What Lies in the Woods, by Kate Alice Marshall: When I picked this up, I didn’t realize the author had written a YA book (How to Disappear Completely) that was not for me at all, and fortunately, this was much stronger. Slightly predictable, but solid enough, though some slightly off-putting depictions of mental illness. The Devil and Mrs. Davenport, by Paulette Kennedy: In one sense, this felt a bit stock and melodramatic, but those qualities also felt deliberate. I will… Read more »
Posts By: Claire
Books of 2024, Part 7
Babel, by R.F. Kuang: I’m a massive linguistics lover and was thoroughly delighted by the wordplay here. Was it didactic at times? Yes, but how could it not be? I didn’t feel it detracted from the story; I don’t think the story was possible without it. I thought the book might fizzle out toward the end, but was pleased that it did not. Dolls of Our Lives, by Allison Horrocks and Mary Mahoney: Very gimmicky – structured based on the… Read more »
Books of 2024, Part 6
Darkness Visible, by William Styron: I think it’s probably unfair to judge a book about depression written in 1990 by the standards of today (but I have The Noonday Demon on hold, so let’s see how it measures up) – but everything Styron mentioned felt very obvious, and the whole thing felt meandering and stream-of-consciousness. The Summer Book, by Tove Jansson: A lovely, very young-feeling collection of vignettes about a grandmother and granddaughter living on an island off the coast… Read more »
Books of 2024, Part 5
The Stranger in the Woods, by Michael Finkel: I know this was an expansion of a long-form article, and in some ways it felt like it should have either remained an article or gone deeper into the historical perception of hermits and of other “famous” hermits – it did so in a cursory way. Interesting nonetheless. The Lola Quartet, by Emily St. John Mandel: So atmospheric. The members of a high school jazz quartet remain interconnected (but mostly unbeknownst to… Read more »
Books of 2024, Part 4
The Last Language, by Jennifer duBois: WOW. A whole gamut of emotions and responses while reading this, from intrigue to delight (at all of the linguistic tidbits) to shock to horror. I didn’t recognize the author’s name when I borrowed this; after looking her up I realized I read one of her other books, Cartwheel, and though I remember enjoying it, the experience didn’t compare to this one. Mesmerizing. Waiting to Be Arrested at Night, by Tahir Hamut Izgil: The… Read more »
Books of 2024, Part 3
Fear is Just a Word, by Azam Ahmed: I’m glad I read this for its comprehensive background on the Zeta drug cartel and the terror the residents of San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico, have faced. The primary story – of a woman who becomes an activist after her daughter is kidnapped and murdered by the Zetas, one of many such kidnappings – was compelling, but could have made a much more compelling long-form article. Unfortunately, in book-length, the writing felt repetitive,… Read more »
Books of 2024, Part 2
Hex, by Thomas Olde Heuvelt: Not sure why I finished this…it was over-written, nonsensical, tonally inconsistent, and completely devolved in its second half. Weird misogyny and other offenses, failed attempts at allegory. One interesting thing – it was originally written in Dutch, then when sold to the American market was rewritten by the author, rather than translated. Maybe the Dutch version is better? I’m not holding my breath. None of This is True, by Lisa Jewell: I appreciated the twistiness… Read more »
Books of 2024, Part 1
The Longest Race, by Kara Goucher: Oof this was so tough to read – I enjoy running memoirs in the same way that I love media about Mt. Everest (ie “living out vicariously things that I would never be able to do”), but it made me want to bang my head against the wall at every turn. Not because of the author’s actions; I fully understand how difficult it is to question someone (especially someone you initially trusted) who’s in… Read more »
Books of 2023, Part 13
Under the Harrow, by Flynn Berry: I had mixed feelings about this – it’s very atmospheric and surprising, but I struggled to remember the characters’ names and identities outside of the narrator and her sister. For some reason, they just wouldn’t stay with me. The ending was slightly abrupt but satisfying. The Quickening: Creation and Community at the Ends of the Earth, by Elizabeth Rush: An entwined narrative about the Antarctic glaciers and the choice to become a parent –… Read more »
Books of 2023, Part 12
The Women Could Fly, by Megan Giddings: A fun premise (though I was confused initially when I started reading it with no background and no physical copy with a back-jacket description to orient me), but somehow felt very juvenile to me and somewhat didactic. Alone, by Daniel Schreiber: As I read this collection of essays on living alone and un-partnered/childfree, I couldn’t stop thinking about the author’s siblings – as an only child it’s very easy for me to romanticize… Read more »
