alisarae's Reviews (1.65k)

2022: i think this is the third time I’ve read this book, and thankfully I had forgotten everything but the original titles, ha. It sets the standard for locked room mysteries!

2015: Me wants more horror and suspense.

We always read in the context of other media that we are exposed to, and in my case what immediately sprung to mind was the docuseries Woodstock 99: the violence broiling just underneath the surface, ready to erupt at any moment; the entitlement that no one bothers to offer an excuse for; the tragedies that are never mourned or brought to justice. In O’Conner’s day, northern critics rubbernecked at her “southern” violence (I’m paraphrasing from the introduction); in Woodstock 99, the violence was chalked up to a Gen X sense of entitlement. But I do see similarities between the two and that brings me to my point: Flannery O’Conner is not merely a Southern writer nor a Catholic writer, but an American writer. Her “sardonic wit”—which, as far as I can tell, is an acknowledgement of the pitifulness, irony, and hypocrisy in her characters—makes me think millennial Twitter humor comes from an older American tradition of recognizing a problem and laugh-crying at our inability to change the tides of cultural influence. Finally, I see the connections between O’Conner and Shirley Jackson as outsiders caught in the web of small town tradition, illness, and a challenge to the popular imagination of 1950s womanhood.

Rev Dr Wil Gafney is a Hebrew scholar who uses her extensive knowledge and research to breathe life into the women of the Hebrew scriptures. Women who seem to be merely a passing footnote are pondered with concern and empathy. Notorious women are cast in a new light. Grammar is teased out to reveal the women hidden between the lines. Reading this book broadened my perspective on women's agency and activity in the Bible.

I learned so much and the professor is great. He made philosophical topics interesting and easy to understand. I also appreciated how he compared and contrasted different theologians and strands of beliefs to show what is unique about each. Highly recommended, and I would listen to this again.

I enjoy KA's presence on instagram but I ended up just skimming this book. She mentions in #11 that some people aren't really wired to figure out efficient ways to solve problems....I know a few of those haha. But I don't really have a problem with managing and organizing the various components of my life and I have pretty good systems in place that work for me. So I didn't find this book all that helpful.

Wow that is a lot. I listened to the whole thing in one day. It's wrriten in a simple and straightforward way, but JM does a great job of explaing the emotions and relational dynamics in a scene to convey the tension and anxiety she was feeling. It's interesting how her delivery is flat and no frills in spite of the high drama happening in pretty much every situation in her life. I can definitely see her writing screenplays in the future.

What a strange book, I loved it. The genius of the story is how plainly it shows that both career women and stay at home mothers are up against unjust demands thrown at them with the same flaccid excuse: because you're the woman. Shiba both subverts sexist pressures in the workplace and escapes the patriarchal expectations of motherhood by pretending to be pregnant. She truly does have her cake and eat it too.

Higashinakono is an interesting counter to Shiba's feminine presence in the workplace. He is looked down on by all his coworkers for being pathetic, incompetent, odd, and even disgusting. He is the one who volunteers for the "woman's work" around the office and doesn't seem to notice why his male colleagues deem it beneath them. He is the most considerate and the most seriously invested in Shiba's pregnancy. An unsuccessful middle aged loser by his peers' judgement, yet the one who displays the most humanity and egality -- what does that say about society's values?

Just the right amount of quirk, and more engaging than it appears on the surface.

This portrait of Americana remains piercingly relevant. When the characters start to realize they could come together and solve their problems--living paycheck to paycheck, no retirement plan, profound lonliness--but that is swept away.... devastating.

The audio read by Gary Sinise is A+.

I had no idea such a clear distillation of feminism existed in 1879!

Thank you LA Theater Works for making such an amazing audio version available.