this is the first book to make me cry in 4 years so well done i guess (rtc)
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decided i'm going to read the women's prize non-fic winner each ythis is the first book to make me cry in 4 years so well done i guess (rtc)
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decided i'm going to read the women's prize non-fic winner each year! doppelganger was the inaugural winner last year and was one of my fave books of the year, so i have high hopes for this....more
skippy dies begins in a doughnut shop where two friends, skippy and ruprecht, are having a doughnut-eating contest when skippy turns purple and falls skippy dies begins in a doughnut shop where two friends, skippy and ruprecht, are having a doughnut-eating contest when skippy turns purple and falls off his chair. what follows is 600-pages of backstory, delving into the lives of those who attend, teach at, or are somehow connected to seabrook college, an all-boys catholic school in ireland.
the majority of the novel is told in close third person, its focus shifting across a big cast of characters. for some this could make the book feel scattered and muddled, but in murray’s capable hands it is done expertly, with each character still managing to have their own distinct voice and narrative.
through this, murray is able to make you care so deeply about many of the characters (and make you detest others). despite the fact that the book is literally called ‘skippy dies’, i was still in disbelief that he did actually die, because i was so endeared to him. murray has such a skill for crafting dialogue, it’s full of humour and is so accurate to teenage-speak (especially that of teenage boys) that the echoes of the school corridors immediately come back to you.
but the novel also has a darker side, an underlying sense of sorrow running throughout as murray digs into the troubles plaguing each character, from first love to drug dealing, to infidelity and the haunts of trauma. it’s a sprawling tragic comedy, and a book i wanted to start again as soon as i finished it....more
through meditations on the colour white, kang imagines the life of her mother’s first child who died within 2 hours of being born, along with reflectithrough meditations on the colour white, kang imagines the life of her mother’s first child who died within 2 hours of being born, along with reflections on grief and the fragility of life. the book just scrapes 150 pages, but yet it’s full of such poignancy, such heart. a beautiful tribute to an older sister kang never got to have, a life not given the chance to be lived. i personally connected with this very deeply. ...more
This is a stunning, philosophical book about one of the most human endeavours: to live a life worth being remembered. We follow a character who spendsThis is a stunning, philosophical book about one of the most human endeavours: to live a life worth being remembered. We follow a character who spends the novel battling with a want to be martyred, to have his life written down in ink, to be given space in the history books. It’s a very human impulse, the actions of many figures throughout history could be boiled down to this one desire, and it’s something that Akbar explores with such deftness and beauty here. Strangely, the most comforting part about this book is accepting uncertainty. We have so many questions and not many of the answers, but sometimes you have to accept that in order to live your life, and maybe that’s ok.
4.5 (because i am still unsure how i feel about the ending…)...more
set across one day, ‘orbital’ focuses on a crew of six astronauts as they orbit the earth from the international space station. this slim novel contaiset across one day, ‘orbital’ focuses on a crew of six astronauts as they orbit the earth from the international space station. this slim novel contains some of the most poetic, awe-inspiring prose i’ve read in a very long time. it’s set in space but it’s really a novel about the earth. it’s a beautiful meditation of humanity, the recognition of our fragility but a celebration of our hope. the overarching message continues to ring true long after you’ve closed the book: perhaps all is not lost if we take a step back and realise what it is that we’d be losing.
i always forget how much i enjoy a family saga book until i read one again. this was my first franzen and i’m regretting not reading him sooner. i wasi always forget how much i enjoy a family saga book until i read one again. this was my first franzen and i’m regretting not reading him sooner. i was so immersed by this book, and reading it reminded me why i love novels so much. ...more
4.5. WOW. sally rooney has such a talent for writing about interpersonal relationships and human connection, and it’s something i’ll never tire of rea4.5. WOW. sally rooney has such a talent for writing about interpersonal relationships and human connection, and it’s something i’ll never tire of reading.
intermezzo is the story of two brothers: peter, a successful lawyer in his thirties who is juggling relationships with two different women, and his younger brother ivan, a competitive chess player in his early twenties who begins a relationship with an older woman he meets at one of his tournaments.
