As you can tell from my rating, I really liked this novel.
Evenings and Weekends takes place mostly over a weekend. It's inhabited by several characterAs you can tell from my rating, I really liked this novel.
Evenings and Weekends takes place mostly over a weekend. It's inhabited by several characters, most of them are in their late twenties, early thirties. There's Ed and Maggie, who discover they're expecting a baby. Maggie's best friend is Phil, he's in love and lust with Keith who's already in a relationship with another man. Phil's brother, Callum, is soon to be married to Holly. His best friend and best man at the wedding is Ed. Ed, Maggie, Phil and Callum are from the same town, they've known each other for many years.
London is one of the characters of this novel, in its incarnations as a glamorous metropolis where working people live in moldy, derelict rental places that many have to put up with if they want a roof over their heads.
This excellent debut novel is modern, fast-paced, and incredibly well-written.
McKenna digs into the characters' psyche with aplomb, masterfully unpeeling the inner selves vs the facades we all present....more
I must have seen this on a bookish vlog to make me add it, as the title and the cover aren't particularly inspiring. Thanks to whoever brought this toI must have seen this on a bookish vlog to make me add it, as the title and the cover aren't particularly inspiring. Thanks to whoever brought this to my attention.
Greta & Valdin are two siblings in their twenties, trying to find their way. Greta is 25 and doing a PhD in comparative literature and like most people in academia, she's struggling with her minimal income and dealing with academia politics. On top of that, she thinks she's in love with a fellow PhD student except that she's only using Greta. Greta lives with her older brother Valdin, 28, who's quit his academic career he worked hard at and now is doing a travel show. Valdin is broken-hearted about a recent breakup.
The two young people are gorgeous individuals. We hear their thoughts via alternating chapters. The writing is smooth and natural. Greta and Valdin have a mixed heritage, with the mother being Maori and the father Russian. The family dynamics were lovely and complex, both parents are intellectuals, quite open-minded and supportive. There's queerness galore in the extended family.
This debut novel was wholesome, endearing, and a pleasure to listen to. The multiple narrators were excellent. Incredibly enough, there were no descriptive sex scenes, no acts or behaviours to shock the reader.
So congratulations to Rebecca K Kelly for writing such a delightful novel....more
This is a coming of age novel about Molly Bolt, a smart, vibrant, active girl, strong willed and determined, covering just over ten years of her life,This is a coming of age novel about Molly Bolt, a smart, vibrant, active girl, strong willed and determined, covering just over ten years of her life, until she was 24. It's the 60s, lots of changes are happening, in some parts slower than others. Molly is the adopted child of a modest family. The mother is not very nice, she can't accept Molly's exuberant personality and tries to subdue her. But there's no stopping Molly, who realises early on that she likes girls. That doesn't stop her playing the field, adhering to hetero-normative ways for a while, she's very astute in that way.
She knows she's got to escape her small world and the only way is by getting a scholarship. College allows her to reignite her lesbian ways, getting a bit too comfortable, so she gets into trouble.
I loved Molly for her determination and focus, ambition, and staying her course in a world that worked hard to keep women "in their place" as reproducers and homemakers.
I can only imagine the waves this novel must have caused when it was first published in the 70s. ...more
The Safekeep is set in the 1960s Netherlands, with a big, dark house at its centre. The house now belongs to three siblings, Isabel, and her two sibliThe Safekeep is set in the 1960s Netherlands, with a big, dark house at its centre. The house now belongs to three siblings, Isabel, and her two siblings, Hendrik and Louis. While the brothers went into the world, Isabel stayed home with her mother, whom she cared for until her passing. Isabel is cold, stern, set in her ways. She's not classically beautiful.
When Louis shows up for dinner with yet another girlfriend, Isabel is not impressed. She dislikes Eva greatly and is suspicious of her. Circumstances dictate that Eva will stay in the house for a month while Louis is away on business. The two women couldn't be more different, Eva is sparkly and very feminine, Isabel is her opposite. Isabel is irritated but also somewhat intrigued by Eva. Until Eva kisses her, which makes Isabel feel things she never thought she could or would.
This short novel brilliantly unpeels layers that reveal historical aspects regarding the Dutch collaboration with the Nazis concerning the Jewish people, and the fact that some benefited from their tragedy.
Displacement, guilt, desire, sexual discovery, gender and social norms are some of the themes of this excellent debut novel.
This is a short, well-written and translated novel. The main narrator, a woman recovering from illness, looks back at some of her previous rela3.5 - 4
This is a short, well-written and translated novel. The main narrator, a woman recovering from illness, looks back at some of her previous relationships, a female lover, a friend, a male lover and lastly, the narrator's mother.
