theelliad's Reviews (291)

This book is poetically sickening, a real exploration of the beautiful and disorienting de-realisation within war, the position of enemies and friends and the brutality of glory. It is graphic and yet never completely overwhelmingly so.

As much as I want to love this as much as the original I just didn’t, the storylines felt like they dragged in this and (though likely a result of the translation) the prose is clunky and over explained in places which made it hard to get through. The concept of the chair is still lovely but I feel as though they were trying too hard to find unique and philosophical uses for the chair and the stories were harder to connect to as a result 

sometimes a girl just needs a silly little children’s series 

I had absolutely no idea what to expect going into this book (other than that it was likely going to be emotionally draining in some way). Springora writes powerfully about the abuse and exploitation she experienced as a child through the lens of both her fourteen year old self and her adult reflection. The focus on the adults who failed her, the landscape of paedophilia in the french literary landscape (holding accountable even those we wouldn’t consider to be involved such as Simone De Beauvior) and the power awarded to artists and creators is powerful, uncomfortable and important. I loved the overarching metaphor of writing/trapping and creating ideas within fiction which is utilised at the beginning and end of the text, I would have loved for it to be used a little more throughout to create a stronger sense of connection.

I think audiobooking this meant it took a little longer to love than it should have, but ultimately this is a short story collection very much within my weird girl fiction genre! like any collection it has strengths and weaknesses but Julia Armfield sure can write!!!

kind of useful i suppose, i liked the bit about achilles horses 

Quite an interesting book actually, quite a lot that’s helpful for my essay and a lot of general history which is also a lot of fun

About 7 months ago I read a single short story by Carmen Maria Machado and immediately fell in love with her. When I realised this book, one I have been recommended over and over, was her memoir I fell in love with her all over again. In The Dream House does so much more than tell Machado ‘s story, she explores the archival absence of queer domestic abuse, raises awareness, evaluates, grows and encourages the reader to do the same. Beyond this, it’s an insanely clever text; written partly in second person with structural interactions for readers, it confronts abuse, trauma, loss of self and reabilitation in a way I haven’t found before and doubt I will find again. I love you Carmen Maria Machado x

Sometimes you read a book and everything about it is what you need in a given moment. The Poppy War combines the cosy magical school narrative with war, vengeance, addiction, drive and mythology. I’m not sure how much of this narrative is based on existing Asian mythology and how much is Kuang’s creation, but the world building and magic system in this book is wonderfully complex and fascinating. The main factor preventing this from getting 5* is the few loose ends which aren’t really resolved or addressed. While most of the plot points, passages and characters were incredibly well crafted, I felt there were a few moments that felt forced in; perhaps they will be addressed in the sequel. But holy fuck I could write essays on the genocide/war relevances of this book it’s so powerfully created i love!!