lenorayoder's reviews
132 reviews

Nice prose and it’s interesting to read this story from one unreliable perspective. The characters are intriguing and feel like real people, but because of the drabble-y nature of the book it never feels like we know them super well. We also never become immersed in any one narrative. The story overall is just a bit too disconnected/ungrounded for me. 

Competently plotted and written, but nothing special. In fact, a little boring. Rose makes for a good villain, but none of the characters are given much room to breathe, including her.  The scenario the protagonist sets up for the finale of the book is pretty stupid given the resources at his disposal. Didn’t get why characters in the year 2000 are so scandalized by a 30 year old man wearing a singlet. 

This was okay - not terrible but not very good either. I think this is a good premise, but the pacing is really strange. There’s also an over-reliance on miscommunication, it causes pretty much all of the big and small obstacles/problems the characters face. I think the characters are also underdeveloped - by the end of the book I still didn’t really feel like I knew them, and it felt like all of their depth was told to me, not shown. 

Some of these are really clever, most of them are just okay. Overall got better the further I read, but I think compiling the comics like this doesn’t do them any favors. 

I really liked some of these, but most of them just weren’t my sense of humor. I loved the art though. The facial expressions are great, some of the set pieces are really cool (that armchair?!), and I loved the parents’ outfits, especially the mom’s. 

These cases are interesting, but I don’t like the way they’re written about. On a structural level, some chapters feel out of order. For example, chapter 7 takes the time to define and discuss proprioception - but it comes after chapter 3, which focuses on a case where a patient lost proprioception. 

As for the content, I don’t like the author’s attitude towards his patients. The way he talks about them, philosophizes, and speculates about their inner lives really rubs me the wrong way. He seems to be taking more care than a lot of doctors did at the time (yikes), but it still doesn’t really feel like Sacks truly sees his patients as real, actual people. 

The writing isn’t as smooth as I remember, but it was a nostalgic read. It’s a classic for a reason! If I were a kid this would be five stars. 

I really liked this! 4 stars because I feel like this book is missing something, but not sure how to articulate that. The closest I can get is that this book feels more concerned with conveying a message than telling a story. I think Oseman should consider writing non-fiction - maybe a memoir or collection of essays about different people’s experiences with self-discovery. 

After reading Solitaire, it’s nice to see how Oseman’s writing and awareness of aro/ace identities has evolved. I think I’m a little too old for her books, but I enjoy her work and am looking forward to reading more of it. 

I was frustrated that Pip hadn’t apologized to anyone by the end of the book - everyone else owned up to their shit, and I think Pip was in the wrong about some stuff too. I don’t like that her mistakes weren’t addressed in a book that clearly wants to show characters learning how to communicate with each other. 

Well damn, I’m glad her mom died too! It was hard to read about every single adult in her life failing and/or exploiting her. Absolutely plowed through this book, both interesting and well-written. I wish she’d talked more about certain things, but I think some of that would have been impossible without compromising other people’s privacy. The only reason this isn’t 5 stars is that a chunk of the last third or so of this book just feels less polished than the rest. Definitely recommend. 

The plot and characters in this book are both really interesting. Dorian’s internal monologue and Henry’s creeping influence are both well done. Unfortunately, Wilde frequently goes on long tangents, often philosophical or referential in nature, that are a real chore to get through and don’t really feel like a part of the story. You don’t have to make your readers suffer to show that a character is insufferable. 

If you are planning to read this book I recommend this edition, the notes were informative and provided details about what was censored or changed between the early versions of the novel. It felt worth it to read this once, but I suspect I would like a good adaptation better and will seek one out.