Via those relationships, we assemble a picture of the narrator - a chameleon of sorts, coming across as a passive person, who took her queues from those around her.
This is the kind of introspective, quiet novel that will be interpreted differently by each reader.
The Details was shortlisted for International Booker Prize....more
Mrs. S is the wife of the headmaster of an all-girls English boarding school. The unnamed narrator is a twenty-two-year-old Australian lesbian who worMrs. S is the wife of the headmaster of an all-girls English boarding school. The unnamed narrator is a twenty-two-year-old Australian lesbian who works there as a "matron", some sort of supervisor.
This novel is fairly plotless, it mostly focuses on the narrator's obsession with the more sophisticated, mature woman. The prose is sparse and punchy. Nicolette Chin's brilliant narration made it sound better than it actually was.
This had potential as it was different, but upon finishing it, I didn't feel fully unsatisfied....more
I don't have the words to express how much I loved In Memoriam by Alice Winn. I was grabbed and spun into its web from the first page.
This is a novelI don't have the words to express how much I loved In Memoriam by Alice Winn. I was grabbed and spun into its web from the first page.
This is a novel about the incipient love and infatuation between two best friends, Gaunt, a half-German, and Ellwood, a beautiful, charming, poetry-obsessed young man, (they're really just boys). The two have been friends for years, boarding at a prestigious all-boys school. There's miscommunication or better said lack of direct communication, side-steps, glances, experimenting and a whole lot of "boys will be boys."
It's a feat in itself that Winn made me care for privileged boys at a posh school. I detest them in the twenty-first century, even Australia has those kinds of schools. But I digress ...
And then Austria declared war. The naive, underage boys, enrol to fight in the war. Gaunt goes first. He's ambivalent, will he have to fight against his German cousin? He's only eighteen. He's got no life experience, but given his privileged position in society he automatically becomes an officer, which comes with perks, and better pay, but he still has to fight, there's no hiding from the horrors of brutal fighting. Elwood and others will join soon. Many letters are exchanged in this novel, between former schoolmates, between soldiers and their family members. Most are blase and don't really show the horrors of the war. The list of casualties grows, and an entire generation of young men is wiped out.
There is a large cast of characters peppering the pages of this novel. There's humour and banter, there are also vivid descriptions of the horrors of war. This novel fits a lot in its four hundred pages. I am far from a WWI connoisseur, but I appreciated Winn bringing to my attention the fact that even when it came to fighting against a common enemy, one's station in society still played a big role.
What was outstanding about this historical novel, from my perspective anyway, was that Winn didn't hit us over the head with the "big issues", it's all there for us to grasp, without leaning the balance one way or another.
Ultimately, this is a story about love. It's a formidable novel, an incredible debut. To say that I'm perplexed this didn't even make the Booker longlist - would be an understatement.
I read this novella in one sitting. It had a mesmerising quality to it, as it's all stream of consciousness. The narrator is an unnamed Spanish woman,I read this novella in one sitting. It had a mesmerising quality to it, as it's all stream of consciousness. The narrator is an unnamed Spanish woman, who seems to want uncomplicated relationships in any way, including when it comes to jobs, mostly as a kitchen hand. She seems to lack the ability to form friendships, preferring to keep to herself.
She starts a relationship with a blonde geologist. She becomes crazily in lust with her. Her lover nicknames her Boulder. At some point, she has to decide if to move to Iceland with her obsession. The sex is great, they're busy with their respective careers, and occupations. A few years later, the geologist decides she wants a baby, as she's about to turn forty. Boulder goes along with the whole thing despite not being keen on babies.
This was like anything else I read before. While at times it felt uncomfortable being in the other person's head so much, I also found it refreshing in its perspective, thoughts, feelings towards the world, situations, partnerships etc.
I can't say it was an uplifting read in any way, but it felt honest and matter-of-fact. I'm keen to read more by Baltasar, as this is part of a triptych....more
This is the story of Dean Laidley who is now Danielle Laidley.
Danielle Laidley is a trans woman, well known in Australia as a male footy player (AustThis is the story of Dean Laidley who is now Danielle Laidley.
Danielle Laidley is a trans woman, well known in Australia as a male footy player (Australian Football) and then a coach.
He got apprehended by police dressed as a woman. Some not-so-nice policemen leaked the photos and the arrest charges to the media. That was kind of a blessing in disguise as Dan had to come out and disclose his gender dysphoria. That was only 3 years ago. It was a challenging time as Danielle was a father and husband, son and brother. When he was apprehended, he was addicted to ice. The drug rehabilitation gave him the opportunity to recognise among, other things, that his drug use was also due to trying to cover and disconnect from the fact that he felt, wanted to be a woman, something he's been struggling with since he was a little boy.
