yolanda_h's Reviews (306)

Autobiography of Red

Anne Carson

4.25

challenging reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I likely didn't 'get' everything. But I will remember the imagery and the feelings it invoked. The text made me let go of the need to understand or grasp everything and it let me just enjoy the language and the wordsmithering of it all.

Content Warnings

My Name Is Lucy Barton

Elizabeth Strout

3.75

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The Count of Monte Cristo

Alexandre Dumas

4.5

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Convenience Store Woman

Sayaka Murata

3.5

dark funny reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

The Bass Rock

Evie Wyld

3.25

dark emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

Withered Hill

David Barnett

2.5

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Well, that was something. I'm not that well versed in the folk horror genre, so some things that irked me might be 'on me'. I liked the premise and the setting. The small town vibes of Withered Hill, the oppressive feeling of that tight knit community, the elements of folklore and elements of nature, darkness and the animalistic side in humans are things I expected in a folk horror, and I got those. I get that sexuality is often a part of this and I can appreciate it, but in this book I felt like a big chunk of it added nothing to the story, made me feel uncomfortable or check whether the author was male (the last straw for that was "She was distracted by the chattering between her legs".)

The way the protagonist is portrayed is not utterly believable to me, she feels 'flat' in a wrong way. Mostly a plot device so we believe she is acually sort of a bad person, or at least not a good person. I can also enjoy a person making surprising (or stupid) decisions at time, but here I very often said aloud 'are you really that daft?'. It came across as over exposure of questions or explanations on the plot. While the reader likely already understood things the first time they happened.

This book is also suitable as a drinking game for each time someone “bites their lip”.

But I was curious enough for how it all would end, and I listened to the whole audiobook, so that's worth something. There were moments I enjoyed and as a beginner in the genre I liked that it was a generally easy read with elements I expected and some new ones.

Content Warnings

On the Calculation of Volume I

Solvej Balle

4.0

mysterious reflective 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: No

Hernan Díaz wrote about Solvej Balle: "[She ...] finds the sublest, most fascinating differences in repetition". Reading that quote made me realise how apt that description is, and how much the sensation of reading this book reminded me of listening to the piano piece 'Canto Ostinato' by Simeon ten Holt. It starts with a base 'motive'/sequence which repeats itself, is added upon, then is full of flow, then staccato (which adds different patterns) over and over, full of constant differences in repetition. It's quiet and so very full at the same time.

Content Warnings

Strange Pictures

Uketsu

3.25

dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was a fast and entertaining read for me. The fact that the author came up with this puzzle, is incredible. It didn't end up living up to the hype I created for it after hearing multiple reviews and reading the first few pages. While it's labeled as horror, it felt more like a mystery puzzle, of which a narrator is laying piece by piece for you until you get the whole picture (pun not intended, but keeping it here). I was expecting to find a mystery or horror and then get surprised in the end by a reveal, but that didn't happen as the book holds you by the hand (in my experience). I did not particularly enjoy the writing and the characters felt a bit flat to me, despite the several layers and backgrounds being revealed. I couldn't follow several decisions of the characters, but that may not have been the aim anyway. It's not the book's fault that I had these high expectations though and I enjoyed my time with it.

Content Warnings