neiljung78's reviews
293 reviews

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

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funny reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This was funny AND sad - cheesy to say it but I did laugh and cry. It also felt true AND real - sometimes with novels that have some satirical intent or want to capture something contemporary (tho this is deeper than that) the situation or characters are a wee bit too heightened, but these felt like real people, as well as types you could recognise.
Rosewater by Tade Thompson

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dark funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

This is bubbling over with ideas - almost too many! But that’s a point in favour of a science fiction novel. And it’s well written - he can write vivid and evocative descriptions of action and... STRANGE THINGS. Towards the end, the chapters kinda flip from artfully elided or weaved in detail to a LOT of detail and maybe there’s not so much a plot as a means to reveal world building but ... eh, this is good stuff.
Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe

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funny reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Really really good. Absorbing and compelling even when things inevitably fall apart. Maybe my favourite of the African Trilogy. The last line shook me up.
Braised Pork by An Yu

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mysterious reflective medium-paced

3.0

Hmmm. I may need to time to reflect or let the book work on me in the aftermath of finishing it. Puzzled but also wondering if there was less here than I hoped for... but not sure I know that yet
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

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emotional hopeful sad
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Good. The nervy energy does evoke feelings of struggling in life. 
Naomi by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki

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challenging dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

One of those short and sharp novels about weird, obsessive love. And one where you notice the strangeness at the edges of sentences and chapters.
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

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challenging funny tense fast-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

4.0

This is a short book that will stay with me. It has so many virtues, including being funny - it made me laugh. Other moments were those times when your bones freeze and you shiver.
State of Emergency by Jeremy Tiang

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emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-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

A tender and moving novel. I found the characters utterly convincing.
There There by Tommy Orange

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fast-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? Yes

3.5

This had a real crackle to it and was very readable. 
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson

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inspiring reflective
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This had prose that is simple and direct but also beautiful when it needs to be - so, pretty good for describing first love, or first real love. In the middle part I was wondering, is this too earnest for my taste?... but as it went on, the seriousness seemed more fitting and right, like it coudn't be any other way and the final chapters draw together a lot the ides that have been glimpsed in passing along the way. It made me reflect a but on myself and my work and how to try to do better with both.