This wild forcefemming-as-rehabilitation concept led to SO many incredibly fascinating moral dilemmas and discussions, I thought Omg this was amazing.
This wild forcefemming-as-rehabilitation concept led to SO many incredibly fascinating moral dilemmas and discussions, I thought it was explored so well. The book was also compulsively readable and written well, for the entire time I had the impression that the language used and the development of themes and characters was very in-touch, realistic and true to life.
Pacing was my only problem and I thought it could've been edited better, I didn't feel the need to read a very similar doing-makeup-and-going-out-with-friends scene 15 times, but apart from that minor issue, wow this book was FRESH. ...more
The topics and the way in which they were explored were fascinating, making the book impossible to put down. Such a strong narI absolutely loved this!
The topics and the way in which they were explored were fascinating, making the book impossible to put down. Such a strong narrative voice, which I felt struck a perfect balance between humorous, lighthearted and doing justice to the serious, heavy themes....more
I am so desperate for transfem representation that I read a fuckin period romance.
But it turned out to actually be good! Great characters (including tI am so desperate for transfem representation that I read a fuckin period romance.
But it turned out to actually be good! Great characters (including the background ones), good dialogue, quality writing, interesting premise. Friends to lovers is a trope that usually bores me, but here it felt like this trope was MEANT for this type of situation and oh boy, the tension at the beginning was unreal!
Unfortunately, the book lost its momentum somewhere in the middle and the pacing became a little "people going to each other's houses", but it did recover towards the end. I also had two very minor issues of other nature, but ultimately they didn't detract from the book too much.
Very happy that this book exists. We need more trans heroines getting their happy endings....more
Didn't sweep me off my feet the same way Autumn did, but it might have been my own fault. I've been having trouble focusing on reading lately, with alDidn't sweep me off my feet the same way Autumn did, but it might have been my own fault. I've been having trouble focusing on reading lately, with all the vacation/work/social occasions stuff going on, so it probably diminished my reading experience. Especially with a book that requires me to think more.
But when I got to the heated argument between Iris and Sophia about brexit I was SO immersed. And there is this essence in this book of like, tackling the social topics that we all think about, showing both people who care and those who pretend not to but doing it with such kindness and compassion. That, plus the very clever use of language. That's what I'm here for.
The cover doesn't look very compelling but the book is!
Really surprised me with the quality of storytelling and writing, an enjoyable lesbian period The cover doesn't look very compelling but the book is!
Really surprised me with the quality of storytelling and writing, an enjoyable lesbian period romance that doesn't fall into easy tropes, has amazing communication and a found family plot that doesn't feel saccharine. ...more
I love the "unhinged woman" subgenre. What I don't love, however, is how many of those books focus on a toxic straight age gap relationship with some I love the "unhinged woman" subgenre. What I don't love, however, is how many of those books focus on a toxic straight age gap relationship with some mediocre older man. It has been done so many times and it has been done much better than here. I'm so fucking OVER reading about those boring straight people replicating boring unhealthy dynamics. Not that unhealthy relationships are not worth exploring, but I'm afraid "A Very Nice Girl" doesn't contribute anything new to this conversation.
I will start with what I enjoyed: the opera angle. This was a setting that was actually unique and interesting. I liked reading about Anna's experience at the conservatory and struggles in the opera world. It was something new and fresh. It was the only part of the plot that I was invested in.
The main focus of the book, though, was her toxic relationship with 38yo Max and... well... It was so lacklustre and annoying. I'm supposed to believe that there was *something* about him that drew Anna in, but the author fails to show what that something is, she can't make him interesting or at least tell us what it is that balances out his cold/manipulative/or straight up boring behaviour. (Come on, at least Nick in "Conversations with Friends" was nice and sensitive and sharing stuff about himself). We also don't find out anything definitive about him and the ending is quite infuriating.
Then we have this book's weird relationship to feminism. Anna and Laurie's feminist friends are clearly supposed to be caricatures who "take it too far" and are completely ridiculous BUT the problem is that most of the time they actually have interesting conversations and make good points, but then the author has to ruin it and make them say something incredibly dumb and outrageous, making it seem like the whole cause it stupid. I just don't get it, no one behaves like that except for maybe a couple of terminally online people and reading those passages pissed me off.
