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neiljung78's reviews
293 reviews
Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.5
I really liked this to start with but then somewhere in the middle started to feel unsatisfied but also maybe unsettled (which is better but still hard going). And for a while, re my feelings that made me flinch away from it; I was like ‘I get that’s the point…BUT’ but then more pages went by and I lost my but and there were some great passages and the last section - bits of it were good enough to make me panicky. Not sure about the VERY end but yeah this got to me.
Dubin's Lives by Bernard Malamud
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book felt long and sad - sometimes miserable - and full of winter. Some really magnificent passages.
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
challenging
fast-paced
3.0
Loved the Phildickian compassionate aliens and other bits reminded me of The Man In the High Castle.
Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lol, ‘are the flaws of the main character a main focus of the book’ uh yeah, StoryGraph, little bit, little bit. So much so that at times I found it hard to read (I mean that totally as praise for this writing and translation).
Selected Poems by Carol Ann Duffy
3.5
The earlier poems slid by me a little (maybe my fault) but from Mean Time on it was like they locked into focus and were the real deal.
Sarah Canary by Karen Joy Fowler
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
3.0
A peculiar book, very much not what I was expecting but also very good. A book you want to hear others talk about.
The Restraint of Beasts by Magnus Mills
dark
funny
fast-paced
3.75
Just finished this. Good stuff! Made me think of Paul Auster’s The Music of Chance or Budding Prospects by TC Boyle but better than both. Maybe some Muriel Spark dryness in the prose. Love a novel with a very last line that hits hard
The Thing in the Gap-stone Stile by Alice Oswald
4.0
I maybe didn’t quite catch hold of every poem in this collection but they got into me. Vivid but hard to fathom, like Ted Hughes can be, maybe?
True Confessions by John Gregory Dunne
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A solid detective novel, maybe bit like James Ellroy but without the need to commit to Ellroy’s intense prose pyrotechnics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Antisemitism, and Murder