A memorable collection from a dynamic new press thematically unified around that most primal of fears: deep, murky water occupied by things unknown. TA memorable collection from a dynamic new press thematically unified around that most primal of fears: deep, murky water occupied by things unknown. The grotesque swims parallel to the lyrical in Fish Gather to Listen. There is much here to disturb and delight, often simultaneously....more
Strange and sensual, surprising and intimate, Nell Stevens weaves a meditation with music and sensation that interprets human life as a collection of Strange and sensual, surprising and intimate, Nell Stevens weaves a meditation with music and sensation that interprets human life as a collection of rapid and urgent desires, pleasures, pains, tastes, jealousies, and reveries. The historical facts are merely the stage for Stevens' story to dance over--irreverently, longingly, ultimately full of life....more
It's always exciting to get a book as a gift when the person who chooses it knows your reading style well. This was the case for me, when I received MIt's always exciting to get a book as a gift when the person who chooses it knows your reading style well. This was the case for me, when I received Monstress, Volume 1: Awakening from my brother this past Christmas. In the spirit of the graphic novel genre, I'll use an economy of words here in my review to reflect the experience of reading Monstress:
Violence Art Deco! Clever cats Gods of old Blood feuds Promising debut Monstrous magic Matriarchal culture Distrust and mistrust Luminous, sumptuous art Alternative History - 1900s Starting context for a much larger epic Invisible languages, hidden feelings, and foes
The story's narrative depth is primarily conveyed through the visuals rather than the text: not a criticism--rather, an enjoyment.
Merged review:
It's always exciting to get a book as a gift when the person who chooses it knows your reading style well. This was the case for me, when I received Monstress, Volume 1: Awakening from my brother this past Christmas. In the spirit of the graphic novel genre, I'll use an economy of words here in my review to reflect the experience of reading Monstress:
Violence Art Deco! Clever cats Gods of old Blood feuds Promising debut Monstrous magic Matriarchal culture Distrust and mistrust Luminous, sumptuous art Alternative History - 1900s Starting context for a much larger epic Invisible languages, hidden feelings, and foes
The story's narrative depth is primarily conveyed through the visuals rather than the text: not a criticism--rather, an enjoyment....more
It's always exciting to get a book as a gift when the person who chooses it knows your reading style well. This was the case for me, when I received MIt's always exciting to get a book as a gift when the person who chooses it knows your reading style well. This was the case for me, when I received Monstress, Volume 1: Awakening from my brother this past Christmas. In the spirit of the graphic novel genre, I'll use an economy of words here in my review to reflect the experience of reading Monstress:
Violence Art Deco! Clever cats Gods of old Blood feuds Promising debut Monstrous magic Matriarchal culture Distrust and mistrust Luminous, sumptuous art Alternative History - 1900s Starting context for a much larger epic Invisible languages, hidden feelings, and foes
The story's narrative depth is primarily conveyed through the visuals rather than the text: not a criticism--rather, an enjoyment....more
I absolutely adore Jeff VanderMeer's work. This is the eighth book of his that I've read, and the first I've ever disliked. Still love Jeff, he remainI absolutely adore Jeff VanderMeer's work. This is the eighth book of his that I've read, and the first I've ever disliked. Still love Jeff, he remains one of my favorite authors, but this was a slog....more
I recently had the pleasure of hearing Rachel Swearingen read from her newest short fiction and immediately knew I was in the presence of power. This I recently had the pleasure of hearing Rachel Swearingen read from her newest short fiction and immediately knew I was in the presence of power. This book is further proof. In her story collection HOW TO WALK ON WATER, Swearingen's talent is on brilliant display, unearthing complex and cutting realities. Her unpredictable (and often delightfully unhinged) characters feel so damn real, you'll be pulling out your high school yearbook to look up their names....more
This book is just fun. YA enemies-to-lovers romance in a neon technodystopia with plenty of twists and turns, banter, and action. Ticking clock style This book is just fun. YA enemies-to-lovers romance in a neon technodystopia with plenty of twists and turns, banter, and action. Ticking clock style plot makes for fast-turning pages....more
Filled with awe over LUNGFISH by Meghan Gilliss. Striking, honest, and inventive prose. The dual question at the heart is one so many of us have worriFilled with awe over LUNGFISH by Meghan Gilliss. Striking, honest, and inventive prose. The dual question at the heart is one so many of us have worried at--how can you believe an addict?/how can you accept that the hurt they've caused is real? Gilliss approaches the answers without forgiveness, but not without tenderness, and always with structural brilliance and surprise....more
