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20% complete! Joshua has read 10 of 50 books.
"Those who build walls are their own prisoners. I am going to go fulfill my proper function in the social …
Menger-Anderson debuts with an eloquent story of time travel and family secrets. It begins with a 21-year-old woman named Hase, …
A haunting Orwellian novel about the terrors of state surveillance, from the acclaimed author of The Housekeeper and the Professor …
Under the shadow of gray clouds, three children venture into the woods, where they spot the corpse of an old …
Under the shadow of gray clouds, three children venture into the woods, where they spot the corpse of an old …
Menger-Anderson debuts with an eloquent story of time travel and family secrets. It begins with …
I may return to this later but did not find the writing style enjoyable.
Menger-Anderson debuts with an eloquent story of time travel and family secrets. It begins with a 21-year-old woman named Hase, …
After an uneventful Friday at the Dublin office, Cathal faces into the long weekend and …
Content warning Spoilers ahead!
(Realistically, a 4.5)
"So Late in the Day"
This story gracefully touched on the gendered dynamics of heteronormative dating scripts, delving into the everyday encounters of subtle and overt misogyny that women face. In this story, a man comes face-to-face with a woman who is too good for him. She respects herself and knows when to back down and step away. No placating herself for him, no "I can fix him," or putting up with disrespectful behavior. The main character comes so close to realizing how gendered violence (e.g., in the form of emotional harm) has perpetuated his upbringing and reinforced the way he and other men operate in society. Yet, he refuses to dwell on that realization and curbs his growth as an individual. Keegan did a great job jumping into this character's life in media res, making the reader empathize with him. Her writing spun this character out meticulously, baring these flaws openly, but approaching them slowly and allowing it to build up.
"The Long and Painful Death"
A writer is staying in Böll's house for two weeks, and the start of her prolonged stay is punctuated by her 39th birthday. Her initial days, wherein she's settling into the space, are interrupted by a retired German professor of literature who maintains that he was permitted to see inside the house, even though she already occupies the residency. He insists that he can see the inside; the main character placates him by convincing him to come later in the day instead of outright refusing him. Arriving uninvited, unannounced, and full of opinions, the main character is left to defend her character and her actions against this professor who decided to "educate her," admonishing her kindness towards him, insisting that she has wasted time when other writer, more "worthy" writers would willingly take her place and take the opportunity seriously. Keegan seamlessly worked the underlying anger towards successful women into this male character, and the main character's response, while compressed and to the point, doesn't leave anything to be desired. The reader is thrust into this scenario where a jealous man condemns a successful female writer. I enjoyed the professionalism of the main character, who turned her anger into something tangible, creating from it rather than destroying or bringing down others.
"Antarctica"
As always, I enjoyed Keegan's writing. While it was encapsulating, the plot was incredibly predictable. I appreciated the religious commentary sprinkled in throughout the conversations between the main character and the man she was with, but it felt a bit overstated by the final paragraph. Without the explicit statement, I picked up what Keegan was putting down and returned to previous themes. This opinion notwithstanding, the author provided a very real commentary on the experiences of so many women with acts of gender-based violence. My only issue is the risk of stories like these with the normalization of sexual violence and gender-based violence; without proper commentary, we risk reducing female characters to nothing more than background decoration. While this woman's experience was the primary focus of the short story, the readers are left with little to take away from the ending and the plot.
After an uneventful Friday at the Dublin office, Cathal faces into the long weekend and takes the bus home. There, …
(Realistically, a 2.5 or 2.75) This novel explores themes of unconditional love, self-acceptance, grief, and personal growth. It feels clear that this work is a labor of love for Norris and has come from within the heart. The story is easy to pick up, and the author lays it all out for the reader--although I wish there had been more exploration for all the characters involved. There is much left to be desired for every character, almost to the point of them feeling a bit shallow. We learn about these characters, and as a reader, we come to know them, but it feels objective and factually stated. I understand that a character feels a certain way because it was stated, but I don't truly feel what that character feels. This notwithstanding, some beautiful passages throughout the book encapsulate the depth of emotion that I was seeking with these characters. I …
(Realistically, a 2.5 or 2.75) This novel explores themes of unconditional love, self-acceptance, grief, and personal growth. It feels clear that this work is a labor of love for Norris and has come from within the heart. The story is easy to pick up, and the author lays it all out for the reader--although I wish there had been more exploration for all the characters involved. There is much left to be desired for every character, almost to the point of them feeling a bit shallow. We learn about these characters, and as a reader, we come to know them, but it feels objective and factually stated. I understand that a character feels a certain way because it was stated, but I don't truly feel what that character feels. This notwithstanding, some beautiful passages throughout the book encapsulate the depth of emotion that I was seeking with these characters. I also thought that a lot of what was explored towards the end of the novel ( Vivenne's gender identity and exploration, specifically, and the realization of her trans-ness) was unsatisfying. There is so much depth and complexity for that topic, and it felt so perfectly wrapped up that it was almost disappointing; the main character has struggled throughout this novel, and for everything to conclude with such ease felt a bit lackadaisical and simplistic. The backstory for the main character and the level of pain and discomfort that they experienced was a significant highlight throughout this novel; it was a throughline for everything the story entailed, and the character and plot development would have benefited from a more complex exploration of that topic.
(Realistically, a 4.25 rating) Oshetsky does a great job capturing the process of loss and grief through a child's eyes. The author's surreal take on the process of the simultaneous loss of life and being the cause of that loss was refreshing as a reader. I thoroughly enjoyed the personification of Margaret's grief and inner turmoil through Poor Deer. The imagery created from Margaret's religious upbringing, combined with the dichotomy of an "innocent" creature berating this child for her "crime," Poor Dear/Poor Deer, and the last articles of clothing Margaret remembers Ruby wearing, made it interesting to connect the different plot points. I did not read this to analyze every detail thoroughly, so I'm sure I've missed a few things intentionally added by the author. The writing was medium-paced and not very dense. While I typically enjoy endings where the fate of the character is up to our interpretations, I …
(Realistically, a 4.25 rating) Oshetsky does a great job capturing the process of loss and grief through a child's eyes. The author's surreal take on the process of the simultaneous loss of life and being the cause of that loss was refreshing as a reader. I thoroughly enjoyed the personification of Margaret's grief and inner turmoil through Poor Deer. The imagery created from Margaret's religious upbringing, combined with the dichotomy of an "innocent" creature berating this child for her "crime," Poor Dear/Poor Deer, and the last articles of clothing Margaret remembers Ruby wearing, made it interesting to connect the different plot points. I did not read this to analyze every detail thoroughly, so I'm sure I've missed a few things intentionally added by the author. The writing was medium-paced and not very dense. While I typically enjoy endings where the fate of the character is up to our interpretations, I did not want that with this story. Throughout the novel, the entire premise of the plot is based on Margaret's and Poor Deer's back and forth of the story being told truthfully and realistically, with Margaret often leaning toward unrealistic expectations for a happy ending and Poor Deer chastising her and making her tell the story over. We get the idealized ending for Margaret, but the readers are left on a cliff-hanger; the decision is ultimately up to us to decide the fate of this child. I think it is a great concept, but a concrete ending would have been more satisfying with this story. We don't need a fairy-tale happy ending, but to know whether or not this character even makes it to this last destination is worth knowing.
