and games there were created, and how Zevin used them a as a reflection and growth point for the characters throughout the story.
I'm glad I read this but not certain if it was 100% worth all the hype for me. I'd be interested to see how her other novels compare!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
What a Carve Up! by Jonathan Coe
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
5.0
"There comes a point, where greed and madness become practically indistinguishable. One and the same thing, you might almost say. And there comes another point, where the willingness to tolerate greed, and to live alongside it, and even to assist it, becomes a sort of madness too. Which means that we're all stuck with it, in other words. The madness is never going to end."
---------------------
This book was part whodunit, part scathing social commentary, and part witty/inventive humor. There was such an excellent balance of the author's critique of modern society, politics, and capitalism. Each member of the Winshaw family represented an industry that has caused irreperable harm to humanity and our planet, which was ingenious from Coe. Coe managed to weave together each of the vignettes from these family members, back to the narrative of the main character, Michael.
I found the hospital sequence to be heartbreaking in large part because it was reflective of what occurs today, but even worse and with effective extortion for health care in the US. I suppose I felt that way with almost every topic Coe approached in this book. He balanced this very real critique with whip-smart humor and dialogue that felt more like a real conversation one would witness/be part of than a constructed scene in a book.
This book made me sad, angry, and uncomfortable and that was entirely the point. I also loved Coe's use of various literary methods- diaries, news articles, first person, and third person writing. It really kept this book interesting.
---------------------
This book was part whodunit, part scathing social commentary, and part witty/inventive humor. There was such an excellent balance of the author's critique of modern society, politics, and capitalism. Each member of the Winshaw family represented an industry that has caused irreperable harm to humanity and our planet, which was ingenious from Coe. Coe managed to weave together each of the vignettes from these family members, back to the narrative of the main character, Michael.
I found the hospital sequence to be heartbreaking in large part because it was reflective of what occurs today, but even worse and with effective extortion for health care in the US. I suppose I felt that way with almost every topic Coe approached in this book. He balanced this very real critique with whip-smart humor and dialogue that felt more like a real conversation one would witness/be part of than a constructed scene in a book.
This book made me sad, angry, and uncomfortable and that was entirely the point. I also loved Coe's use of various literary methods- diaries, news articles, first person, and third person writing. It really kept this book interesting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
"You are in the spring of your life, child, and have much to learn about this world. Do not deny yourself the privilege of living."
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This was an excellent fantasy novel. The worldbuilding and lore was rich with detail, and the systems of magic were well-established. I did struggle a little in the beginning to assimilate all the names and locations, but was okay after the first 50 pages or so.
I liked how each culture was so disconnected from the others, which was represented strongly in their disparate religions and governing values. This was also represented in their basic understanding about the facts of the world- especially when it came to Cleolind and the Eastern dragons. Definitely a larger message there about opening ourselves up for exposure to what isn't familiar to us or risk misunderstanding reality itself. I also found the idea of a revisionist history engendering a purist, intolerant society to be really intriguing.
I am not often surprised anymore by plot twists, but there were several here that were unexpected to me. For me, this denotes strong writing that doesn't rely on overly teasing plot exposition. I also liked that Shannon was unafraid to kill off character for plot believability, realism, and to reduce plot armor.There was a sort of grotesque symmetry/poetry to Truyde and Sulyard meeting the same end.
It felt a little bit like the pacing at the end was slightly rushed to bring all the characters together, and a number of unlikely twists of fate, but I'll overlook it. This had strong dialogue and no annoying info dumping. I really liked how intentional Shannon was about creating strong women and feminist themes. Additionally, she wrote diverse characters in both appearance and personhood. I'm looking forward to reading the prequel!
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This was an excellent fantasy novel. The worldbuilding and lore was rich with detail, and the systems of magic were well-established. I did struggle a little in the beginning to assimilate all the names and locations, but was okay after the first 50 pages or so.
I liked how each culture was so disconnected from the others, which was represented strongly in their disparate religions and governing values. This was also represented in their basic understanding about the facts of the world- especially when it came to Cleolind and the Eastern dragons. Definitely a larger message there about opening ourselves up for exposure to what isn't familiar to us or risk misunderstanding reality itself. I also found the idea of a revisionist history engendering a purist, intolerant society to be really intriguing.