Mapping the Interior is a powerhouse of a novella by Stephen Graham Jones. It's astonishing to me how some writers can make such a gut-punch impact inMapping the Interior is a powerhouse of a novella by Stephen Graham Jones. It's astonishing to me how some writers can make such a gut-punch impact in 100 slim pages that others struggle to achieve after 400. This story is haunted by searing recursive imagery and faulty memory, lenses blurred by love and dissociation. Mostly limited to the walls of the family home, the setting heightens the urgency, accelerating with every page. The forces who watch from the edge of this story never fully reveal themselves, but we all know them, and they are terrifying--especially seen through the eyes of the narrator--just a boy who barely knows what has happened to him, and later, a man trying to make sense of it. ...more
Any book with an octopus perspective is a friend of mine! Adored Marcellus entirely, and also loving Seattle as much as I do, it was awesome to travelAny book with an octopus perspective is a friend of mine! Adored Marcellus entirely, and also loving Seattle as much as I do, it was awesome to travel in my mind to the Pacific Northwest to eavesdrop on these charming characters. It's honestly a bit of a Hallmark Movie experience--save this read for when you need to feel safe, cozy, and to believe everything will turn out in the end....more
I understand why this book took the world by storm. Moving fictionalized account of the many personal wars within World War II being fought by the womI understand why this book took the world by storm. Moving fictionalized account of the many personal wars within World War II being fought by the women who soldiers left behind at home... The novel is both treacly and horrific at the same time.
WWII reads are always tough for me. I hate thinking about the fact that all this unthinkable evil really happened to real people, scarring human history forever....more
Lynda Barry is a truth-teller. Everything she creates leaves me inspired, just gem-filled. In this book, she plays down her talent as a storyteller, bLynda Barry is a truth-teller. Everything she creates leaves me inspired, just gem-filled. In this book, she plays down her talent as a storyteller, but I think we all know her unique voice is on a tier few others will ever achieve....more
Dayna Patterson's poems in O Lady, Speak Again form a chorus of voices brimming with female power. The collection is an evocation, of the lady ghosts Dayna Patterson's poems in O Lady, Speak Again form a chorus of voices brimming with female power. The collection is an evocation, of the lady ghosts of Shakespeare's stories and all the women who ever were caught in their roles: mothers, daughters, witches, wives, mourners, queens, nymphs, corpses. They all sing words from Patterson's own life, vulnerable and generously given. Exploring the tensions caught in the tangle of religion, longing, rage, vision, and ultimately healing, Patterson takes the stage with searing certainty, bringing her lines into conversation with Shakespeare's to incant a protective spell over women everywhere....more
What if you met a monster who opened your eyes to things no human was ever meant to know, to feel, to see? The Devourers takes us there. Das' writing What if you met a monster who opened your eyes to things no human was ever meant to know, to feel, to see? The Devourers takes us there. Das' writing is gruesome and gorgeous in this blood-soaked tale. Wholly original, sensually charged, graphically violent, and yet also tender, this book reads like an ancient record of horrifying magic that should have been destroyed long ago, but exposes the fabric of our world. Sensational....more
Samantha Garner's debut novel The Quiet is Loud--fusing tarot symbolism, Filipino / Norwegian mythology, and supernatural abilities--is a fresh take oSamantha Garner's debut novel The Quiet is Loud--fusing tarot symbolism, Filipino / Norwegian mythology, and supernatural abilities--is a fresh take on the concept of people with powers. A multi-layered reckoning with family tensions, the pressure and vulnerability around disclosing identity, and the anxiety created by lifelong guilt, this story is so much richer than its thrilling initial concept. I loved the off-balance exploration of curse vs. blessing and the realistic portrayal of how grief impacts our relationships. (Also, the many descriptions of food are omnipresent and so, SO good.)...more
Ok. So, I have learned that every book Andy Weir writes seems to be narrated by more or less the same character with Andy Weir's personality. This feaOk. So, I have learned that every book Andy Weir writes seems to be narrated by more or less the same character with Andy Weir's personality. This feature of his writing is tiresome to me, as is the constant need to meticulously explain why the science of x, y, or z would *totally* work in real life. For these reasons, I almost DNF'ed this book and launched it into proverbial space to find a more appreciative reader.
