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sarahxify's Reviews (703)
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
informative
medium-paced
Unlike their twentieth-century predecessors, today’s autocrats cannot impose censorship easily or effectively. Instead, they have focused on winning audiences, building support for their messages by channeling resentment, hatred, and the desire for superiority.
informative
fast-paced
Although the premise of this was interesting, in execution it was just too slow to hold my interest.
This is about three sisters, Irene, Isla, and Agnes, whose father has just died. They are all estranged from him and have a very tense and distant relationship with each other. Their complicated family background has bled into each of their lives, and they all have similar struggles with openness and being emotionally available.
Although the premise was interesting, this moves at a glacial pace, and relies heavily on the sisters' poor communication. The father is dead from the beginning, so in the first half of the book there is virtually no plot progress made, apart from the same point about the fractured and strained the dynamic between the sisters being made again and again. I got tired of waiting for something else to happen, so put it down.
This is about three sisters, Irene, Isla, and Agnes, whose father has just died. They are all estranged from him and have a very tense and distant relationship with each other. Their complicated family background has bled into each of their lives, and they all have similar struggles with openness and being emotionally available.
Although the premise was interesting, this moves at a glacial pace, and relies heavily on the sisters' poor communication. The father is dead from the beginning, so in the first half of the book there is virtually no plot progress made, apart from the same point about the fractured and strained the dynamic between the sisters being made again and again. I got tired of waiting for something else to happen, so put it down.
I enjoyed this at first but it really stagnated. The writing and characters were so boring.
It’s largely about Nell, an artist living in an Irish island who is commissioned by this group of solitary nuns. There is definitely more that meets the eye , and Nell also has some extra stuff going on with some local men. But all in all just fkn boring
It’s largely about Nell, an artist living in an Irish island who is commissioned by this group of solitary nuns. There is definitely more that meets the eye , and Nell also has some extra stuff going on with some local men. But all in all just fkn boring
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
A good story, but I found this to be quite drawn out and boring for what was actually in it.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
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:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a really compelling and cleverly done short story collection. Most of the stories are intertwined, with one major story running through the book, about Lionel, Charles, and Sophie, three professional dancers at the same studio. Charles and Sophie are in an open relationship, and Lionel and Charles have started sleeping together.
Their story is interrupted by other stories, each of which is deeply tragic. You get dropped into different people's lives who are struggling immensely, and then move back to Lionel's story.
The standout elements of this book are the writing and characterisation. I would really a full novel about any of these characters. They are well-formed and deeply drawn, and have extremely complex and detailed relationships with everyone else in their story. The way this is written really pulls you into each story as well - it's almost a bit jarring to go to the next.
There are elements of Real Life in this, particularly the dynamics between Lionel and Charles reminded me of Wallace and (? Miller?). But truly excellent - makes me want to read another Brandon Taylor ASAP.
Their story is interrupted by other stories, each of which is deeply tragic. You get dropped into different people's lives who are struggling immensely, and then move back to Lionel's story.
The standout elements of this book are the writing and characterisation. I would really a full novel about any of these characters. They are well-formed and deeply drawn, and have extremely complex and detailed relationships with everyone else in their story. The way this is written really pulls you into each story as well - it's almost a bit jarring to go to the next.
There are elements of Real Life in this, particularly the dynamics between Lionel and Charles reminded me of Wallace and (? Miller?). But truly excellent - makes me want to read another Brandon Taylor ASAP.