It was good to learn about Danielle's life. As football was and still is an important part of her life, it's covered on many pages. Those parts were of little interest to me.
While Danielle is continuing on her transition path, she's now an ambassador within the AFL (Australian Football League) for inclusivity and acceptance. It's lovely to see how much more accepting society is becoming, may it continue on this path....more
I can't remember why I added this to my TBR, the only two possible causes are reading a review in the Guardian or probably seeing some GR friend's revI can't remember why I added this to my TBR, the only two possible causes are reading a review in the Guardian or probably seeing some GR friend's review.
Nevertheless, I'm always happy to read more novels in translation. I can't help but wonder if my French would have been good enough to fully understand this text. The translation by Molly Ringwald (yes, that Molly Ringwald) was easy to read.
This is the story of first love or first lust, this time, between two French seventeen-year-old boys, in 1980s France. Our narrator, Phillipe, is a top student, a loner of sorts, occasionally called names, because he's not into sports or other so-called manly pursuits. Personal and societal pressures, class, and the AIDS crisis are some of the hurdles encountered in this novel. Also, an inability to express oneself and talk about things.
The style of writing is personal, intimate and nostalgic. We all remember our first love and/or first sexual encounter....more
Well, well, well, colour me surprised, I loved this novel.
This was quirky, strange, unusual, and occasionally amusing - all the female characters werWell, well, well, colour me surprised, I loved this novel.
This was quirky, strange, unusual, and occasionally amusing - all the female characters were traumatised, flawed, and unconventional.
There's even an old, three-hundred-year-old house, with lots of quirks. Greta, the main character and narrator, lives there, with the owner, fifty-something-year-old, Sabinne, somewhat eccentric. The house is located in Hudson, New York.
Greta is forty-five and works as a transcriber; her only income source is provided by a sex therapist, whose audio files Greta transcribes. She becomes fascinated with a young, Swiss woman, whom she nicknames Big Swiss. I'll leave it at that. If you decide you want to read/listen to it, it's best you know as little as possible.
Every relationship in the novel is flawed, as are the people in them. There is trauma galore, including suicide and suicide ideation, assault. There's cheating and very descriptive sex. Despite all the trauma mentioned above, this was not what I call, and detest with passion - trauma porn. The writing was breezy and flowed beautifully. This was strange, in a beautiful way.
Big Swiss was such a page-turner, I couldn't wait to get back to the audiobook, which was splendidly narrated by a cast of actors. I can't quite articulate why I liked this novel so much, I blame it on the writing and the narrators.
I resisted for a while but got too curious, I had to see for myself why so many people rave about Klune's latest novels.
Wallace Price was a lawyer. UI resisted for a while but got too curious, I had to see for myself why so many people rave about Klune's latest novels.
Wallace Price was a lawyer. Unsurprisingly, he wasn't a very nice person, he was heartless and sociopathic. (#notAllLawyers) Then he dies of a heart attack. When the reaper comes to get him, it takes him a while to come to grips with being dead. The intermediary house he's taken to is a tea-house, inhabited by some interesting characters.
The beginning was promising as it was very entertaining. I was willing to go along with it all, even though I already knew what kind of story it was going to be. As we got deeper into the novel, I got less invested instead of more. A great chunk of the novel felt repetitive and bloated and there were not enough cute/funny moments to keep my interest levels up. At over 14 hrs long, this novel felt overly long, even though the narrator, Kirt Grave, was excellent. One of my main issues with the fantasy genre is that the authors keep changing the goalposts to advance the narrative to the conclusion the author is trying to reach. It was the case with Under the Whispering Door.
I didn't hate it, but I didn't get enough enjoyment or intellectual stimulation to warrant spending such a long time in its company.
I have the House in the Cerulean Sea on hold, I hope I'll enjoy it more....more
2.5 Grrr I spent 14 hrs listening to this novel. I am kind of mad with myself for sticking with it when I never enjoyed it - I just didn't want to have2.5 Grrr I spent 14 hrs listening to this novel. I am kind of mad with myself for sticking with it when I never enjoyed it - I just didn't want to have an opinion about it without having read it. I should have trusted my instincts ... I just got swayed by many readers' raving reviews. It also seems to be garnering "best book" awards as well.
