mariebrunelm's Reviews (478)

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

Résolution, de Li-Cam, se présente comme une eu-topie, du grec "topos" le lieu et "eu-", préfixe indiquant l'idée du bien (le même que J.R.R. Tolkien utilise dans son concept d'"eucatastrophe"). Le récit se déroule dans un futur proche, dans lequel le monde n'a pas échappé à l'effondrement mais une petite communauté, tels des irréductibles Gaulois, s'est créé une réalité utopique. Ce livre est profondément original sur bien des aspects : son thème, l'utopie, sa narration, alternant rétrospection, monologue intérieur et entretiens avec une Intelligence Artificielle, mais aussi son personnage principal, Wen, une jeune femme autiste qui partage en toute sincérité son regard sur le monde, entre détachement et tentatives de décryptement.
L'utopie que construit l'autrice est organisée autour d'une Intelligence Artificielle, Sun, dont la présence irrigue le roman alors même qu'elle est en panne pendant la plupart de l'histoire. Sun est née des observations et analyses de Wen, qui partageait sa vision du monde sur son blog pendant que la civilisation s'effondrait peu à peu autour d'elle. On est constamment pris en étau, en lisant, entre les bribes d'un écroulement passé pas si difficile à envisager, et cette communauté profondément bienveillante fondée sur l'adelphie et le partage. Une lecture à la fois déroutante et accessible, et qui fait réfléchir.
Rep : personnage principal autiste, aromantique, lesbienne. Personnages secondaires racisés.
adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective tense fast-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

As soon as I discovered the existence of this book, I knew it would be a favourite. A socially anxious cyborg whose sole ambition is to finish work asap so that they can watch sitcoms on their own? Yes please. All Systems Red is both deliciously funny (and queer) and emotionnally deep, when it questions what makes us human and presents a character being considered a sentient being for the first time. A new favourite, for sure.

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dark emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This fantasy novella inspired by folk tales of the Green Man is absolute perfection to my eyes. I sigh happy sighs every two sentences, the characters are sweet and proud at the same time, there's a cat and an opinionated oldish lady. Perfection.
Rep: gay characters.

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adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-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

When I picked this book in the library, I thought the blurb was quite strangely written. Now that I've read the novel, I understand that it's really hard to summarize An Unkindness Of Ghosts, because its plot (a young woman surviving in an immense ship traveling through space) is only one aspect of the whole. I thinks its main strength is in the characters' voice, especially Aster, the main character (she's not the only one telling the story). I must admit that it's the first time I read a book by an autistic author with an autistic character, so I'm really not in a position to judge the book. The author is also Black and non-binary, and questions of racism and identity are at the heart of the book. I appreciated the varied representations and the tension building throughout the narrative, but be warned, this is a harrowing book. Solomon draws from centuries of oppression by white people and does not shy away from the darker parts of this dark, shameful history. It's a book that reads like a scream while also celebrating the diversity of Black & queer voices, in a Sci-fi setting turned towards the past. 
Rep: Black autistic character, genderqueer character, aro/ace character.

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dark mysterious reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: N/A
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I'm often cautious when it comes to classics, as I find some of them dull and hard to read. This one held my attention, and I was really happy to have discovered it.
Lady Audley's Secret is a mystery novel with a hint of Gothic and feminism. It is steeped in the prejudices and discriminations of its time, but also offers a nuanced view that was quite welcome. For instance, it places female beauty on a pedestal, but questions the relation between beauty and moral values. It tells the story of wealthy people, but also includes a couple of poor characters (the treatment of which leaves to be desired, but deserves to be noted nevertheless).
At the heart of the story is the mysterious disappearance of a barrister's best friend shortly after he came back from Australia, and how this may or may not be related to the wedding of an old lord with a young a pretty governess (this part is sometimes very uncomfortable when the lord refers to his wife as his child, keep that in mind). The author finds a balance between the barrister's prejudice towards women and the point of view of the young lady, which represents half of the narration. The suspense may not last long for modern readers, but it's the kind of story where you are given some final clues at the very end, so that even if you can guess some elements, you really get the full picture at the time of the final reveal.
Overall, it may not be a new favourite, but it's a book I enjoyed and would recommend with the caveat stated above.

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful lighthearted tense fast-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

It's too bad I read this book when my focus was all over the place, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. After finishing Six of Crows I just couldn't wait to meet these characters again and they definitely have my heart now. Crooked Kingdom is the perfect continuation of volume one, pushing the stakes higher as Kaz's crew fight not only for their job but also for what they hold most dear. This book is action-packed, but it also knows how to slither into one's heart and break it. Yes, I shed a tear. Yes, it had been a long time.
Rep: gay characters, aspec characters, disabled character, Black and Asian characters.

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informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

This book of non-fiction was written by Okakura Kazukô in 1906 as an introduction to Asian culture, and specifically to the art of tea, for Western readers. In that respect, it's a very pedagogical and accessible little book which presents the fundamentals of Asian philosophy through the exploration of the cha-no-yu, the tea ceremony. The author doesn't claim to be a tea master, but perhaps that is why he is well-suited to speaking to his Western audience. I really enjoyed learning more about a whole culture through the story of a drink I enjoy on a daily basis. It's a book I had tried to read years ago but had abandoned because of its philosophical content I wasn't quite ready for at the time, but now I find it quite soothing.
emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

D'habitude, je n'offre que des livres que j'ai lus. Mais j'ai acheté celui-là pour ma mère parce qu'on avait ri toutes les deux au journal du confinement de l'autrice. Je lui ai laissé la première lecture, et elle m'a divulgâché quelques blagues qui nous ont filé des fous rires à toutes les deux. Alors bien sûr, ce n'était pas aussi drôle de lire le livre sans le prisme de son enthousiasme, mais j'ai quand même passé un bon moment.

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challenging funny reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Ce petit livre est un recueil de réécritures de contes populaires, dont le récit est enchâssé dans celui d'un père racontant ces histoires à sa fille alors qu'il s'abritent de raids aériens en 1945. La voix du narrateur intervient souvent dans les histoires pour les commenter, en proposer des alternatives et des interprétations, ce qui personnellement m'a beaucoup dérangée, surtout dans le récit du milieu où le narrateur ajoute à la cruauté envers l'animal au coeur de l'histoire, une interprétation assez mysogyne.
J'ai en revanche particulièrement apprécié ce procédé dans la première nouvelle : le narrateur y lit un livre pour enfants, et complète les interstices entre les lignes du récit pour y introduire une histoire de son invention, ce qui transforme la portée du texte initial sans que celui-ci ne soit modifié. J'ai trouvé cela très malin! Je réserverais cependant ce recueil aux amateurices de contes de fées. J'ai vraiment regretté que ceux-ci utilisent la cruauté envers les animaux comme recours narratif si fréquent. A garder en tête. 

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Sept ans et quelques livres après Un Éclat de Givre, Estelle Faye retrouve Chet, son anti-héros chanteur errant dans un Paris baroque et délavé, soumis non plus à la canicule mais à une interminable averse de printemps. Chet ne sait toujours pas éviter les ennuis, et d'ailleurs en plus de les attirer, il les inspire. On l'a vu dans tel lieu sordide où à l'opéra commettre des atrocités, alors qu'il était à l'abri d'un bar à chanter aux côtés de son fidèle Damien. 
Un Reflet de lune maintient le sortilège de cette ambiance langoureuse et décadente du premier opus. Il faut accepter de se laisser aller au rythme de la Seine bourbeuse pour profiter de la prose souple, parfois syncopée qui narre les mésaventures de Chet, qui décidément se trouve souvent au mauvais endroit au mauvais moment.

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