freddie's reviews
295 reviews

Wow! The stories are visceral. Proulx uses such vivid language I feel like I'm transported into a different world (granted, the world is not super pleasant, as many of the characters here can attest). The themes of harshness of nature, isolation, livelihood struggles, and (toxic) masculinity form the meat of this book.

What I generally expect from horror is the reveal of the motivation of the one who terrorises - that is, after all, what I consider the juicy bit in horror. I want to know why the ghost wreaks havoc! Of course, there are works of horror that do not focus on this, and this book is like that. Also, there is something unlikeable about the narrator and MC Arthur Kipps. I can't really pinpoint exactly why right now. I know we're supposed to be rooting for him and we are given a picture on what a wholesome naive guy he is. He would sometimes talk about how he is planning a future with his wife and his job prospect, bla bla bla... I wish he could stop prattling and focus on being scared by the ghost instead. In short, I prefer my ghosts fleshed out and the narrator here to shut up.

PS: Can't believe that my longest review so far is a rant. I'm such a negative person smh.

This book consists of two parts - one part is about a girl who lost her mother and the other is about an Italian painter from the Renaissance period. I love the interconnectedness of the parts. What I love about this book is more than that, though. I'm still unsure what exactly it is about this book that fascinates me, but that fact, in itself, already gives me the goosebumps.. OMG. There is something about loss, blurring of conventions, art, and self-realisation that just resonates with me.

OMG. What a magnificent book. I thought there was a category 5 hurricane in my room because I was literally blown away. We continue to see developments in the relationship between Elena and Lila, but what's more interesting is that Elena is becoming more and more the central core of the book with Lila more as a support character.

My first audiobook!

This book promises many things, but it flip-flops constantly between being meaningful and superficial. Are we supposed to read about actual humans or caricatures? Pick a side - honestly I wouldn't mind reading either. I feel that the writer keeps dangling the "Alix-has-depth" carrot in front of me and I'm annoyed that I don't get it. Nicole Lewis is a great narrator and I enjoyed her narration.. that said, Briar's voice sounds awful.

Elisabeth (30-something-year-old woman) and Daniel (100-something-year-old man on hospice care) are BFF (like, literally). Then there's Brexit. Then there's some stuff about art, about memory, about history, about foreigness, about social division et cetera et cetera. The book is a box of random things - or a collage of random images. This book does not have a single point or purpose. You just read it and you go uhmm, aha, okay, okay uhh, uh-huh, dayummm, wtf am I reading, okay, that sounds nice, okay okay... (Not necessarily in that order).

The story captures every smallest awkward moments in the daily lives of the middle-aged, unmarried Harriet and Belinda Bede and I find that aspect delightful. There is an undertone of melancholy in this book, something that possibly implies how the two main characters feel about their own situations as spinsters. I love hearing their thoughts on the so-called trivial matters - clothes, meals, weird and awkward stuff other characters say and do...

Cécile is a vapid, bratty, and over-dramatic young woman. She and her father live a hedonistic life of freedom. One day the father falls for a (what Cécile would consider as) "stiff" woman and plans to marry her and Cécile is afraid the marriage would put an end to their life of fun and debauchery. So she hatches a plan to separate her father and the woman. Meanwhile, I don't care at all.

An utterly spectacular book! - some might say some parts of this book are overly long; I'd say not a page is wasted. The book is told through five different voices and each of them convey the story in their own unique lenses. There is so much compassion in this book - issues surrounding racism, colonialism, religion, culture class differences, and domestic abuse are brought up with such tender and compassionate, yet firm tone. You like strong female character? This book has 5 (or 4.5) of them! The language use is brilliant - crazy metaphors, palindromes, appropriation of various languages, malapropisms, intertextuality... One of the best books I've read in a long time.

4.5/5. I love how the novel is framed as if it is a non-fiction piece (in a way, it can be considered as one) - it gives this book such a lovely metafictional flavor! The book is punchy - it is kinda like a summary of "shitty ways Kim Jiyoung (and other women) are treated because of their gender". It reads like the narration script of a short documentary.