This was a historical novel set in 1800 Prussia, the main characters are from a protestant sect that is ostracised. I am generally not a historical fiction fan. The "forbidden love" between two teenage girls should have been more to my liking but I really didn't care. If anything, it felt overdone, obsessive and over-the-top. The novel's second part goes off the wall, not in a good way.
Devotion - it should have really been Obsession - was overwritten and gimmicky, especially the last half.
Hannah Kent is definitely not for me, now I'm 100% certain....more
A World Between centres around two American women. Eleanor is half Japanese, half Jewish. Leena's parents are Indian. The two meet at university3-3.5
A World Between centres around two American women. Eleanor is half Japanese, half Jewish. Leena's parents are Indian. The two meet at university and have a short but intense fling. While Eleanor is out and proud, Leena hasn't come out to her very traditional parents, she's willing to follow the beaten path to please her family.
A few years later, they meet again. Leena is dating a lovely Indian man, they're about to get engaged. Eleanor is in a relationship and is working for a charity. Will their spark rekindle?
First of all, I was glad to finally read a novel centred on queer women, I don't recall reading one before, the feminist in me was annoyed by that omission, especially given how many books featuring gay men I read.
The novel was easy to read, even though it was overwritten and too long. Back in the day, I used to think, especially when men would piss me off, that it would be so much easier to be with a woman and that it was such a shame that I was attracted to men. It turns out, all relationships are complicated because people are complex. Who'd have thought, right? ;-)
Discovering that same-sex relationships deal with the same headaches as most hetero couples was both comforting and disappointing.
Anyway, as much as a middle-aged hetero white woman can assess, this was a good debut novel....more
This book was different, to say the least. It's about a possible menage a trois between Ames, who used to be James and then Amy, his current partner aThis book was different, to say the least. It's about a possible menage a trois between Ames, who used to be James and then Amy, his current partner and boss, Katrina, who's fallen pregnant, and Reese, a transgender woman who used to be in a relationship with Amy. As I've said, different. I don't recall ever reading a book about transgender women, written by a transgender woman. So immediately the novelty of the subject goes into the plus column. Another big plus is that I learnt so much about transgender women. Politically, I consider myself an ally, even though I haven't watched 1 second of the RuPaul Drag race nor attended a live drag show - I don't have a problem with them, I just never got the opportunity to see one. Apologies if I'm being reductive by immediately mentioning drag shows.
Torrey Peter's writing was excellent and kept me turning the pages. The writing is evocative and direct, never syrupy or very political. It just tells the story of three women. They're different. Their struggles are different. Let's just say that even though these characters weren't particularly likeable, the cis men were repugnant. The sex acts are relatively descriptive without being over the top.
In conclusion, this was an excellent debut novel, worthwhile exploring. I'm looking forward to reading whatever Peters writes next....more
Still Life is a sprawling novel that begins in 1944 in Italy and goes on for decades. This novel had so many things I love - 4.5
Oh, my heart is full.
Still Life is a sprawling novel that begins in 1944 in Italy and goes on for decades. This novel had so many things I love - first, some wonderfully memorable characters: Ulysses Temper - a British young man, whom we first meet during his stint in Italy during WWII. While there, he met the effusive and erudite sexagenarian, Evelyn Skinner, an art historian, a unique person. Their short meeting left an impression on each other. Ulysses's wife and first love is Peg - a beautiful woman, independent and stubborn. Their relationship is unusual. They live in a room above a pub where they work. Peg's "dalliance" with another man results in a baby girl. Ulysses adores her as if she were his biological daughter. He's a better parent than Peggy could ever be. The pub is filled with interesting characters - Col, the publican, Pete, an accomplished pianist struggling to make it, Cres, a father figure to Ulysses. To make things even more interesting, there's an extraordinary blue parrot named Claude. Claude is quite the character and a philosopher of sorts.
Ulysses' good deed, performed when in Italy during the war, sees him as the owner of a beautiful apartment in Florence. So, together with Peg's daughter Alys, Cress, and Claude the parrot, they make their way to their new life. A new location, a new business, a new language, new friends, - a life filled with light, love, good food, and the simple joys of life - the three ex-pats and their bird flourish.
The book is also filled with art and art appreciation; traveling and art as means to opening one's mind and heart.
This is not a perfect novel. Some might grumble about the overly precocious child, not to mention the surreal parrot. The book takes a little while to get going, it picks up the pace and becomes much more interesting once Ulysses and Co moved to Florence.
Despite its imperfections, Still Life is full of heart; there are some extraordinarily beautiful paragraphs, there's tenderness, quirkiness, memorable characters, chance encounters, beautiful descriptions, and so much more.
