abbie_'s Reviews (1.79k)

I can’t believe I haven’t written a review for this one yet, because I absolutely loved it! It’s warm and funny and sweet and sharp and everything I want in a queer novel about queer siblings! It’s quite hyped and I believe it deserves all the love it gets. I’ll definitely be rereading in the near future 🥰

Picked this one up after it caught my attention on the International Booker shortlist earlier in the year, and it was definitely unique! I really enjoy books that take a look at the jobs many people deem unworthy of much thought at all, and in this case it’s security guards. My favourite parts were the overarching eye of the guards at Sephora on the Champs-Elysée, as my focus at this time of year is not its best and these sections were super short and razor sharp. The other sections narrated by two Ivorian security guards sometimes got bogged down in detail, but were still an interesting read.  

This book was more than a little confusing and definitely more than a little disturbing. At the front of the book there’s a quote saying anyone who’s enjoyed 50 Shades of Grey needs to read this book to understand female submission and the psyche, and I am not sure I got that 😂 Mind you, I also haven’t read Fifty Shades so stumbled at the first hurdle there. 

I did appreciate the commentary around a stifling religion (Christianity), an overbearing mother, and sexual liberation. Johanne’s thoughts are a sometimes scary place to be. She’ll be thinking about something super mundane and then have a flash of the most grotesque imagery, sometimes violence, sometimes sexual violence. I wasn’t sure of their intended purpose.

Okay, but not my favourite from Peirene. 

Translated from the Norwegian by Deborah Dawkin. 

A multigenerational saga with a hint of mystery that worked better on audio than I thought it would. Months later (my NY’s resolution is to write book reviews within a week of finishing 👀) the storylines have sort of blurred into one, and I’m left with the impression of women persisting. 

I really enjoyed Konemann’s The Appendix so when I saw Scribd also had his debut full length novel, The Arena of the Unwell, I picked that up straight after! It was very good, even the characters that are written to be selfish and unlikeable, you can’t help but have a little soft spot for them anyways! If you enjoy books with a heavy music theme such as Scabby Queen and Summer Fun, this one is for you! 

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my free digital ARC of the latest Han Kang novel to be translated into English! Very exciting after she won the Nobel Prize this year, and I feel like this book really does encapsulate why she won, even if I *personally* wouldn’t consider it a perfect novel. This book delves deep into the tragic history of the Jeju uprising and the massacres that then took place and were shamefully covered up by the Korean government for a LONG, long time.

It can be a bit tricky to follow (don’t recommend reading it during the holidays when you’re easily distracted like me!), as it jumps around in time and perspective, splicing historic record with the present day narrative.

I was loving it to begin with - Kyungha receives a message from a friend who’s been hospitalised after a carpentry injury, asking her to go and take care of her bird while she recovers. Kyungha begins the arduous journey through treacherous weather to Inseon’s house, where dreamlike mirages begin to occur - I’m still not fully certain I understood everything that was going on, but it was certainly moving.

The language was always gorgeous, translated by E Yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris. Definitely do try and read it in wintertime, as the imagery is stunning.

2025 will be the year I also finally read the rest of Kang’s backlist, since I’ve only read this one and The Vegetarian YEARS ago 👀

This felt like a smattering of mildly funny, mildly poignant blog posts that I’m not sure was necessary to turn into a book. I picked it up at random from my Scribd list and although it wasn’t mind-blowing, it was actually quite a good choice for over Christmas. The essays are super short and easy to dip in and out of amid all the bustle of the festive season. Zimmerman discusses growing up in a highly religious household and coming out as queer, but he doesn’t delve particularly deep. Just a bit fluffy, not mad I read it. 

Thank you to Charco Press for my free review copy of this one! 

This book is a beautiful reflection on the end of a relationship and the healing of our protagonist following his break up with his boyfriend. He moves to the countryside, chaining himself to the changing seasons, growing a garden however mother nature will allow him. It’s a gorgeous meditation on reconnecting with nature, but my word it move at a glacial pace. It’s barely 200 pages but it took me about a week and a half to get through it. It was lovely when I was immersed in it, but when I put it down it didn’t exactly call out to me to pick it back up. 

The blurb of this one is a bit misleading, making it seem like the scheme with the Birkin bags is a bigger part of the plot than it is. Instead, it’s a voyeuristic look into one woman’s obsession - with beauty, status, cleanliness - and her descent into madness chasing the unattainable. It explores a wealthy Palestinian woman’s struggle to equate her upscale life in New York with her life back in Palestine, her compatriots struggle as their homeland is taken from them. The dissonance between her two lives drives her to the brink. It’s warped, she’s messy and unlikeable, and this book completely sucked me into its vortex. 

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my free digital ARC!

Bellies was one of my favourite reads of 2023, and I always think a second novel on the heels of an excellent debut must be one of the scariest things to write! But Nicola Dinan has risen to the challenge, cementing her in my eyes as one of the most exciting authors writing today.

Disappoint Me follows Max and Vincent as they navigate turning 30 and all of the expectations that come with it. Vincent is also grappling with the past, something terrible he did that he’s managed to keep secret. This is probably one of my favourite things about this book, the nuance with which Vincent’s bad thing is written. Because it is bad. Very bad. But people aren’t (generally) all bad or all good, they occupy a space in between and Dinan writes that space so beautifully.

As I’m writing this, I actually think Vincent overshadowed Max in terms of character development, but I still loved her. Max often gets sort of dimmed by the people in her life; she seems more defined by her relationship to Vincent, her brother, and her best friend (who is awful lol). This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as these relationships are so exquisitely written. But Max as a whole entity, undefined by those around her, remains a little out of reach.

But overall, gorgeous, stunning, already eagerly awaiting book 3!