However, once Rocky appeared, I became so smitten that I overwhelmingly enjoyed the second half. It's a great book. Fine, I admit it. Thank goodness Rocky came along--he's my hero....more
I came to read Universal Harvester for the weirdness and 90's nostalgia, almost left because I got so deeply creeped out, but ultimately stayed for JoI came to read Universal Harvester for the weirdness and 90's nostalgia, almost left because I got so deeply creeped out, but ultimately stayed for John Darnielle's gut-punch writing and intimate portraiture of midwestern people in all their banality and strangeness. This novel is tough to classify. It reads sort of like horror, but it's really not--as disturbing as it still is. This is more of a slow burn, a literary haunting, and I appreciate Darnielle's subtle hand navigating it all. A fantastic novel.
P.s. Had no idea that John is the frontman for The Mountain Goats until I glanced at the bio at the end! Wow John, leave some talent for the rest of us! :)...more
Reading any speculative pandemic novel after living during an actual global pandemic hits differently than I'm sure could even have been imagined by aReading any speculative pandemic novel after living during an actual global pandemic hits differently than I'm sure could even have been imagined by a writer publishing her book in 2014. But, strangely enough, that's kind of what this book is about: the unexpected weight that art can carry due to the way time changes us, the serendipity of personal reactions and importance, the way old lines read anew in previously unthinkable contexts. This novel is incredible--beautifully crafted, poignant but unforgiving, and very aware about what aspects of our world are at turns precious, cheap, rare, or remarkable. Just gorgeous....more
What a treasure of a book by Kathryn Aalto, profiling the greatest female nature writers most of us have never heard of. Immensely enjoyed the academiWhat a treasure of a book by Kathryn Aalto, profiling the greatest female nature writers most of us have never heard of. Immensely enjoyed the academic exploration of these important legacies, how they changed through time, and how they set work in motion that is still in progress today. I felt like I was walking with them thanks to Aalto's companionable, evocative prose. Rigorous in its exhaustive collection of related works as well--a great reference for future reading....more
I was happy to be gifted a copy of Happy-Go-Lucky, the newest by David Sedaris. I never fail to find something to impress me in David's writing. His wI was happy to be gifted a copy of Happy-Go-Lucky, the newest by David Sedaris. I never fail to find something to impress me in David's writing. His way of *saying* the world is so good at putting words to *seeing* the world in a particular way, during imperfect, improbable moments both banal and monumental. I feel very at home whenever I read his work. This one is no exception. Snort-laughing leading right into tears. He isn't for everyone, but he is for me. This book is just another piece of proof that David's a damn fine writer....more
The subtitle on the cover of Tripping Arcadia says "a gothic novel." And it is, in the most classical sense. Extreme, explosive emotions. Blending theThe subtitle on the cover of Tripping Arcadia says "a gothic novel." And it is, in the most classical sense. Extreme, explosive emotions. Blending the beautiful with the obscene. Rich people who are incredibly unhappy. People whose first reaction to somebody they feel slighted by is to try to kill them. Unreliable, loathsome first person narrator. This book has all that. Less Gatsby, more Wuthering Heights or Frankenstein. It's not supposed to make sense--it's gothic!...more
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