Parts of it were over-written for sure--but I thought that was more at the beginning of the novel, to be honest. I did find it a *little* hard to get into for that reason, but it really hits a groove pretty quickly.
Omg yes to everything you guys just said about Girls and Cline. Sometimes I'd read sentences that'd make me roll my eyes, and other times I didn't care because I just really loved what she had to say.
The Landslide Never Brought, Brought Me Down
Parts of it were over-written for sure--but I thought that was more at the beginning of the novel, to be honest. I did find it a *little* hard to get into for that reason, but it really hits a groove pretty quickly.
I finally finished A Little Life today. I have some mixed feelings. I was really into the characters the first 300 pages or so.
but then
But what kept me reading was the way Hanya Yanagihara, a woman, wrote about men. There are no major female characters (except maybe Julia), which is really interesting for such an emotional book. I felt like it shattered certain "bromance" traditions, such as allowing the men to be vulnerable around each other without reverting to bro humor for levity, or having them call each other by their names inside of "man", "dude", "buddy", etc. I found it refreshing.
I don't know. Overall, I enjoyed it, even though I found it to be a missed opportunity. I'm not even sure of its objective other than to make the reader overdose on tragedy. Was it about male friendship? Was it about the lifelong effects of abuse? Was it about how becoming extremely successful doesn't really change anything?
also
*edit*
It would be really interesting to see this turned into a miniseries or something.
Last edited by plastic•husband; 10-04-2016 at 09:23 AM.
Yeah, it's my impression that homeless/institutionalized children/teenagers are at much higher risk of abuse than the average child, and abuse often lead to more abuse. We also know that sexual abuse was/is rampant in the catholic church. Jude's story is obviously extreme in the number of awful things that happen to him as a teenager, but I don't think it's unrealistic. For instance, unaccompanied teenage refugees/migrants in Europe are facing appalling rates of abuse right now, since they are such easy targets for trafficking. The forced sex work is often accompanied by drug abuse as well, which makes them even more vulnerable.
Just got the new Maria Semple novel! Can't wait to dive in! If it's anything like Bernadette, it's going to be so much damn fun.
The Landslide Never Brought, Brought Me Down
A God In Ruins by Kate Atkinson. I really loved it, very thought provoking, really made me consider WWII differently and at a deeper level than I ever had before.
I finished Good As Gone by Amy Gentry and went to rate it on Goodreads only to see that she's the person doing the 33 1/3 Boys for Pele book. The writing was pretty good but over(ish) done in places, but it never took me out of the story. I can't reveal much without spoiling, but overall it was a great, enthralling read.
Anyone read The Girl on the Train? People are raving about it although someone told me the film isn't great.
Someone told me it was in the vein of Gone Girl and I instantly lost interest - that book infuriated me!
I am the beginning. The end. The one that is many.
right, confession alert. I have mostly read utter shite in the past year, mainly due to how easy it is and how impatient I am with books that take a bit of work to read. I am stuck in a fantasy/romance/YA drek binge and I don't know why as I hatehatehateHATE some of the plot cliche/characters, but here I am reading them. It's to the point where the characters from all the books have blended into one lump, with similar stories.
I really need to break the cycle and cleanse the palate of fairydust, can someone recc me something out of the "it's got elves and swords in it" endless circle I'm in?
I finally got around to The Girl on the Train this weekend. I thought it was just ok: definitely way more predictable than Gone Girl. At one point I told my husband I was just finishing it to see if the twist was as poorly camouflaged as I suspected.
The most compelling thing about The Girl on the Train was how it depicted things like alcoholism, compulsive behavior, and grief over the loss of/inability to conceive a child. The thriller aspect of it is pedestrian at best. I also hated how it was structured, and was displeased to see they kept the structure intact for the movie.
"See everything as an illusion, and enjoy it even though you are not of it."
~Alanis Morissette, paraphrased
I just finished GEORGE by Alex Gino.
It is a story for children and teens about a transgender kid.
I liked to see through George`s perspective, how ashamed and estranged she felt.
The story ends on a very positive note, maybe a bit to rosy in the end, but I think it aims to encourage kids who feel equally unseen under these circumstances.
It helped me to understand a little bit more about their inner struggles.