It's just... it all seems so half-baked and tired. I wish this book was about opera instead. Make it the focus. Have it be the plot. It would have been so much better. Instead what we got is terribly unoriginal.
I mean yeah the vampire angle is very fresh, it's a unique spin, and it works. But I'm not sure if theSad/lost millennial girl but make her a vampire?
I mean yeah the vampire angle is very fresh, it's a unique spin, and it works. But I'm not sure if the rest does - this novel feels quite unpolished. There are good ideas there, some outlines, some interesting musings, but those often quickly turn into a sort of navel-gazing that I didn't find particularly engaging. The plot sort of meanders and fails to make a definitive point. I see some wasted potential here, because the imagery is there and the writing is good. I'll gladly see what Claire Kohda writes next....more
The stars are only for the amazing food descriptions. Really.
Maybe I've had my fill of "unhinged woman" books already, but there is something about thThe stars are only for the amazing food descriptions. Really.
Maybe I've had my fill of "unhinged woman" books already, but there is something about this that rang particularly hollow. So let's dissect.
There is a dual timeline here: sometimes we follow Roberta, the main character, as she fumbles her way through university (that's where she discovers her passion for cooking, which is nice. the rest of it is not), and other chapters are in the present, where Roberta meets Stevie at work, they quickly become friends, decide to live together and then create the titular Supper Club.
What is the Supper Club? "It's about women taking up space!", they repeat ad nauseam, but what does it even MEAN in this context? It just feels like an empty slogan. It's a group of women meeting up, preparing elaborate feasts, gorging themselves and doing drugs. At some point a character says:
'He's got a real problem with Supper Club. Like, he said we think we're doing something really profound, but actually, we're doing something which is at best basic, and at worst, just really fucking bourgeoise and gross.'
And I mean yeah, dude is not wrong? But what they (mainly Stevie) do with this criticism is try to make their meetings more "radical" which turns out laughable. The only thing they change is now they break into places instead of renting out space in a restaurant. Wow, truly revolutionary. If they wanted to do something "profound" or at least, something that makes a difference then I don't know, start cooking for Food not Bombs, at least this way they would help someone other than Stevie's ego.
And then there comes this weird dichotomy that this book kinda promotes through juxtaposing Stevie's idea of how life should be (chaotic and risky, which is rich coming from someone who has nothing to lose or worry about as her wealthy parents pay for everything) to how Roberta's life is in her first healthy relationship (nice and "boring"). The first is good, the latter is somehow unfeminist or selfish and individualist. The problem is, this view is clearly formed through looking at heterosexual dynamics, wanting to reject domestic life with a boyfriend etc, but then Roberta applies it to queer couples as well and is super shitty to her lovely mum, who comes out later in life and finds a girlfriend whom she wants to marry. She whines and is cruel to her mum and her partner as soon as she sees that they're too "cozy and domestic". GIVE ME A BREAK. YOUR MUM IS A MILLION TIMES MORE REVOLUTIONARY FOR THIS THAN YOU AND STEVIE COULD EVER BE. Monica, one of the women from Supper Club, receives similar criticism for bailing on breaking into a store and "worrying about money" and is accused of using her girlfriend to try out an experimental life. I think this is one of the problems that emerge when you add lesbian and bi women as side characters to your story as tokens, but when the story is written from a cishet perspective it really shows, because you can't apply the same ways of thinking about relationship dynamics to queer women. There is also a transfem character and while I appreciate the effort as it clearly came from a good place, her backstory is not written in a sensitive way, please stop changing pronouns while speaking about trans people's past, before they realised. It's still misgendering.
