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ambershelf's Reviews (1.3k)
An unnamed Palestinian-American woman reflects on her rather tumultuous adolescence and young adulthood. From coming out to her mom, navigating eating disorders, to coping with toxic relationships, the narrator tries to balance her destructive impulses with the desire to find a belonging.
EXIST is another all-vibes-no-plot novel that doesn't work the best on audio. The narrator navigates the present while constantly interjecting with past memories with a stream-of-consciousness writing style. While I appreciate the parallels between being queer & Muslim and being a Palestinian American, I feel that so much is said between the lines that don't fully resonate with me.
Additionally, I find that books featuring very sexually active narrators with messy relationships and make questionable choices aren't my fav to read. Those who enjoyed I'M A FAN (Sheena Patel) might find EXIST a more satisfying read.
EXIST is another all-vibes-no-plot novel that doesn't work the best on audio. The narrator navigates the present while constantly interjecting with past memories with a stream-of-consciousness writing style. While I appreciate the parallels between being queer & Muslim and being a Palestinian American, I feel that so much is said between the lines that don't fully resonate with me.
Additionally, I find that books featuring very sexually active narrators with messy relationships and make questionable choices aren't my fav to read. Those who enjoyed I'M A FAN (Sheena Patel) might find EXIST a more satisfying read.
gifted by Ecco Books
SONGS is a collection of So's unfinished fiction, Straight Thru Cambotown, interspersed with previously published essays. With So's signature style blending cultural criticism and Cambodian diaspora with humor and sarcasm, both the fiction and essays left a strong impression on me.
In Straight Thru Cambotown, the readers follow three Cambodian-American cousins after the death of their aunt Ming Peou. Struggling to find their "place" in the world, each of the three characters converge in their hometown as Ming Peou's funeral takes place. I particularly love the emphasis on how it's up to Cambodian women to keep the community together, to pass down wisdom, and to raise the next generation—since the Cambodian genocide killed most (good) men.
So's essays are equally unique, thought-provoking, and insightful. Deep Reality examines how the new generation of reality TV repackages themselves as "woke" yet fails to promote meaningful changes because of the emphasis on being "nice/friendly/polite" and resolving complex issues into bite-sized episodes.
A Year in Reading follows So's ruminations of seeking literature that encourages dialogues and collaboration, instead of a one-sided narrative/lecture. It's a short but powerful essay that has me reexamining my relationship with literature and inspires me to seek out literature that will "radicalize" me.
So remembers his poet friend from grad school who died of suicide in Baby Yeah. With heartful & vulnerable writing, So takes the readers through all the messy feelings after a profound loss—grief, anger, and guilt, and reflects on his own mortality.
Per Jonathan Dee's foreword, SONGS is a reminder not of what could have been but what has already been achieved by a literary powerhouse like So. May he rest in power
SONGS is a collection of So's unfinished fiction, Straight Thru Cambotown, interspersed with previously published essays. With So's signature style blending cultural criticism and Cambodian diaspora with humor and sarcasm, both the fiction and essays left a strong impression on me.
In Straight Thru Cambotown, the readers follow three Cambodian-American cousins after the death of their aunt Ming Peou. Struggling to find their "place" in the world, each of the three characters converge in their hometown as Ming Peou's funeral takes place. I particularly love the emphasis on how it's up to Cambodian women to keep the community together, to pass down wisdom, and to raise the next generation—since the Cambodian genocide killed most (good) men.
So's essays are equally unique, thought-provoking, and insightful. Deep Reality examines how the new generation of reality TV repackages themselves as "woke" yet fails to promote meaningful changes because of the emphasis on being "nice/friendly/polite" and resolving complex issues into bite-sized episodes.
A Year in Reading follows So's ruminations of seeking literature that encourages dialogues and collaboration, instead of a one-sided narrative/lecture. It's a short but powerful essay that has me reexamining my relationship with literature and inspires me to seek out literature that will "radicalize" me.
So remembers his poet friend from grad school who died of suicide in Baby Yeah. With heartful & vulnerable writing, So takes the readers through all the messy feelings after a profound loss—grief, anger, and guilt, and reflects on his own mortality.
Per Jonathan Dee's foreword, SONGS is a reminder not of what could have been but what has already been achieved by a literary powerhouse like So. May he rest in power
With 10 short stories set in NYC, WITNESS is a nuanced collection following various Black families through their joy, grief, love, and loss. I adore how diverse the stories are in their characters—ranging from children to grandmothers to ghosts. In each story, through a different lens, Brinkley asks what it means to bear witness? What does it cost to take action?
