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pineconek's Reviews (816)
Love me some Alice in Borderland. This is a great little coda to the big saga. Recommended highly but only if you've read through all the original volumes.
I both really enjoyed this and didn't quite get it.
This is a fever dream of a novella. Unreliable narrators, only occasionally named characters, secret languages, bodies taken apart or incapacitated (but as abstraction - no gore)... and gorgeous writing.
I wish I had come to this novel with the appropriate background knowledge. This novella is in conversation with the works of Amparo Davila, an author I am entirely unfamiliar with. Amparo Davila is the major named character (sometimes characters, plural) in this book and so many references went over my head. While the work can stand alone, don't make my mistake and miss out on the richness of references to mexican literature.
Stylistically, the writing reminded me a lot of Anais Nin, Milan Kundera, and even the tone of the Blind Owl. If this tone of "things are largely happening inside the character's heads but also people are having weird romantic relationships where something seems a little off" is up your alley, you'll enjoy this as well.
I feel like my first reading didn't do this justice - I'll likely want to revisit this in a few years. Settling for a harsh 3.5 stars rounded down for now.
Recommended if you like philosophical fiction where nothing happens, have a knowledge of mexican literature / the works of Amparo Davila, and are interested in the deconstruction of bodies.
This is a fever dream of a novella. Unreliable narrators, only occasionally named characters, secret languages, bodies taken apart or incapacitated (but as abstraction - no gore)... and gorgeous writing.
I wish I had come to this novel with the appropriate background knowledge. This novella is in conversation with the works of Amparo Davila, an author I am entirely unfamiliar with. Amparo Davila is the major named character (sometimes characters, plural) in this book and so many references went over my head. While the work can stand alone, don't make my mistake and miss out on the richness of references to mexican literature.
Stylistically, the writing reminded me a lot of Anais Nin, Milan Kundera, and even the tone of the Blind Owl. If this tone of "things are largely happening inside the character's heads but also people are having weird romantic relationships where something seems a little off" is up your alley, you'll enjoy this as well.
I feel like my first reading didn't do this justice - I'll likely want to revisit this in a few years. Settling for a harsh 3.5 stars rounded down for now.
Recommended if you like philosophical fiction where nothing happens, have a knowledge of mexican literature / the works of Amparo Davila, and are interested in the deconstruction of bodies.
I love Beth Evans on Instagram, so I was really excited for this book! While the comics are really cute, it left me wanting (hence the lower rating).
From the title and cover, I was expecting a little bit more cohesion between the comics (and perhaps even multi-level stories). Instead, this book is really just a collection of Beth's instagram comics, one per page, grouped by theme. This unfortunately renders the book somewhat repetitive, and best as a coffee-table book to open at random than something to sit down with.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!
More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/7rhiwvWp9YY
From the title and cover, I was expecting a little bit more cohesion between the comics (and perhaps even multi-level stories). Instead, this book is really just a collection of Beth's instagram comics, one per page, grouped by theme. This unfortunately renders the book somewhat repetitive, and best as a coffee-table book to open at random than something to sit down with.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!
More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/7rhiwvWp9YY
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I think I love vampire stories??
It's a fact I need to face. Plagues spreading, characters making difficult decisions, catholic imagery, and all that jazz really entertain me. And 'salem's lot was exactly that: very entertaining.
We follow write Ben Mears who had a creepy experience at an old house when he was a child. So, of course, as an adult he needs to return to that same town and face the fear of said house. But he is distracted (aka falls on love) and, anyway, the house has new eccentric owners. And then a child goes missing. A dog is dead. Another child dies of mysterious anemia. You see where this is going.
In true King fashion, the ending is lackluster. But the journey is absolutely worth it. The middle portions of the book were a creepy delight.
Recommended if you like stories of vampires that terrorize whole towns, like Stephen King's uncanny ability to create a cast of several dozen believable New Englanders, and are in the mood for some gruesome descriptions. 4 stars.
It's a fact I need to face. Plagues spreading, characters making difficult decisions, catholic imagery, and all that jazz really entertain me. And 'salem's lot was exactly that: very entertaining.
We follow write Ben Mears who had a creepy experience at an old house when he was a child. So, of course, as an adult he needs to return to that same town and face the fear of said house. But he is distracted (aka falls on love) and, anyway, the house has new eccentric owners. And then a child goes missing. A dog is dead. Another child dies of mysterious anemia. You see where this is going.
In true King fashion, the ending is lackluster. But the journey is absolutely worth it. The middle portions of the book were a creepy delight.
Recommended if you like stories of vampires that terrorize whole towns, like Stephen King's uncanny ability to create a cast of several dozen believable New Englanders, and are in the mood for some gruesome descriptions. 4 stars.