_lia_reads_'s Reviews (757)

Matthew Desmond treats his examination of evictions in America as a quasi-ethnography, focusing on eight families in Milwaukee, WI as they jump from one housing situation to the next. In telling their stories, he also weaves in facts and statistics about rental costs, eviction rates, and all the unjust reasons for which tentants can and have been evicted from your home. He also interviews some of the landlords, demonstrating how they are complicit in the housing racket, leaving them to make lots of money at the cost of stable homes for families.

Desmond’s writing is approachable and far from dry. He makes you really feel for the families that he profiles. This book will make you angry at the way the rental housing market is run in America’s cities. At the end of the book, he proposes some solutions to the problems, but I wanted a little more on that. Overall, though, this was a thought-provoking read and a great starting place if you’re interesting in the homelessness problem and intersections of race and poverty in this country.

The story follows four siblings—twin girls and their two brothers—over the course of several years in Lagos. Each chapter is told by a different sibling and the time jumps when the POV changes, highlighting different moments in their lives. The family starts out relatively middle class until the father makes a bad financial decision and they lose everything. This change in situation affects the family, causing the mother to flee to America and leaving the kids to fend for themselves. The choices that each sibling makes throughout the rest of their early adult lives are informed by this early financial tragedy and their attempts to make a better life for themselves.

What struck me the most about this book was the writing. The prose is beautiful, almost poetry. I was reading another book at the same time I read this one and there was a stark difference in the quality of the writing between the two, with Abraham’s writing being far above the norm. While the story and the characters were also well-done, it was her writing that really made the book for me. This is a short book but she packs a lot into it, from commentary on poverty in Lagos, to what it’s like to lose your parents at an early age, and how choices early on in life continue to affect you. This is a book not to miss.

“I am good, but not good enough, which is worse than simply being bad. It is almost. The difference between being there when it happens and stepping out just in time to see it on the news.”

This book struck a chord in me, in ways I wasn’t expected. Luster is about loneliness, about wanting to make your mark on the world but not really knowing how. All the characters are complex, imperfect, and prime to be disliked. But in seeing all their flaws and learning what made them, you grow to appreciate them for their realism.

Edie’s relationship with Eric is how she becomes entangled with Rebecca—his wife—and Akila—their adoptive daughter. But it is really Edie’s relationship with this woman and girl that I found more powerful and transformative than her relationship with Eric. Through these women, you see Edie’s own uncertainties, and perhaps a reflection of who she could have been and who she could become.

The theme of Edie’s art throughout was also an interesting way to explore her own personal growth. She uses her painting as a way to learn about herself, to figure out how to make her lasting impression on the world.

Leilani artfully weaves together all the things that a 20-something Black girl might be anxious about: her weight, her looks, whether this man likes her, how she will support herself, how racism will affect her, what her future is going to be like. Her writing is gorgeous and I found myself highlighting phrase after phrase as I read. This is a quiet book, packed with lots of emotions and Edie’s internal dialogue. It is definitely one to pick up.

Thanks to FSG for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

TW: suicide ideation; miscarriage; racism; police brutality; abusive relationship

I never thought I would love a book about birds as much as I did this one. Set in a near-future version of our world, in which almost all the animals have gone extinct, Franny Lynch sets off on a quest to follow the arctic tern on what might be the species’ last migration. But while the story of these birds is an important part of this book, this is more a story of Franny and her grief. Franny is on her own type of migration and it was a pleasure to be brought into her head as she travels.

The book alternates timelines, between the present and flashbacks to parts of Franny’s adult life. Through these flashbacks, a mystery of what exactly is motivating Franny to follow the terns unravels. What starts out appearing to be a simple scientific mission becomes so much more.

This is very much a character-driven novel. I loved hearing things from Franny’s perspective but also enjoyed the rich secondary characters of the novel. If anything, I wanted a little more from the ship’s crew, particularly Ennis.

The only thing that prevented me from giving this 5 stars was Franny’s relationship with Niall. I struggled with whether we were meant to view it as toxic, but it felt like that at times, and I wish that aspect had been acknowledged more. Overall, though, I loved Franny’s character and the journey she went on, both physically and metaphorically.

Thanks to Flatiron Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

TW: suicide; suicidal ideation; attempted sexual assault; loss of a child.

Short story collections are always hard to review because so much depends on the individual stories themselves. In this one, for example, I wasn’t blown away by the first couple of stories but then the rest of the collection was spectacular and totally made up for it.

Several themes run through the stories here, indicated by the title which is also one of the stories. These is much emphasis on corporeality, both through sexuality and just the general “feeling” of being in a body. “The Laughter Artist,” for example, is narrated by someone who prides herself on all the laughs she has created but is also struggling to overcome the grief of her divorce. Other stories take on magical elements, like Earthly Pleasures, one of my personal favorites. Most of the stories have domestic settings and are best described as character-driven.

To me, the stories in this collection combined some of Jhumpa Lahiri’s insights on being Indian/Indian-American, with Otessa Moshfegh’s dark humor, and Haruki Murakami’s meditations on grief and loneliness mixed with magical realism. Swamy’s prose is beautiful and sparse in all the right places. Reading this short collection was an enjoyable journey, and I can’t wait to read more of her writing.

4.5 stars rounded up

Thanks for Algonquin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

TW: loss of a child; natural disaster; infidelity; divorce

This was an incredibly timely book that touches upon so many themes: abuse, police brutality, racism, faith. Catherine Adel West paints a picture of what it is like to be Black on Chicago’s South Side.

While Ruby’s name is in the title, this story is also about her community and how they take care of each other (and sometimes harm each other too). Particularly heartbreaking was the cycle of abuse that is portrayed by some of the characters and the way that this abuse indirectly affects so many. The alternating POVs give insights into each character’s lives, emotions, and secret pasts. While not an easy read by any means, it feels important that more people read this book.

I struggled with two things. The Church's POV did not work for me. I liked the view into the past but felt it could have been accomplished without using the church. I also felt that the story took a long time to go anywhere and then wrapped up too neatly when it did. I wanted more of Ruby, overall, and her struggles throughout. The writing in general needed editing and more focus.

TW: abortion; gun violence; murder; abuse

INTIMATIONS is one of the first written works to come out of the COVID quarantine. In the short essays, Zadie Smith explores some of the things that United us while we were all in our homes. In one of my favorites, Smith analyzes our constant impulse to always be “doing” and how that manifest itself for her as an artist. She also tackles the “virus” that is racism in America, in a particularly apt extended metaphor. If you like Smith’s fiction writing, this will be a welcome addition to your shelf! Plus, she is donating all the royalties to the Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) and the NY COVID relief fund.

I LOVED this book and it might end up being one of my top books from the year. It is sweet without being cloying, funny without being slapstick, charming without being insincere. The journey that Linus goes on throughout the book, while predictable, was utterly adorable. He is a main character that you will want to cheer on. But the real highlight of the book are the children themselves. I won't spoil by going into any description of these children, but each one feels so real and unique. They will make you want to reach through the book and adopt each and every one of them.

Klune never ceases to amaze with writing that easily switches from humorous scenes to pithy statements of social commentary. While the story may take place in a magical world, the commentary he includes very easily applies to our society. He tackles a theme of prejudice easily, using his story as a larger metaphor for accepting people who might be a little different from the norms set out by society.

I wish I could make everyone read this book, because I truly believe that there is something for everyone in this story. I challenge you NOT to fall in love with Lucy, Phee, Chauncy, Sid, Talia, Theodore, Arthur, and Linus. This book is truly adorable.

All the stars

TW: prejudice; insinuations of dark deeds