Comfort follows a woman reeling from unimaginable loss and grief and her (not always healthy) coping mechanisms. In Arrows, Brinkley explores the balance of moving on while one's parents grow old and the urge to hold on to everything through a genealogy of ghosts. Bystander explores the plight of a modern family when a teenage girl suffers from social media discourse. Witness, my favorite of the collection, explores how medicine fails Black patients and the grief that tears apart those who bear witness to this ongoing injustice.
Comfort follows a woman reeling from unimaginable loss and grief and her (not always healthy) coping mechanisms. In Arrows, Brinkley explores the balance of moving on while one's parents grow old and the urge to hold on to everything through a genealogy of ghosts. Bystander explores the plight of a modern family when a teenage girl suffers from social media discourse. Witness, my favorite of the collection, explores how medicine fails Black patients and the grief that tears apart those who bear witness to this ongoing injustice.
As a 15-year-old boy living in Northern Nigeria, Andrew Aziza spends his days with his secretive mother, his teacher, and his friends to discuss Black power and the "curse" of Africa. When the Father of his church introduces Andy to his niece, Eileen, Andy immediately falls in love with the first white girl he's seen irl. As his feelings grow, danger approaches him—anti-Christian mobs, government clampdown of protestors, and a mysterious man.
MYSTERIES is a book with great promise that ultimately didn't deliver for me. Buoro touches upon interesting topics like internalized racism, the conflicts between religions, authoritarian governments, Nigerian women at the whims of violent men at home, and so much more. For that, I can see why Aspen included MYSTERIES on the longlist. Nonetheless, these topics are used mainly as a plot device and not so much as a deep exploration of how they impact the characters.
I also grew increasingly uncomfortable being in Andy's mind with a lot of sexually explicit content. Maybe my being more than twice Andy's age contributed to this discomfort
MYSTERIES is a book with great promise that ultimately didn't deliver for me. Buoro touches upon interesting topics like internalized racism, the conflicts between religions, authoritarian governments, Nigerian women at the whims of violent men at home, and so much more. For that, I can see why Aspen included MYSTERIES on the longlist. Nonetheless, these topics are used mainly as a plot device and not so much as a deep exploration of how they impact the characters.
I also grew increasingly uncomfortable being in Andy's mind with a lot of sexually explicit content. Maybe my being more than twice Andy's age contributed to this discomfort
gifted @bibliolifestyle & Ecco Books
30-year-old Flores and her mother, Paula, still live in the same Brooklyn apartment after the death of their beloved father and husband. As each woman tries to overcome the heartwrenching loss and find the courage to move on, Flores finds herself stuck in an impossible conflict at her floundering aquarium startup. At the same time, Paula attempts to redefine herself—who is she, other than a mother, wife, widow?
Books about complex mother-daughter relationships always have a special place in my heart. And while I've read ~10 (?) books just this year on Asian immigrant mothers & Asian American daughters, I adore that FLORES AND MISS PAULA is told from the perspective of a Peruvian American family.
The ample references to Peruvian culture and food are a breath of fresh air for a reader like myself who doesn't know much about Peru. Meanwhile, the common longing for home, love, and connection that Rivero explores grounds me in the story.
I particularly love the alternating POV between Flores and Paula. Paula's narrative beautifully humanizes the immigrant mother, and outlines not just the sacrifices all mothers make but also reminds me of their needs to define & redefine themselves as individuals. An incredibly profound moment: Paula realizes that her happiness in the past decades is defined by relationships with others, either as a mother or a wife. And that's ultimately dependent on others. How will she find happiness on her own? Is that possible?
FLORES AND MISS PAULA is a tender exploration of families & communities, and the importance of redefining ourselves in the face of loss.
30-year-old Flores and her mother, Paula, still live in the same Brooklyn apartment after the death of their beloved father and husband. As each woman tries to overcome the heartwrenching loss and find the courage to move on, Flores finds herself stuck in an impossible conflict at her floundering aquarium startup. At the same time, Paula attempts to redefine herself—who is she, other than a mother, wife, widow?
Books about complex mother-daughter relationships always have a special place in my heart. And while I've read ~10 (?) books just this year on Asian immigrant mothers & Asian American daughters, I adore that FLORES AND MISS PAULA is told from the perspective of a Peruvian American family.
The ample references to Peruvian culture and food are a breath of fresh air for a reader like myself who doesn't know much about Peru. Meanwhile, the common longing for home, love, and connection that Rivero explores grounds me in the story.
I particularly love the alternating POV between Flores and Paula. Paula's narrative beautifully humanizes the immigrant mother, and outlines not just the sacrifices all mothers make but also reminds me of their needs to define & redefine themselves as individuals. An incredibly profound moment: Paula realizes that her happiness in the past decades is defined by relationships with others, either as a mother or a wife. And that's ultimately dependent on others. How will she find happiness on her own? Is that possible?
