krabbykath's reviews
82 reviews

murakami’s lyricism is always so atmospheric and dreamlike, and there was a certain simplicity of this book (not much of a plot, more just following these college-age students) that i somewhat enjoyed. however, i just can't get over how flatly written his female characters are and how much UNNECESSARY sex there was in this book. this book is so uncomfortable. rip.

super weird and bizarre. i found it really interesting how we never actually get a POV from Young-Hye (the main character) ... rather, the entire book is told by the people around her. kang's non-traditional storytelling is super interesting and left me with think about: societal expectations for women, patriarchy in Korean culture, etc. i honestly don't think i got everything that this book had to tell, but maybe a re-read later down the line would allow for deeper analysis. it's a really fascinating read 

this was personally not my style of reading; i found it to be pretty slow and hard to get into. but at least it is coherent and literately sound (unlike some of the other books i’ve rated low)

so fucking good – i genuinely have no words. this doesn’t read like normal nonfiction (at least the nonfiction i’ve read in the past); machado’s writing is so lyrical and beautiful, and i loved the experimental format of this memoir. an absolute must read.

this book was straight up disgusting and unsettling in every way. what’s even more disturbing (and intriguing) is that a lot of descriptions ab the processing plants and whatnot are told very factually. i did find that this book heavily relied on shock value in order to appeal readers; however, as someone pretty unfamiliar w the abuse that goes on in the meat industry, this is maybe just a natural reaction to seeing what goes on there for the first time. there wasn’t much of a dynamic plot to this book imo; rather, it just gave a snapshot of this dystopian world where cannibalism is completely normalized. 

i wonder if this book would function better if this cannibal world were just presented as an alternate reality where it has always been like this? rather than having it been like our government made up a virus that killed all the animals? idk i just had a rlly hard time believing the setup for the cannibal dystopia — how did nobody doubt the virus existence? and how did everyone become to complacent to cannibalism in such a short amount of time? 

it was definitely an intriguing yet horrifying concept, and the ending absolutely broke my heart. while it was unexpected, it was also foreshadowed many times. Marcos is so evil. so sad

this story made my anxiety spike several times, which is honestly the point of the fast-paced vignettes / narration style. i absolutely loved this book — gilda’s desire to please everyone around her, love for eleanor, and impressive ability to dig herself deeper and deeper into a hole made me love her as both a character and person. all the other characters were so charming too (except for giuseppe, he was annoying AS FUCK). even if they are not necessarily people i’d necessarily associate myself irl, it just… idk… i feel like this story just made me feel hopeful about life and people and stuff. a very good and satisfying read

the second half of this book is a lot better than the first imo. i found the first half to be way too melodramatic for my tastes, and a lot of the dialogue / interactions at the startup felt very over-the-top. it caused the novel to drag a lot; every line seemed like it was trying to be punchy. i also strongly disliked the constant 'my fake self' mentions — i feel like there is surely a more elegant / subtle way to depict that image of 'her fake self taking over' at her work.

however, once the plot started picking up (i would say when we're introduced to the Prometheus storyline), i started enjoying the book a lot more. the concept / themes are exactly what i look for in a book and similar to what i also enjoy exploring in my own writing, so it was really cool to see those in this story!

so bizarre and WEIRD. i honestly really really enjoyed it; the writing was really beautiful, and the plot was never boring. samantha's love for ava was so moving to me — it felt so deep and real. also the commentary ab the creative process and academia was just so well done.

a moving and emotional work. i normally do not enjoy non-fiction, but i found this to be easily digestible / accessible in terms of writing style. i will be trying out more non-fiction after this!!

this is the first and last time i'm trusting a bookstagram recommendation