sarahxify's Reviews (703)

This recounts a slew of sexual assaults committed by a university football team and their associates, documenting the extent to which the (hundreds of) women were dismissed by the police, the way the university and its students rallied support for the players, and the way women were vilified, accused of being trouble makers and attention-seeking. It could be a little dry at times, but over all was an excellent critique of the public and police response to these heinous crimes, not just in Missoula but around the world.

[b:The Secret History|29044|The Secret History|Donna Tartt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451554846l/29044._SY75_.jpg|221359] meets [b:Wilder Girls|42505366|Wilder Girls|Rory Power|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1544204706l/42505366._SY75_.jpg|58031034]. Weird, absorbing, thoroughly enjoyed.

This is the story of three women who have been friends for decades, and have convened at the shack of a fourth friend who has just passed away. It was refreshing to read something that explored lifelong friendships and how these friendships last into old age, long after relationships. Although the characters were certainly all interesting, I didn't always find them believable. The novel was also meandering at times, leaving me with a story that I enjoyed, but just didn't quite come together.

07/04/20 Review: I tried to read this a few years ago, found the plot hard to follow, and gave up. I picked it up again this year after someone chose it for book club. I didn't find it as confusing the first time round, although I did still find the story to be overly convoluted. There are quite a few characters, most of whom I found fairly indistinct. This muddle of characters combined with a non-linear storyline made for a generally confusing time for me. There were certainly aspects to it I really liked and enjoyed; particularly, I thought the portrayal of Ammu's forbidden relationship and the heady-then-frustrating marriage of Chacko and Margaret was great. Unfortunately though, these sections were few and far between for me.

14/11/17 Review: Putting this down for now. It's really not holding my interest and I'm finding the nonlinearity of the plot hard to follow.

I largely enjoyed this, a book by a global health scientist who is trying to dispel common myths and unhelpful labels that are often used when discussing things such as global poverty. The author obviously really knew his stuff; it was quite chilling to read his prediction that the #1 threat to humanity is a global pandemic.