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sandro_reads's reviews
102 reviews
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Vegetarian is a viscerally visual novel that paints a portrait of Yeong-hye as told by 3 POVs of people around her.
It attempts to tackle a lot of issues from family violence to mental health to gender roles with a sort of magic realism brush but ultimately left me confused.
It attempts to tackle a lot of issues from family violence to mental health to gender roles with a sort of magic realism brush but ultimately left me confused.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Suicide attempt
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Even with the forewarning title, None Of This Is True is a stressful page-turner that will have you questioning both what has happened and what will.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite come together in the last quarter and then there is the whole [minor spoiler]trying to make a pedophile sympathetic .
Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite come together in the last quarter and then there is the whole [minor spoiler]
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia
Moderate: Alcoholism, Murder
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Grey Dog was the perfect slow-burn, gothic horror novel to kick off Fall.
Our new-to-a-remote-village narrator, Ada, arrives with nothing more than her dubious past. But, what follows is more than your typical bumps in the night as it explores gender norms in the early 20th century.
Our new-to-a-remote-village narrator, Ada, arrives with nothing more than her dubious past. But, what follows is more than your typical bumps in the night as it explores gender norms in the early 20th century.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Hurricane Season is short but dense - long run-on sentences, no paragraphs, no quotation marks - an assault to the senses - brutal, vulgar - much like what the women in this Mexican town face at the hands of men.
Unfortunately, I admire the idea of this book much more than I enjoyed reading it.
Unfortunately, I admire the idea of this book much more than I enjoyed reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I often find myself drawn toward melancholy and every sentence of Tin Man is wrapped in mournful longing.
It’s a reflection on love and friendship and art as they exist between 3 individuals - nearly perfect except for [minor spoiler]the exclusion of Annie’s perspective.
It’s a reflection on love and friendship and art as they exist between 3 individuals - nearly perfect except for [minor spoiler]
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
I have never read Dickens’ David Copperfield which provided the inspiration for this novel so I did not have that as a reference point. But, Kingsolver delivers a tour-de-force with characters who felt so real, I often heard their voices while reading.
It’s a heartbreaking tale of systemic poverty and the opioid crisis in rural Appalachia that grabs you and takes hold. I did not want it to end.
It’s a heartbreaking tale of systemic poverty and the opioid crisis in rural Appalachia that grabs you and takes hold. I did not want it to end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Claire Keegan packs an emotional punch with Foster - saying so much with so few words. It left me longing for more.
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
medium-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
There is a self-deprecating humor as our titular character, Rachel, reflects on her early twenties in Cork, Ireland which makes you root for her despite many questionable choices. And, much like real life, it takes many unexpected turns to keep your interest.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The author, Kaveh Akbar, is a poet which is immediately apparent by the beautiful prose throughout Martyr. I found myself constantly pausing to let sentences sink in as Cyrus ruminates on meaning, purpose and art.
I have already reread the last two chapters and can see multiple interpretations and I imagine revisiting this book again and again.
I have already reread the last two chapters and can see multiple interpretations and I imagine revisiting this book again and again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Death of parent
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It’s odd to say you love a book that is so horrifying and uncomfortable. But, My Dark Vanessa, told in the first person through a split timeline, perfectly captures the layered emotions of someone who was groomed starting at 15 years old.
I also find it so fascinating when a book fully embraces another novel, in this case Lolita, with references to characters and quotes, thus expanding both fictional worlds.
I also find it so fascinating when a book fully embraces another novel, in this case Lolita, with references to characters and quotes, thus expanding both fictional worlds.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault
Minor: Suicide