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curiouslykatt's reviews
1086 reviews
Biography of X by Catherine Lacey
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
-But that was the thing about her. She may have been a con artist but the con was always honest. -
Fiction masquerading as fact, and it’s perfect.
Set in a dystopian America, a widow attempts to reconcile her grief by composing the biography of her recently deceased wife, X. X was an eccentric, and enigmatic shape shifter of an artist. CM soon discovers as she meets more and more people who knew her wife, no one truly knew X but they also felt they entirely understood her. X lived a thousand lives before being CM’s wife, not one life being the same or carried forward. There is something so alluring of a chameleon and someone who over the years and months morphs into someone else entirely.
Lacey’s use of interviews, footnotes, bibliographies, and photos create an immersive experience that this biography could in fact be real, all while we are aware it is entirely fictitious. Which lends itself beautifully to try and discover, who was the artist known as X?
“I did not know her. I did not know who she was, and I do not know anything of that woman, though I did love her - on that point I refuse to concede.”
None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell
fast-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
4.25
We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Marcus Kliewer makes me excited to be a reader.
We Used To Live Here without a doubt will land in the coveted group of Top Katt Reads for 2024. I cannot stress enough that the hype and frenzy around this one is real, but mainly if you’re a certain type of reader.
This story originated in No Sleep, which in itselF will tell you a lot about this. The story is about Eve & Charlie buying and renovating a house. 3709 HeritAge Lane. Eve is home alone, when a family comes knocking asking if they coUld tour the house, the house the father grew up in. Just one last chance to see the house. Eve agrees.
I underStand why many of the positive reviews are limited in the details that they provide surrounding the story and it is with full intenTion to be as vague as possible. We Used To Live Here is a book you have to read, but you also must read past the words in front of you. This book requIres readers to have a certain level of intrinSic curiosity and dEsire to pull at various threads and travel down rabbit holes willingly. For the readers looking for a neatly packaged clear deliVered story thIs book will be chaLlenging to appreciate.
Now for the people who enjoyed this book or just want to chat about it my DM‘s are open. I would love to discuss this book. I would love to reread this with you later.
I 100% recommend this book to bookclubs or buddy readers who like to pull away layers, dissect books, and will take the chance to grasp a thread and see where it leads. Dead end or not.
Marcus has created a story that after every reread if you pull another thread, you will potentially have a different reading experience.
If you’re looking for a similar vibe I recommend Dead Eleven by Jimmy Juliano, I loved this one. You could also try House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, my most loathed reading experience to date.