ashalucienne's reviews
177 reviews

One of the strongest essay collections I've ever read, especially as it pertains to the modern, female 20-40 something. Every essay brought a new perspective to the table, with layers of self-recognition and a nuanced understanding of the complexity of each topic. I will come back to this book, recommend essay passages, and quote insightful lines over and over again. Truly a critical mind from our generation! 

Sorry I did not like this. Overwritten and frankly a little boring. Another story of engorged obsession, just lacking the extraordinary writing or "new take" that I need for a book like this to hold my attention.

The writing was insane, every sentence felt like a quote. However, the topic of the book felt a little too mundane for my taste. A story of insatiable obsession, but with a lethargic and frankly kind of unmotivated narrator. I felt the anxiety seeping out of this piece, which I liked but overall I did feel it was lacking that umph factor. 

Beautiful tale, reminded me of a mix of Dogs of Summer by Andrea Abreu and (surprisingly) a little bit of Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason (with the Elena Ferrante influence too, of course). Loved this book and the listless, wistful feeling of reading about a girl's delinquency. Might change this rating to a 5 stars in the future if I keep thinking about the book.

Really enjoyed it, didn't enjoy the "I was naïve, sorry" thing that often occurs in these memoirs. Hey, no judgment! I would probably also do some weird things to feel important and pretty as a young adult. 

This book was weird and creepy and I liked it! I don't have many other thoughts at this moment...

"The dogs barked.
The sun cleaved the rocks."
- last two lines on page 180

This is a story of two girls coming of age in a working-class neighborhood in the Canary Islands. We follow the narrator's complex feelings of desire, jealously, and interconnectedness with her best friend Isora. This is written from our 10/11 year old narrator's perspective, so words are misspelled and quotations forgotten. The novel follows a non-linear form, as does one's mind. A study of two characters, or rather of our narrator and her study of Isora, there is not "plot." I quite enjoyed reading this book, though I didn't connect with it as much as I was hoping to. Although I understood their purpose, I wasn't the biggest fan of the misspelled words and was kind of taken aback by the frequent sexual references. Developing one's sexuality is a part of coming of age, though the way this book tackled that topic felt like a lot to read. I want to challenge myself to read books that make me uncomfortable in this way though, so overall it was a positive reading experience. I always love reading translated fiction and I am pretty sure this was long listed for the International Booker Prize! 

Is it crazy to give both of Montell's recent non-fiction releases 5 stars? Maybe, but I am doing it! This book was so entertaining with so many references to her experiences and phenomenon anyone can relate to. Not only was this nonfiction piece entertaining, I feel I received so much valuable knowledge about the way my brain works from it. I keep referencing this book when I notice my friends exhibiting types of magical thinking. Nostalgia bias has particularly stuck with me. Overall, Montell's books are so well researched and structured in such an intentional way, that it feels criminal to give her work any less than a 5 star rating. 

Kang continues to baffle me. Her writing is unparalleled, she is truly one of the best authors I've read! My hat to her translators too. But this piece was such an interesting read considering I am working on a creative writing team this semester and have been struggling to feel confident in my creative writing voice. This book was so clear and confident, it stood its ground in its space and white pages, in its prose and changing narrative form. Kang has a mind that works in so many beautiful ways, she never fails to impress me with her stories and the way she builds characters through limited narrative structure. This was heart wrenching at times, particularly when the girl talks about her lost sister and the impact it had on her mother. 

"Breast Milk" pg 41 
The twenty-two-year-old woman lies alone in the house. Saturday morning, with the first frost still clinging to the grass, her twenty-five-year-old husband goes up the mountain with a spade to bury the baby who was born yesterday. The woman's puffy eyes will not open properly. The various hinges of her body ache, swollen knuckles smart. And then, for the first time, she feels warmth flood into her chest. She sits up, clumsily squeezes her breast. First a watery, yellowish trickle, then smooth white milk.

I'm always impressed by the contemporary authors who make nonfiction so compelling! My only critique is that the book felt a little far-reaching at times, though I really love reading "far-reaching" academic hot takes, so this was right up my alley. The way Clean writes about the girls as a "we" is quite interesting, and definitely bolsters her credibility as a figure to speak on the personal aspects of eating disorders and recovery. I have to say that I learned a lot about disordered eating and the eating disorder treatment complex that I never knew, nor would have learned had I not read this book.