svmreads's Reviews (412)

Incredibly whimsical and fun! My favorite stories were "Sundown at the Eternal Staircase", "The Thread Boy", the titular story, and "Dear Henrietta".

"And you an obstinate an elegant
nail-bitten hand on quandaries of self-correction/
self-perfection as political as building your own 
bed to tell the truth in"

A vivid and dynamic portrait of a marriage tested by family members and unexpected guests. The book had me alternating between laughing out loud and tensing up/cringing at various family members' comments. While I didn't love it as much as Joan is Okay, Weike Wang is for sure an auto-read author for me!

Too slow paced for me :(

I absolutely loved the first half of essays in this collection. My interest fell off during the second half, but overall this will be a collection I keep returning to. My favorite essay overall was "Dancing in the Dark".

"Imagination" is one of the best poems I've ever read!

This is a tough one to review! There are so many fantastic thematic elements to think about: the book as a work of pandemic fiction, the role of antiquarian books and antique coins in the story, Tara's evolution from moving through a fog to feeling like a monster. However, the actual reading experience was tedious, and I admittedly skimmed sections in the middle and end due to their repetition. Nevertheless, there is still a part of me that is curious for what will happen next. I may pick up book two at some point, but I'm not rushing to read it.

The writing was incredibly hard to follow and connect with. Like Near to the Wild Heart by Clarice Lispector, but even more difficult to follow. 😅

One of the best books I’ve ever read. Absolutely gutting and brilliant, a story that will stay with me forever.

This is my first exposure to Ganmu, who is an important figure in China's underground comics community. This collection of her watercolor comics is beautiful, featuring sparse dialogue and fun surrealist details. I'll be sure to be on the lookout for more of Ganmu's work in the future!