it’s hard to talk in depth about this book for fear of spoiling it, but it definitely feels like a step forwards for sally rooney as a literary fiction author. intermezzo contains a much deeper character study into its two protagonists, exploring their family dynamics and how they grapple with navigating their brotherhood in the shadow of their father’s recent death. the scope of the novel feels wider; you really feel like you know these characters and why they are the way they are, why they act the way they do.
intermezzo also has rooney’s trademark political zest: commentary on wage labour, the housing crisis in dublin, monetary power dynamics, religion, existentialism, and discussions of chronic pain (to name a few). another thing i’ve always liked about sally rooney’s novels is how she talks about the internet / social media. it’s present in her books, as it needs to be when writing about young characters navigating the contemporary world, but it’s never too much. her awareness of social media, coupled with her lack of (public) personal accounts, conjures the image of rooney lurking on the periphery of the internet somewhere. she is also a master of dialogue, perfectly weaving in all the intricacies and subtleties of human conversation.
all this to say, it’s another hit from sally rooney & further cements her as my favourite author! (but who’s surprised). thank you SO much @faberbooks for the advanced copy, i’m forever indebted. intermezzo is out on 24 sept 2024!
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update: i got the arc!!! i will be devouring it asap so stay tuned
in ‘the bee sting’, the barnes family face financial ruin and grapple with their individual secrets in the aftermath of ireland’s economic collapse. tin ‘the bee sting’, the barnes family face financial ruin and grapple with their individual secrets in the aftermath of ireland’s economic collapse. the novel interweaves the perspectives of each family member: dickie, his wife imelda, and their teenage children cass and PJ.
murray employs a distinct voice and format for each character’s chapters, a way to signify their emotional state or personality. this is particularly utilised in imelda’s sections which forgo punctuation completely and instead adopt a stream of consciousness style, representing her emotional turmoil and lack of formal education. this is a decision i’ve seen some reviews criticise the book for, but it really just speaks to murray’s deft at crafting characters. he takes care with his characters, but he also allows them to be messy and cruel and fickle, in essence, he allows them to be human.
the novel poses a warning about what can boil to the surface when secrets and tensions have been pushed down for so long. each character is dealing with how their past decisions and societal pressures are impacting the present lives, all against the backdrop of ireland’s economic and ecological challenges. i was enthralled by every page and i can easily see this novel being lauded as a modern classic, with an ending that will leave you screaming or staring at the wall for a while, depending on the type of person you are.
i wanted to take my time with this book (because i think longer books like this are more enjoyable to sit with for a while) but i finished it in 3 dayi wanted to take my time with this book (because i think longer books like this are more enjoyable to sit with for a while) but i finished it in 3 days because it’s just THAT good!! how zadie smith uses teeth as symbolism for humanity / identity / historical & cultural roots (and how these can be upended by colonialism) is truly genius. a modern masterpiece and a new favourite.
truly nothing better than thinking a book will be an average read for you and then you end up loving it and reading it in just over 24 hours. this feetruly nothing better than thinking a book will be an average read for you and then you end up loving it and reading it in just over 24 hours. this feeling is why we read!
tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow isn’t a romance - but it is a love story. simply put, this story follows sam and sadie, two childhood friends who reunite during college and begin to design video games together. the novel follows them throughout the years as they experience success and failure, love and heartbreak, grief, general life trials and tribulations etc etc.
besides playing the sims and being a grand theft auto girlie when i was too young to be, i’ve never been super interested in gaming - but you really don’t need to know much or care much about video games to enjoy this book. this story is more about creative journeys and what it means to create art / collaborate with someone else, the relationships we form throughout life, how we relate to people, the importance of play, and probably most of all, friendship.