Since I can't travel to Italy or anywhere else really, I shall have to indulge in some of Fellini's movies that I haven't watched in a long time. I've been listening on repeat to this Italian rock band, so why not watch some Italian classic movies that were mentioned in the novel - La Dolce Vita, The Bicycle Thief, an amazing movie.
My literary love affair with Sarah Winman's writing continues. May it continue to grow.
I've received this novel via Netgalley, in exchange for my honest review. ...more
The story is simple - in the 1950s United Kingdom, gay relationships were illegal. Unsurprisingly, most gay people were in the closet. Many married soThe story is simple - in the 1950s United Kingdom, gay relationships were illegal. Unsurprisingly, most gay people were in the closet. Many married someone of the opposite sex.
This is the story of a threesome, better said of a love triangle, a scalene one, in which Tom, a twenty-something policeman is at the centre top. He marries, Marion, a middle-of-the-road teacher, who was his sister's best friend. But his love interest is Patrick, an older man, an intellectual, the curator of a Brighton museum.
While Tom is the love interest of these two different people, we never hear his point of view. We see him through Marion's eyes and through Patrick's.
I had to check when this novel was written because it had an old novel vibe to it, probably due to its restraint and setting. This novel is not explicit at all, if anything, it lacks eroticism. I didn't mind it, although it would probably have added some spiciness to a somewhat bland English cuisine. I can't wait to see the adaptation of this novel. The casting looks good....more
This is painful to write, Milk Fed was one huge disappointment, especially considering I loved Broder's The Pisces.
A scathingly funny, wildly erotic,This is painful to write, Milk Fed was one huge disappointment, especially considering I loved Broder's The Pisces.
A scathingly funny, wildly erotic, and fiercely imaginative story about food, sex, and god - such misleading claims. I wasn't amused in the least. The sex, which was over-the-top descriptive, was outright off-putting, and there was nothing imaginative, with the exception of a lot of Freudian incestuous masturbatory weird dreaming and fantasizing.
The main character and narrator of this short novel is Rachel, a twenty-four-year-old lapsed Jew, who works in a talent agency in Hollywood. She's not that keen on the job or her colleagues. Rachel is obsessed with food, how many calories she eats, how often. She also exercises obsessively. She suffers from body dysmorphia and has an overbearing mother. Out of nowhere, Rachel develops a crush on Miriam, an obese Orthodox Jew young woman, who works in the yoghurt place Rachel frequents for lunch. The two develop a friendship and sexual relationship. I thought Miriam was under-developed and mostly there as a sex object. In the second half, there's a lot of lesbian sex. It was repetitive and way too descriptive, which felt like a filler.
The ending was anti-climatic as well.
Worst of all, the writing was simplistic and flat. This is no literary masterpiece, if anything, it felt like a first draft. Truthfully, I found almost no redeeming qualities to this novel, unless being a quick read counts for much.
I've received this eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review....more
It doesn't look like any of my GR friends read this book, so I have no idea why I placed a hold on this novel. I must have read a favourable review soIt doesn't look like any of my GR friends read this book, so I have no idea why I placed a hold on this novel. I must have read a favourable review somewhere to make me want to read a book about a saint and about Texas, generally speaking, topics of little interest to me.
This was an unusual novel, even though I had no expectations. The writing was charming and it kept things interesting. To a degree. Yvette and Yvonne Crawford are identical twin sisters who grew up in Dallas, Texas. Their mother died when they were young. Their gruff, uneducated father struck it lucky with oil on his property in the 1950s. The two sisters couldn't be more different in temperament. Yvette was studious, pious, obsessive, introverted, anxious and anorexic. Yvonne was the superficial social butterfly, the debutante and sorority joiner type. Both girls were lookers. Yvette moves to South America and becomes a nun, whereas Yvonne moves to Paris where she marries a poor baron. She gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl.
The title of the novel is deceptive, as most of the novel is written from Yvonne's point of view, with a few letters from Yvette to update us on her goings-on over the years. Yvette's letters didn't feel authentic, as I didn't believe that she would be so forthcoming with certain aspects of her life. I recognised the letters' purpose to give us her perspective. Most of the novel though is about Yvonne. Initially, her sexual exploits and explorations were intriguing, but then they became, I don't know, kind of tedious. I kept reading to see where this unpredictable novel was going. The fresh and playful writing style kept the momentum going. Unfortunately, I never cared much for any of the characters.
So in conclusion, A Saint from Texas was fresh and different, although, ultimately, not that rivetting....more
Bianca (Away)
>
Books:
lgbtiq
(40)
Loading...