FLORES AND MISS PAULA is a tender exploration of families & communities, and the importance of redefining ourselves in the face of loss.
ALC gifted by libra.fm
A good pallet cleanser with lots of twists and turns
Faulkner is great at writing stories where every character looks sus
A good pallet cleanser with lots of twists and turns
Faulkner is great at writing stories where every character looks sus
Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy.
In 1945, in Malaya, Cecily Alcantara finds her family in grave danger during the Japanese occupation. Her 15-year-old son is missing, and her youngest daughter hides in the basement all day to prevent being forced to work in comfort stations. Cecily knows that this is all her doing from a decade prior and that her family must never find out.
I am of two minds of STORM. On the one hand, I love the propulsive writing so much that I finished this book in two sittings. Chan perfectly sets the stage for an entertaining domestic thriller during British colonization and the Japanese occupation of Malay.
I appreciate that a historical fiction set in Asia with mostly Asian characters can break into the suspense/thriller genre—if I read STORM more as a domestic suspense novel—that's traditionally been relatively homogeneous. Cecily's narrative peers into the lives of an unfulfilled housewife as she fights against misogyny and white colonialism, providing fascinating insights into the lives of Malay women.
Nonetheless—and I admit this comes from a reader who reads many Asian WW2 stories—I crave deeper character development and exploration. I wanted to know how Cecily's embrace of "an Asia for Asians" and the disintegration of this dream affected her psyche. Other than her desire to be seen, which manifests as lust, what drives Cecily's decisions? Similarly, I longed for a deeper examination of the irony behind "swapping one colonizer for another" that befell so many hopeful Asians during WW2.
I also find the alternating POVs between four characters distracting and dilute the emotional tension I hoped for. Instead, Chan often relies on dramatic events as a plot device rather than digging deeper into each character's inner world. As a Taiwanese reader who's more well-versed in the profoundly traumatic events that occurred during Japanese annexation, I have complicated feelings about turning the historical events of comfort women and the mass murder of young men into a soap opera-y story. But that perhaps says more about my unprocessed anger than STORM's message.
Ultimately, I still enjoyed reading STORM and would read Chan's future work. For readers who don't read Asian WW2 stories as much, STORM is an entertaining introduction to the complex history of Malay.
In 1945, in Malaya, Cecily Alcantara finds her family in grave danger during the Japanese occupation. Her 15-year-old son is missing, and her youngest daughter hides in the basement all day to prevent being forced to work in comfort stations. Cecily knows that this is all her doing from a decade prior and that her family must never find out.
I am of two minds of STORM. On the one hand, I love the propulsive writing so much that I finished this book in two sittings. Chan perfectly sets the stage for an entertaining domestic thriller during British colonization and the Japanese occupation of Malay.
I appreciate that a historical fiction set in Asia with mostly Asian characters can break into the suspense/thriller genre—if I read STORM more as a domestic suspense novel—that's traditionally been relatively homogeneous. Cecily's narrative peers into the lives of an unfulfilled housewife as she fights against misogyny and white colonialism, providing fascinating insights into the lives of Malay women.
Nonetheless—and I admit this comes from a reader who reads many Asian WW2 stories—I crave deeper character development and exploration. I wanted to know how Cecily's embrace of "an Asia for Asians" and the disintegration of this dream affected her psyche. Other than her desire to be seen, which manifests as lust, what drives Cecily's decisions? Similarly, I longed for a deeper examination of the irony behind "swapping one colonizer for another" that befell so many hopeful Asians during WW2.
I also find the alternating POVs between four characters distracting and dilute the emotional tension I hoped for. Instead, Chan often relies on dramatic events as a plot device rather than digging deeper into each character's inner world. As a Taiwanese reader who's more well-versed in the profoundly traumatic events that occurred during Japanese annexation, I have complicated feelings about turning the historical events of comfort women and the mass murder of young men into a soap opera-y story. But that perhaps says more about my unprocessed anger than STORM's message.
Ultimately, I still enjoyed reading STORM and would read Chan's future work. For readers who don't read Asian WW2 stories as much, STORM is an entertaining introduction to the complex history of Malay.
Featuring two interwoven stories, part 1 of DIVISION is set in 2013 following 14-year-old Citoyen "City" Coldson and his public meltdown during a nationally televised quiz contest. City finds a book titled "Long Division" featuring the main character, also named City, but set in 1985. Part 2 of DIVISION thus follows the 1985 version of City and his adventures with his love interest in the small coastal community in Mississippi.
The most important thing you need to know about DIVISION is to not read the synopsis
The most important thing you need to know about DIVISION is to not read the synopsis