**spoiler alert** This book started with no fucks given and some frankly amazing paragraphs (like the one revealing Ames’s crush on his boss). It’s a **spoiler alert** This book started with no fucks given and some frankly amazing paragraphs (like the one revealing Ames’s crush on his boss). It’s a book written from the POV of two transgender women by a cisgender divorced woman, which is fascinating until that particular passage in which a transgender woman talks about how divorced women are the only ones who get what it’s like to be her and it sounds super familiar and then your realize that’s because it’s the cisgender divorced woman’s reworded dedication at the beginning of the novel and you can’t tell if it’s supposed to be tongue in cheek or utterly serious. Wanted a LOT less detail and flashback; vehemently disliked the ambiguous ending. Could tell we wouldn’t see the baby from a mile away when it’s ten weeks after conception and there are like 50 pages left. Glad I read it, wish it were shorter and not about the baby so much....more
I don’t read a lot of nonfiction, but I thought that a liberal arts major’s view of startup culture would be helpful to my relationship with my muzh. I don’t read a lot of nonfiction, but I thought that a liberal arts major’s view of startup culture would be helpful to my relationship with my muzh. This memoir, however, is a really good example of WHY I STICK TO FICTION.
This book should be fiction.
Three plot points that should have been developed and would have been in a novel: - The CTO at the analytics startup is one of the coolest characters, and he barely features - The paragraph about how everyone assumes no one is using their access to data to stalk family, friends, exes, or any public companies they have stock in - HELLO RUNNING FROM THE LAW - The weird relationship she has with the CEO of the analytics startup. Is it emotionally manipulative? Is it that weird liminal space when your boss expects emotional labor at your workplace?
Anyhow, someone “Devil Wear Prada” this and fix the narrative, because there’s what to find here.
And yes, this did serve as a bonding experience when I got to bug my muzh with fun questions to figure out all the places that she was working at....more
**spoiler alert** I usually avoid translations, but this one was really good - other than two or three spots, I didn’t even think that it wasn’t writt**spoiler alert** I usually avoid translations, but this one was really good - other than two or three spots, I didn’t even think that it wasn’t written in the language I was reading. Loved the puzzle-like quality of the narrative, making (mostly believable) connections between the people at the hostage apartment and the nonlinear reveal of information and the gender flip. Loved the recurring motifs of bridges, idiots and Stockholmers. It’s not my favorite novel ever, but it’s very skillful....more
Very original work. Very romantic. Couldn’t tell the difference between the two writers, which is great. Could have cut out a bunch. Parts were obviouVery original work. Very romantic. Couldn’t tell the difference between the two writers, which is great. Could have cut out a bunch. Parts were obvious - e.g. who the Seeker is - but I love how time and threads and braiding is handled, the references to our own world, the different kinds of letters, and especially the ending. The prose was quite delicious at times. ...more
Oh dear. I waited for this for so long, hoping the author was okay after the last blog post and the delays..... I think I need to change it from categOh dear. I waited for this for so long, hoping the author was okay after the last blog post and the delays..... I think I need to change it from category “hysterical and relatable” to category “too close to home.” I’ll miss her writing....more
**spoiler alert** Ugh I love how it expanded on the first and had a totally different narrator then there was second person narration and it made perf**spoiler alert** Ugh I love how it expanded on the first and had a totally different narrator then there was second person narration and it made perfect sense and we got to see Gideon again yay and will they maybe overcome the Lyctor sacrifice together?? God did! The last 200 hundred pages needed to be edited down, a lot of it was unnecessary. Really enjoyed it. ...more
I raced through this novel. It had me. It really had me. The voices of the three narrators were distinct and though the writer judged them, it never cI raced through this novel. It had me. It really had me. The voices of the three narrators were distinct and though the writer judged them, it never came from a place of hatred or misogyny. But I can't help feel that she choked in the end. I like WHAT happened, but I would hardly deem Maren the protagonist. There are two protagonists, and the only reason there aren't three is because Khadijah didn't get equal screen time (call it the Darren Aronofsky Effect). The end needed more perspectives, in my opinion....more
Good god, this book is fun! It swings big and the payoff is huge and there are puzzle pieces leading up to an unexpected-but-in-hindsight-inevitable dGood god, this book is fun! It swings big and the payoff is huge and there are puzzle pieces leading up to an unexpected-but-in-hindsight-inevitable denouement. It’s great. Certain descriptions were confusing - the laboratories and weapons needed more - but the emotions were so beautifully written. The dialogue is also amazing, especially the small font teenage asides. What I love most is that in any other book, Palamedes Sextus would have been the protagonist. But the author chose the weirdo nun cult as our protagonists, so we get the distinct honor of knowing the thoughts going on behind the silence of the painted skull face, tinted sunglasses and dark robes that everyone else in the book sees and it’s delicious. Side point: Why is the word “lesbian” highlighted all over the cover and back? This book does exactly what I want in a free love way, which is that Gideon is attracted to both genders (don’t try to tell me NOTHING after all those descriptors of Sextus’s eyes!!) but it’s kind of incidental, there’s literally no sex in this book. So “lesbian necromancers in space” is a very bad descriptor....more