a lot of reviews have called this pretentious, but i don’t see that? i think it's an accessible, fast and easy read, with a plot reminiscent of a taylor jenkins reid book with the writing style of celeste ng and john green. it kind of feels like a YA john green book you’d be obsessed with in 2014, but it’s about adults and now you’re also an adult. most of the characters are probably what a lot of people would call ‘unlikeable’, but i always prefer that in a book - i don’t want characters who are perfect little angels all the time, i want characters who feel real. and this book definitely gives you that....more
a reflective meditation on friendship, love, class, and the complexities of human relationships. it’s one of those novels that i’d describe as ‘quiet’a reflective meditation on friendship, love, class, and the complexities of human relationships. it’s one of those novels that i’d describe as ‘quiet’, focusing on three main characters as they drift in and out of each other’s lives. it kind of feels like if sally rooney’s first two books ‘conversations with friends’ and ‘normal people’ had a lovechild, which is probably why i loved it so much.
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just finished this at the airport and loved!! will write a proper review soon, but this will definitely fill that sally rooney void in terms of both the writing style and the relationship dynamics....more
i’m devastated that the series is over, but also so grateful that i was able to experience the literary masterpiece of the neapolitan novels. i hope oi’m devastated that the series is over, but also so grateful that i was able to experience the literary masterpiece of the neapolitan novels. i hope one day i can write a proper review of the series, but no review could really do these four books justice - you simply just have to experience them for yourself. i’m truly going to miss reading about these characters and their story. i already can’t wait to revisit it in the future. lila and lenù will stay with me for a long time. ...more
another absolute masterpiece from the genius mind of elena ferrante. i’m reluctantly going to start the fourth and final book now, but i’ll be so devaanother absolute masterpiece from the genius mind of elena ferrante. i’m reluctantly going to start the fourth and final book now, but i’ll be so devastated when i’m done with the series.
also this quote floored me: “ever since i was a child i had constructed for myself a perfect self-repressive mechanism. not one of my true desires had ever prevailed, i had always found a way of channeling every yearning. now enough, i said to myself, let it all explode, me first of all.”...more
loved this. obviously this book is a product of its time, and nothing really happens, but ephron’s humour and witty tone proves that a book doesn’t neloved this. obviously this book is a product of its time, and nothing really happens, but ephron’s humour and witty tone proves that a book doesn’t necessarily have to be about anything for it to be good (although you have to be funny to get away with this)...more
one thing to know about my reading taste is that i love a good memoir. more specifically, i love a unique take on a memoir which plays around with theone thing to know about my reading taste is that i love a good memoir. more specifically, i love a unique take on a memoir which plays around with the format - which is exactly what maggie o'farrell's i am, i am, i am does.
titled very aptly after a sylvia plath quote, i am, i am, i am is a non-chronological memoir which tells the story of o'farrell's life through her 17 near-death experiences. these range from the arguably more common to the more extreme and bone-chilling (a mention of a particular man visiting her at the children's hospital made my jaw literally drop open).
these experiences stretch across the decades, offering us a glimpse into o'farrell's life at different points and her different responses as she shifts identities - from a child, a girlfriend, a student, a wife, a mother. through her beautifully-written and enthralling prose, o'farrell brings the reader face-to-face with the human condition: the mortality of it, the sheer fragility, reminding us how everyday we walk around on the precipice of death without even knowing it.
while the book is understandably dark and emotional at times, o'farrell doesn't cower away from the subject of life or death, which makes it refreshing and even somewhat hopeful. she seems to be telling the reader that life is still possible despite everything, that we should focus on what did happen, instead of what could've happened.
i closed the book thinking 2 things: 1. what an extraordinary life this woman has lived and 2. she will always have a great dinner party story to tell....more
big swiss is a kooky, funny, and very gripping romp of a novel, exploring the differences in processing trauma, a humorous look at new age psychology/big swiss is a kooky, funny, and very gripping romp of a novel, exploring the differences in processing trauma, a humorous look at new age psychology/therapy, and queerness. the absurd but witty humour and the characterisation definitely stand out as the strongest aspects of the book. while reading you’re constantly teetering on the edge of entertainment and discomfort, and it may not work for everyone, but it worked for me. i couldn’t put it down as soon as i started it.