alexandriaslibrary's reviews
250 reviews

A real page turner—read it in under a day! A woman and her kids are the victims of a home invasion which rattles them deeply. However, afterwards, the realizes that the nightmare isn’t over 

Sapphic classics never miss! Lazi is a self-hating college student who falls in love with a woman but is also the most avoidant person who has ever lived. It follows her throughout her college & sexuality journey & her friends and lovers along the way. The book is broken into 8 notebooks (organized by her age/relationships/etc) and the chapters are short vignettes. There are also flash pieces about allegorical "crocodiles" who are the focus of a media frenzy (a reference to the gay movement in 1980s/1990s Taiwan)

Real recognizes real 

Stories that feel like they won the Story Prize (they did) 

A messy, sapphic romp! Greta is a 40-something yr old with some major mommy and abandonment issues). After a breakup she impulsively moves cross country to upstate New York where the people are more woo-woo hipsters than those in LA. She gets hired by the town's sex therapist to transcribe his sessions and becomes obsessed with the voice and sessions of Big Swiss (a local married Swedish woman who was brutally attacked a decade prior and has never felt a big O) who she then meets in town and begins an affair with.

I found the transcription writing super interesting. The dialogue is so sharp, witty, and insightful and it helps move the plot. There were some subplots that felt a little distracting/heightened for the sake of heightening. Also the sexual dynamic between Greta and Big Swiss was a bit peculiar and robotic, but I think the bright point of their relationship was more about the sneaking/trauma/reveals/and the chance to hear the uncensored inner thoughts of your partner.

Heartbreakingly gay! A gut punch to anyone who has experienced a less-than-healthy sapphic relationship. The obsession, the shame, the lust. A young woman moves to a new town and starts an affair with a lesbian who is 19 years older (and in a relationship). The narrator didn't even realize she was queer prior to this relationship, so it's utterly devastating to see how much your identity can be wrapped up by someone else.

A really beautiful, tense story of a young woman and an older man/husband who have a strained years-long affair. Set in East Berlin, it’s heavily about German and USSR culture and I think maybe I’m just a lil dumb or not that knowledgeable 

A delightful, quick read about a group of Mexican/Chicana women (including two sisters and their mother) working in a clothing factory in 1980s LA. Touching relationships between the women and a nice display of more authentic Spanglish! 

Also adapted into a 2002 movie featuring America Ferrera <3 Def gives Ladybird 

A well-crafted and driven novel about a 20-something year old love addict. With deep mommy issues, our Palestinian-American narrator questions her worthiness in relationships, about her ancestral homeland, and belonging in general.

Super solid plot and movement and I really felt for our narrator! She was funny, insightful, yet troubled! It was a joy to see her growth  

The sort of collection where every story has been in the New Yorker & is taut, driven, and introspective 

Massively impressive & a feel for structure that is sorely missed in contemporary collections