alf_read's reviews
113 reviews

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

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adventurous emotional informative fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Far inferior to the emotional complexity of Circe, this book reads as a straight woman’s depiction of a queer relationship: romantic in concept but reductively chaste. 
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

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dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

This was so morbid and weird! Definitely a must-read for fans of speculative fiction and haunting existensialism.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

It’s not very Mexican and it’s not very gothic, but a fairly competent horror-thriller nonetheless. 
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

So wonderfully sad and poignant. Truly a book for the ages.
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

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challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Something which was probably progressive in 80s conservative Japanese society now feels horribly dated. It’s so promiscuous but in a way that objectifies the female characters into two-dimensional vehicles of wanton lust.
The Awakening by Kate Chopin

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funny hopeful inspiring sad fast-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

4.0

Anna Karenina if it was a quarter of the length and actually cared about the female protagonist. 
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

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adventurous challenging funny hopeful inspiring slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

If the kitchen sink was a novel. I enjoyed it quite a bit but definitely not for the unadventurous reader as the Calvino-inspired unconventional narrative is essentially six novellas in a trench-coat.  
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind

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adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It’s like if Kafka and Dostoyevsky had a sex dream while Camus sat in the corner and watched. It’s so demented and unique, an absurdist tale with highs, lows, and a twist ending that would entertain Caligula. 
Vox by Christina Dalcher

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

Maybe the most disappointed I’ve been with a book this year. Completely misses every hallmark of a dystopian story, gives us a character that’s so easy to dislike only to then wrap up a neat little happy ending for her. 
Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

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dark emotional funny informative mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I’m really looking forward to reading more from this author. The tone was great and it represented queer relationships so well. I think for me the pacing and structure needed to be reworked to make this an excellent read but overall a great debut.