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literatureaesthetic's Reviews (540)
shakespeare could never
from the outset this was much more suited to my taste than awad’s previous work. a darkly comedic blend of shakespeare’s ‘macbeth’ and ‘alls well that ends well’, this book follows theatre director miranda as she attempts to put on a play while dealing with chronic pain
it shines a light on the various stigmas attached to chronic illness and the inauthenticity of chronic illness “awareness” within media. the novel’s portrayal of medical gaslighting was masterfully done. awad comments on an industry that profits off of women's pain and commodifies female suffering. why diagnose women when you can prolong their discomfort and have them continue to access medical resources that fund health care systems. it brings to mind gender biases within medical practises, and the tens of thousands of women who are frequently misdiagnosed within the usa. ‘alls well’ does a fantastic job at conceptualising the common dismissal of chronic pain and physical illness as "female hysteria" - you're not ill, you're just dramatic
no one does the fever dream style better than mona awad. her writing is magnetic. you fall into the story, i love her authorial voice. she blurs the line between reality and fiction perfectly, her work begs to be theorised and dissected. also, this novel felt quite moshfegh-like with the tone and controversial humour, and it really worked for me. i'm not sure if i'd recommend this to everyone, but if you like that dark, illusive, fever dream, “what is real, is any of this actually happening” type of story then definitely give it a go!!
sidenote: i’m anti everyone who dislikes miranda
from the outset this was much more suited to my taste than awad’s previous work. a darkly comedic blend of shakespeare’s ‘macbeth’ and ‘alls well that ends well’, this book follows theatre director miranda as she attempts to put on a play while dealing with chronic pain
it shines a light on the various stigmas attached to chronic illness and the inauthenticity of chronic illness “awareness” within media. the novel’s portrayal of medical gaslighting was masterfully done. awad comments on an industry that profits off of women's pain and commodifies female suffering. why diagnose women when you can prolong their discomfort and have them continue to access medical resources that fund health care systems. it brings to mind gender biases within medical practises, and the tens of thousands of women who are frequently misdiagnosed within the usa. ‘alls well’ does a fantastic job at conceptualising the common dismissal of chronic pain and physical illness as "female hysteria" - you're not ill, you're just dramatic
no one does the fever dream style better than mona awad. her writing is magnetic. you fall into the story, i love her authorial voice. she blurs the line between reality and fiction perfectly, her work begs to be theorised and dissected. also, this novel felt quite moshfegh-like with the tone and controversial humour, and it really worked for me. i'm not sure if i'd recommend this to everyone, but if you like that dark, illusive, fever dream, “what is real, is any of this actually happening” type of story then definitely give it a go!!
sidenote: i’m anti everyone who dislikes miranda
oh my god??
dare i say, my new fav pd book. no idea how anything could beat birthday girl, yet here we are. just FLAWLESS vibes
and i need more books following the jaeger family, especially macon(!!)
dare i say, my new fav pd book. no idea how anything could beat birthday girl, yet here we are. just FLAWLESS vibes
and i need more books following the jaeger family, especially macon(!!)
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reread — jay kristoff is simply unparalleled
— 4.5 ☆
with beautiful imagery and excellent prose, frank herbert creates desert planet, dune, and uses it to explore themes of human nature, morality, ecology, and systems of power. i really enjoyed this book. 'dune' perfectly embodies why i love fantasy/sci-fi so much: the political mind games, the genius creativity, the scope of discussions - it’s unbelievable how many topics frank herbert manages to touch on. i’m actually in awe.
primarily, this is a book critiquing white saviourism and empire. it gives agency to both the colonised environment and people by outlining the ways that white settlers exploit indigenous peoples, their faiths, and lands. i also loved the environmental commentary. herbert highlights the intersection between environmentalism and colonialism through ecological explorations. i loved that the setting was given just as much attention as the main characters are
i know this book can be controversial, and i think there's a lot to unpack with that. my stance is that the book does a fantastic job at depicting colonisation in its brutal & complex entirety. as frank herbert outlines: 'ecology is the science of understanding consequences' — i think that perfectly summarises the heart of this novel & herbert's intention with this story
my only critiques are that some of the female characters deserved better (when is that not the case, though), and i have mixed feelings about the last third of the book. it felt messy to me (but i did audiobook parts of it, and that could be why)
on the whole, i think this is a mind-blowing sci-fi story that is unlike anything i’ve ever read before. i would love to reread in the future and further pick all these aspects apart, but for now, i'm very excited to continue onto book 2!!
⊱ ─────── ⋆⋅ dune ratings ⋅⋆ ─────── ⊰
dune - ☆☆☆☆.5
dune messiah - ☆☆☆☆.5
children of dune -
god emperor of dune -
heretics of dune -
chapterhouse: dune -
with beautiful imagery and excellent prose, frank herbert creates desert planet, dune, and uses it to explore themes of human nature, morality, ecology, and systems of power. i really enjoyed this book. 'dune' perfectly embodies why i love fantasy/sci-fi so much: the political mind games, the genius creativity, the scope of discussions - it’s unbelievable how many topics frank herbert manages to touch on. i’m actually in awe.
primarily, this is a book critiquing white saviourism and empire. it gives agency to both the colonised environment and people by outlining the ways that white settlers exploit indigenous peoples, their faiths, and lands. i also loved the environmental commentary. herbert highlights the intersection between environmentalism and colonialism through ecological explorations. i loved that the setting was given just as much attention as the main characters are
i know this book can be controversial, and i think there's a lot to unpack with that. my stance is that the book does a fantastic job at depicting colonisation in its brutal & complex entirety. as frank herbert outlines: 'ecology is the science of understanding consequences' — i think that perfectly summarises the heart of this novel & herbert's intention with this story
my only critiques are that some of the female characters deserved better (when is that not the case, though), and i have mixed feelings about the last third of the book. it felt messy to me (but i did audiobook parts of it, and that could be why)
on the whole, i think this is a mind-blowing sci-fi story that is unlike anything i’ve ever read before. i would love to reread in the future and further pick all these aspects apart, but for now, i'm very excited to continue onto book 2!!
⊱ ─────── ⋆⋅ dune ratings ⋅⋆ ─────── ⊰
dune - ☆☆☆☆.5
dune messiah - ☆☆☆☆.5
children of dune -
god emperor of dune -
heretics of dune -
chapterhouse: dune -