Another problem I have with this book it it's failure at representing sisterhood between women. Because that's what the Supper Clubs are supposed to foster. But is it really sisterhood, when it all has to be how Stevie wants it and others just drag along, especially Roberta - eternally terrified of upsetting her supposed best friend? When they reject women who are too scared to go along with the break ins? Apparently you're only worthy of being an interesting person is if you lead a "risky" life, whatever that means. Not only that but they literally just eat the food and do drugs. There is no sisterly support or important conversations, at least not for the readers to witness. In its main conflict between Roberta and Stevie, the book reminded me of "Animals" by Emma Jane Unsworth (but that one was actually funny). However where "Animals" succeeds, "Supper Club" fails. Similarly to Roberta, Laura in "Animals" was torn between a serious life with her long-term boyfriend, and a party life with her unhinged best friend. Except that both Laura's boyfriend and best friend were kind of selfish assholes, and Laura ends up choosing herself and her own happines, going her own way. Here, well, (view spoiler)[Roberta tells Stevie that she always felt like her shy sidekick and did everything to please her, but then still apologizes for "abandoning her" (ie moving out of their shared flat to start a life with a long term boyfriend) and goes back to being said sidekick? (hide spoiler)]
Also, don't use the kimchi recipe that's added at the beginning of one of the chapters lol, just use Maangchi's....more
As a famous review once said, "it's just a bunch of people going to each other's houses"
On a serious note though, I loved how this romance was developAs a famous review once said, "it's just a bunch of people going to each other's houses"
On a serious note though, I loved how this romance was developed but thought there was too much of unnecessary scenes and irrelevant characters in the middle....more
I always approach my most anticipated releases with a tiny dose of fear and anxiety, for what if they don'Really fucking brilliant.
My heart is broken.
I always approach my most anticipated releases with a tiny dose of fear and anxiety, for what if they don't live up to my expectations? It's especially true for books like this one, where the premise alone grabs my complete attention and tugs at my heart. But armed with my experience of Julia Armfield's writing, which I adored in her short story collection, I finally picked up this title. And all my worries were gone as soon as I read the first page.
Armfield's writing is even more polished and skillful than in her short fiction. It's poetic without feeling distant - on the contrary, it's so evocative and emotional, I could not help but imagine myself as Miri immediately. A woman completely disoriented, thinking she's lost her wife, only for her to come back unexpectedly from a deep sea mission, irreversibly changed, slipping away again.
The dual narrative of Miri and Leah, going in opposite directions in time - Leah explaining what happened under the sea and Miri living with the aftermath, but also reminiscing about the love of her life, was nothing short of masterful. Genre bending is difficult to do, and yet Armfield succeeds with such ease. She manages to capture the quiet horror of the bottom of the ocean and the slow decline of the mental state of the characters being trapped there. And at the same time the contemporary, literary parts about life, grief and relationships narrated by Miri receive just as much depth. There were so many passages that rang incredibly true and touching to me, that I wanted to underline. I'm starting to regret that I didn't, but surely this is a book that I will reread.
The metaphors and stories told by various characters that are reflected in different events later was also something that I found was done with a skilled subtlety. I hate when readers are bashed over the head with an allegory, but here Armfield seems to strike a great balance. I won't spoil those metaphors, but I was touched.
What more can I say? It's a beautiful, sapphic tale of grief and change. Up there with 2 other best reads of 2022 for me. ...more
It was funny, down to earth, chaotic, genuine and I really felt for the main character in her desperaI don't know what to say, it just felt very real.
It was funny, down to earth, chaotic, genuine and I really felt for the main character in her desperation and the feeling of being lost or torn between stuff. I really like where it went in the end too. Somewhat open-ended, realistic, but strongly hinting at Laura finally choosing... Herself. In her own chaotic way....more
I can't seem to get into these books the same way other people do, but still: this one was the best out of all 3.
A new thing for me is that this time I can't seem to get into these books the same way other people do, but still: this one was the best out of all 3.
A new thing for me is that this time I much preferred our protagonist to the love interest. I relate to Eve a lot and she IS a delight to read about, but I couldn't say the same about Jacob. Especially in the first half of the book, where he seemed perpetually and overtly angry at Eve, to the point that had my eyes rolling (that might have been partially the fault of the audiobook though). I did grow to like him more towards the end and as a person on the spectrum I really appreciate diverse autistic representation (and showing that it can manifest differently!).
The things that bother me about this series remained unchanged though, namely: 1) Do these books ALWAYS have to include a forced miscommunication trope towards the end? I couldn't enjoy the sweet moments between Jacob and Eve because, armed with my experience, I already knew this was going to happen 2) I'm sorry, but the sex scenes never fail to make me cringe. I do think it's weird to use the word "cunt" while trying to be seductive.
It's probably more of a 3.5 book for me, but I rated Chloe Brown 4 stars and this one was better, so 4 stars it is....more