eisenbuns's Reviews (368)

"You can refer to each of a series of threats or actions which are intended to force someone to do a particular thing as another turn of the screw."

I've seen so many iterations of this story, I hardly knew that *this* was the origin! "The Turn of the Screw" is a gothic novella and it is 10/10 spooky vibes. A secluded manor house full of both ghosts and secrets, two perversely 'cherubic' children not as innocent as they appear, a housekeeper and a governess make up the cast of the spine-tingling tale. When our main character, a nameless governess, arrives at Bly to care for two children, she quickly grows convinced that sinister forces—ghosts of the previous staff—want nothing more than to corrupt her charges. Bravely, foolishly, nobly, she strives to protect them at any cost. But what exactly *is* that cost, and who actually needs protecting?

It was so nice finally getting to read this story. I found the moments of horror particularly effective and almost cinematic. Brushes with ghosts in the novella were handled masterfully. Rather than letting us glimpse the supernatural on the periphery, Henry James decides to make the confrontations direct and prolonged, arresting us in the moment as we long for a break in tension. 

Despite the brevity of the piece, I did find that it dragged in some areas, but ultimately I really did enjoy it. The ambiguity of the ending suggests an anxiety of the time. As the turn of the century drew near, societal values were in constant question and uncertainty. I think it really shines here! 

"Crooked Kingdom" is the follow-up to Leigh Bardugo’s successful “Six of Crows,” which follows a rag-tag team of thieves as they try to make their fortunes and secure their futures. There’s a lot at stake heading into the second and final installment of this duology. Kaz, morally gray leader and brutal with his cane, is bent on revenge but might just burn out before he gets it. Stealthy Inej, The Wraith, needs to buy out the contract that binds her to a local pleasure house. Jesper, sharpshooter extraordinaire, is drowning in debt. Nina and Matthias, witch and witch-hunter, fight for a future in which Grisha need not be hunted down for their powers. Sweet Wylan needs to find his own place in the world, and prove to everyone that he is worth more than his familial connections. 

The character moments in "Crooked Kingdom" blew me away. I cried for Inej. She speaks to a place in my heart that I’m not sure any character has touched on before. Her relentless desire to do good, paired with her earnest faith in her gods, left me little choice but to fall helplessly in love with her. 

This book suffered most from its plot. I normally love a plot-pivot, where we go in thinking the plot is one thing, but the real plot comes knocking in act two. It just didn’t work for me here. I felt that the schemes the group got into were weirdly tame compared to SoC, when the stakes should have been raised. How they scraped by was more of the same. “The plan is the plan,” to steal a phrase, except there is always another, higher plan. This formula was fun in the first book, but boring in the second. I found myself skimming plot scenes to look for the character moments while the next deus ex machina plot device was revealed.

Romance-wise, I think Bardugo almost nailed it. She fulfilled expectations set up in the first book, without giving any spoilers. I do think that the queer romance felt tragically two-dimensional. I burned for the heterosexual couples in this book and wanted to feel the same chemistry in the queer representation corner, but it just wasn’t quite there. Still, great representation! I just wanted more from it.

“He had ridden home through the rain; and had walked up directly after dinner, to see how this sweetest and best of all creatures, faultless in spite of all her faults, bore the discovery.”

"Emma" - Jane Austen
⭐⭐⭐⭐
-
This is the first time I've read one of Austen's works not knowing anything about the plot. I'd never seen Clueless (I know, I'm sorry!) or any of the stricter adaptations. 

I really loved this book. Emma begins as a spoiled, snobby girl living with her father just on the other side of "losing" her longtime friend and former governess to marriage. She believes no one will be able to supplant her friend, especially in the way of intellectual stimulation, but it is in fact this "loss" which serves as a catalyst for Emma's growth. 

There's a certain mastery in storytelling that Austen displays in this work, and I say that because I continually found myself gasping at the little evidences of Emma's gradual–so gradual!–emotional growth throughout the novel. The maturity she reaches by the end really takes my breath away. 

I have to give it four stars because (and this may be silly) that's what I gave Pride & Prejudice on my most recent reread. I'm wondering now if I should adjust P&P to 5 stars, because I didn't like Emma quite so much, but I think I'll leave it for now. 

Also, don't worry. As soon as I finished this last night, my spouse and I sat down to watch Clueless. I was so surprised at how faithful an adaptation I found it! So many scenes that were lifted almost directly from the novel. 

I'm very glad to have finished this before the end of March, and I hope to read at least one more book before April. Tentatively, I've picked up Crooked Kingdom again, but I may well put it down again in favor of something lighter.

Reading Mona Awad's books requires a certain amount of faith. It is a leap, in a way, to give yourself over to the extreme and the absurd so wholly. Is it worth it? Will I reach the end of the journey and wonder whether the journey even happened? I've certainly felt that way reading literature like this before. Bret Easton Ellis comes to mind. But after reading 'Bunny' and letting myself go along for the insane, quirky, ride, I knew what I was getting into when I started 'All's Well.'

I'm so glad I was able to put aside all of my concerns and preconceptions, and dive into this work. 'All's Well' is a story of magic, of witches, of the fantastical and the mundane. It's also, primarily, a story about living with chronic pain. How it feels to be rendered invisible to professionals and loved ones alike. How it transforms you. 

I think this book is an absolute masterpiece. I loved it even as I hated it.