alisarae's reviews
1565 reviews

This was not as interesting as Xinran's other books that I have read but it was still good. This one is a collection of her columns published in The Guardian in the early 2000s, so the material is pretty light and friendly for the breakfast table compared to The Good Women of China, say. She writes about cultural differences and expectation vs reality in the UK and China. She often mentions how quickly China is changing and the reverse culture shock she feels when she goes back for a visit -- imagine how much has changed in the 20 years since she wrote this!

DNF @ 35%
I wasn't into the writing style -- too ghostwritery. 

 This reimagining of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde recasts the original story's grappling with "otherness" as being Black and queer in Victorian London. I didn't have high expectations going into it but I was blown away by how the story itself was adapted as well as the sense of Victorian language (sometimes authors who try this end up going overboard and the language is unbearably cheesy). It was so well done, in fact, that I am interested in reading the other adapted classics in this series.

Did I read the same book as everyone else? My ebook was only 150 pages and there were at least big scenes that were in 2 different chapters and written slightly differently, as if they were different drafts of the same scene (the Thailand guesthouse shower and the La Lobo bubble bath). I also didn't like the translation because it seemed like it expected the reader to have watched a lot of k dramas and be familiar with relationship words in Korean, and it left those words untranslated. I do not watch k dramas and I didn't have access to the internet when I was reading so it was more of a nuisance. Plus the story is pretty melodramatic and a downer. I'm honestly surprised it made the Booker longlist -- really?

Why did I grow up with the cultural zeitgeist telling me this is a scary story instead of a comedy?? Lol

This book appears to be written more for industry insiders - it doesn't spend a ton of time to set the lay of the land, and the writing style leans utilitarian (It's a bit dry and not written by a professional writer who has spent a lot of time honing the craft of storytelling). 

It makes good points about how movements can get siloed into their area when they should broaden horizons to see how connected all social justice movements are - prison abolition and immigration go hand in hand since they use the same detention spaces and structural processes, etc. The other good point it makes is that local movements and leadership have been incredibly successful in affecting how national immigration policy and federal gov't orgs are able - or not - to act in their communities. Immigration is a fed level issue on the surface but the fights are won at the city level. 

Read for the Virtual Socialism Reading Group.

A multigenerational story where darkness is lingering in the edges.... There is a killer in the family, and horrific violence is always a hair's breadth away.

I liked the structure: each chapter jumps forward in a couple years and changes characters in the family. And I also liked the narrative. Each of the characters in the family is unique and follows their own path and voice, though some of the characters exit the spotlight after the halfway point. 

This book well written and the story is engaging, but it isn't a thriller like I was expecting. It's more about a typical middle class family members progressing through their lives, and murders in the news are just one more thing they live through.

I wanted to listen to this book because I wanted to hear more about John Wayne Gacy but I didn't want to waste my time choosing a dissatisfying podcast. I think it was informative and interesting, and I liked the tidbits about the broader cultural touchstones that were woven into the chapters.

For the negatives: The structure of the book was pretty confusing since it didn't appear to be strictly chronological and I couldn't make out any other organization method, but I was just halfway listening while doing other things so it didn't bother me. I felt the author was a bit crass in reference to some of the victims, making macabre puns and the choice of some phrases seemed inappropriate -- this is pretty recent history and family members of the victims are still alive. 

Overall I think it was a decent book on the topic. I would have liked to learn more about the victims and Gacy's family, as well as the theory that that he had an accomplice (now I need to watch The Clown and The Candyman).