I don’t ... get it? Did I miss the background info with the wide eyed ingenue getting introduced to the world? There are so many holes .... Was that tI don’t ... get it? Did I miss the background info with the wide eyed ingenue getting introduced to the world? There are so many holes .... Was that throwaway line that made one of the characters trans necessary when it had no effect on anything? It’s a sexy tale with no sex, and I’m not quite sure ... I just don’t know. I like the androgynous David Bowie and sexy cat Rihanna....more
This is the first book in an extremely long time that made me laugh out loud. However, the narrator freely admits that she’s not dealing with her emotThis is the first book in an extremely long time that made me laugh out loud. However, the narrator freely admits that she’s not dealing with her emotions properly and masking them with humour and cynicism, and I think the story suffered from that. It could have gone a lot deeper than it did....more
I sped through this because it was entertaining and kind of sexy. A Jewish British retelling of “The Age of Innocence”? Yes please! But the narrator iI sped through this because it was entertaining and kind of sexy. A Jewish British retelling of “The Age of Innocence”? Yes please! But the narrator is third person omniscient yet we only ever see the two women through Adam’s eyes, and his perspective is very simplistic and reductive. I wish it were Ellie’s story, actually....more
Super depressing with all the child abuse, but lovely writing. I liked how the stories were interlinked and referenced each other, but could have doneSuper depressing with all the child abuse, but lovely writing. I liked how the stories were interlinked and referenced each other, but could have done with less repeated information. Wish there had been more of a wrap up in the end....more
Very exciting read. Love a snarky protagonist. Big payoff on the mysterious and haunted vibes. But it’s really a horror novel - lots of gore, and someVery exciting read. Love a snarky protagonist. Big payoff on the mysterious and haunted vibes. But it’s really a horror novel - lots of gore, and some nightmare fuel baked in there. Got a bit tedious, could have been shorter. But very entertaining....more
There are some beautiful passages woven through an anti-narrative that has no resolution. If there is any character development over the different timThere are some beautiful passages woven through an anti-narrative that has no resolution. If there is any character development over the different time frames, overarching present frame, and italicized flashbacks addressing a brother about whom we never find out what happened, I missed it entirely. A pretty self indulgent tale with good descriptions of drugs and sex. ...more
Very readable, and an enjoyable universe to be immersed in. Both too meta and not meta enough: Libby, the narrator, telling us Toby- and Rachel’s storVery readable, and an enjoyable universe to be immersed in. Both too meta and not meta enough: Libby, the narrator, telling us Toby- and Rachel’s stories, seemed superfluous, and I couldn’t trust the ending because she told us the ending before. The novel’s mission statements about marriage and being a woman left me feeling frustrated because they weren’t resolved: just stated with nothing to make me feel better about it. ...more
**spoiler alert** Not crazy about the translation. The plot is great, though, with a masterful handle on characters and motivations and how a situatio**spoiler alert** Not crazy about the translation. The plot is great, though, with a masterful handle on characters and motivations and how a situation comes to a boiling point. The tendency to overexaggerate and caricature some of the characters and groups did not detract from the story. Wish it didn’t have to end so depressingly....more
This was a trip. Love the style of stage directions. An interesting examination/accusation/introspection. As a white identifying person I didn’t feel This was a trip. Love the style of stage directions. An interesting examination/accusation/introspection. As a white identifying person I didn’t feel very threatened, but I suspect it would be very different to see the play live....more
I didn’t much enjoy this. The plot is great - love the idea of grand houses fighting for power of a very volatile form of magic - but the execution waI didn’t much enjoy this. The plot is great - love the idea of grand houses fighting for power of a very volatile form of magic - but the execution was not. Weak characters without complexity; pacing in the action scenes is off; the introspective parts are badly written. I’ll enjoy the film version when it’s made....more
A really strange book. Like this Ungar’s writing, the book starts with excellent characterization and atmosphere. After the halfway mark, it veers intA really strange book. Like this Ungar’s writing, the book starts with excellent characterization and atmosphere. After the halfway mark, it veers into a panic at a perceived lack of plot and introduces one bombshell after another - he’s a triple amputee! she’s pregnant! he’s a zealous Christian hellbent on making everyone confess! - until the whole thing climaxes. I did love the concept of a poor, put-upon neurotic guy being the center of this whirlwind of narcissists. ...more
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