I am not often surprised anymore by plot twists, but there were several here that were unexpected to me. For me, this denotes strong writing that doesn't rely on overly teasing plot exposition. I also liked that Shannon was unafraid to kill off character for plot believability, realism, and to reduce plot armor.
It felt a little bit like the pacing at the end was slightly rushed to bring all the characters together, and a number of unlikely twists of fate, but I'll overlook it. This had strong dialogue and no annoying info dumping. I really liked how intentional Shannon was about creating strong women and feminist themes. Additionally, she wrote diverse characters in both appearance and personhood. I'm looking forward to reading the prequel!
Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"This is my life. I am the one who has to live here. What happened to me is my business, mine alone, not yours, and if there is one right I have it is the right not to be put on trial like this, not to have to justify myself- not to you, not to anyone else."
---------------------
This was such a complex book and reading experience for me. I *loathed* David. He abused his power, raped his student, and then acted like he was morally superior when he was forced out of his university. When his daughter was assaulted he wanted to direct her experience and was completely blind to how he had engendered the same experience in his student. He was absolutely full of the audacity. His entire persona was the embodiment of doublethink.
Coetzee used the language of violation: "forced", "exposed", "girl", "averted", "confused", in regards to the student, making it clear he also felt this was wrong. However, David's whole diatribe on the burgeoning opera was weird and I couldn't see how it aligned with the plot/text. I felt a little bit like Coetzee was trying to redeem or engender sympathy for David at the end, which I didn't like.
Despite how deeply uncomfortable much of this book made me, I could see how excellent Coetzee's writing was. I'm glad I read it, but I probably won't revisit it. Last note that I think there was less attention paid to the role of race in all these dynamics than I expected, which was sort of surprising since it was a massive part of the power dynamics/conflict at play.
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Coetzee used the language of violation: "forced", "exposed", "girl", "averted", "confused", in regards to the student, making it clear he also felt this was wrong. However, David's whole diatribe on the burgeoning opera was weird and I couldn't see how it aligned with the plot/text. I felt a little bit like Coetzee was trying to redeem or engender sympathy for David at the end, which I didn't like.
Despite how deeply uncomfortable much of this book made me, I could see how excellent Coetzee's writing was. I'm glad I read it, but I probably won't revisit it. Last note that I think there was less attention paid to the role of race in all these dynamics than I expected, which was sort of surprising since it was a massive part of the power dynamics/conflict at play.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Rape
The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
"The best stories are soul-making. But stories we tell about ourselves, and even the harrowing ones told by others about us, can also be soul-destroying. We have to choose what is good and true, not what will destroy."
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It was really tough for me to figure out what I disliked about this. Henry has a really large vocabulary which she almost overuses. I also felt like it would have been a better book overall had it been told entirely from the children's perspectives. This is because Henry really overdid the dialogue, emotions, and settings for the adults- almost like an overcompensation. For the children it all worked really well.
I felt like the whole Barnaby dynamic was really odd and the random spice threw me off, especially because it was bookended by a child/adolescent POV. The last 100 pages really dragged, I skimmed the last 20. The confrontation with Imogene felt really forced, false, and melodramatic. So too did the Dot-as-Flora unveiling. It almost felt like Henry would have gone in another direction- like really lean in to the Whisperwood fantasy world. Because the book was treading that genre line it got quite messy for me.
I also felt like Henry started having the characters just repeat the same sentences and sentiments about memory which got tiring for me. It's almost like this needed another 2-3 rounds of edits for it to really sine, but for me it felt quite disjointed and like it needed more parsing out. I liked the premise but the execution was meh.
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It was really tough for me to figure out what I disliked about this. Henry has a really large vocabulary which she almost overuses. I also felt like it would have been a better book overall had it been told entirely from the children's perspectives. This is because Henry really overdid the dialogue, emotions, and settings for the adults- almost like an overcompensation. For the children it all worked really well.
I also felt like Henry started having the characters just repeat the same sentences and sentiments about memory which got tiring for me. It's almost like this needed another 2-3 rounds of edits for it to really sine, but for me it felt quite disjointed and like it needed more parsing out. I liked the premise but the execution was meh.