wtb_michael's reviews
2165 reviews

No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

dark emotional funny fast-paced

4.25

This walks a pretty fine line in the first half, before sinking into something genuine and thoughtful and moving halfway through 

Every Version of You by Grace Chan

adventurous challenging mysterious sad medium-paced

3.75

Smart, interesting and plausible world building, let down a bit by the relatively sedate plot - the big questions tackled are interesting, but I needed a bit more momentum 

Telephone by Percival Everett

dark emotional funny sad fast-paced

4.75

There are apparently 3 different versions of this, but it stands alone without the gimmick: an astonishing and moving book that proves grief and communication, compulsion and love - left me gobsmacked (this is why you don't make best book lists in early Dec!!) 

The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane

dark hopeful sad medium-paced

4.0

A sprawling, vivid twist on the colonial lost child narrative. McFarlane weaves together an incredible array of voices and characters, while working over Australian myths. It didn't bowl me over like The Night Guest, but it's very impressive. 

When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamín Labatut

adventurous challenging inspiring fast-paced

4.75

Dazzlingly brilliant, deeply strange and compulsively readable - a sometimes surreal blend of pop science and fiction 

In the Ravine & Other Stories by Anton Chekhov

emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

You're all going to be shocked to hear that Chekhov writes a pretty good short story: often bleak, sometimes funny, always beautifully written 

The Whitewash by Siang Lu

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

3.5

This is very good fun - a ripping satire of Hollywood and the entertainment industry more broadly. It's not high art, but that's the point 

Machines in the Head: The Selected Short Writing of Anna Kavan by Anna Kavan

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

4.0

Bleak, paranoid, obsessive and strange - a great introduction to Kavan 

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

dark emotional funny sad fast-paced

4.0

I adored the first three quarters of this collection, but it fell away a bit towards the end - will definitely read Philyaw's next book 

The King Is Always Above the People: Stories by Daniel Alarcón

challenging dark medium-paced

4.0

Strong, atmospheric collection - the longer stories in particular were excellent