nitroglycerin's Reviews (952)

Fated romances in different Japanese eras. 

Riko is lonely. Her husband is distant. But in her dreams she travels in time. At first just glimpses but then her one friend teaches her how to stay and live within them. First in the Edo period as a  sex worker. Then in the Heian as a princesses lady. 

I really enjoyed the slow pace of the story Kawakami was telling. I loved the repeating of history. The commentary on women’s positions through Japanese history. 

The heat of the summer. The hormones. The unexpected body. For such a short story this packs a punch.

Listened on audio. Enjoyed it but would benefit from a reread of my physical copy.

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Can you escape the orb?

When a 2m wide orb appears in Seoul, Jeong-Su flees. 

I was gripped to the first 13 chapters. The orbs were ominous, unyielding entities that didn’t quit. Jeong-Su isn’t particularly likeable, but his motives are mostly understandable. He goes through the mill for sure. 

I knocked a star and a bit off because of the last 2 chapters which goes a little too hard on the all humanity sucks. 

There’s also a disturbing and unnecessary SA/homophobic story line. I understand South Korean culture is still very behind the western curve on LGBT+ rights. Same sex marriage isn’t legally recognised. While being gay isn’t illegal in South Korea, there is still a lot of social stigma surrounding it. Talking that into account, I’d hope literature would be the place to break taboos rather than enforce them or simply follow the pack. 

Saw someone else call this a book a train you can’t look away from and that’s exactly what reading Big Swiss was like. 
Greta is a mess. Big Swiss is cold and complicated. The town is bonkers. The house is falling apart. I loved it. 

I thought I’d love this being into gardens, memoirs, history etc. I was even more keen to read this as it was added to the Wainwright prize long list. However I don’t see how it belongs. It was, quite frankly the tale of a privileged woman taking over what was once a beautiful garden, that had been neglected and restoring it. 
Laings writing is beautiful and her meandering tales of other historical gardens were so well written, I just failed to connect with the book and it became a slog. 

Surprisingly enjoyable. Paris was someone I loved to hate as a teen. I was emo and she was pink. Reading about all the things she went through behind the scenes and before she be became Paris the first influencer was heartbreaking and frustrating. 

Unsettling and surreal. Alice in wonderland-esque. Was Asa tripping balls the whole time? or was she just unmoored from her city-life after moving to the country. Losing her independence, her job, her routines and left to flounder in a house and tiny town? 

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Is this a thriller? Hardly. And if you go in expecting one then I think you’ll be disappointed. 
The Trunk is more of a meandering reflection on love, obsession and marriage with an unconventional marriage-as-a-job plot. 
But I use the term plot loosely as while the MCs inner reflections being meandering makes sense, the plots jumps and stalls are jerky and confusing. 
I wanted to like this so much more than I did, and while I didn’t hate reading The Trunk but I wouldn’t recommend it to many.