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glossy_feathers's reviews
183 reviews

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

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

4.0

Excellent writing, great storytelling, cool setting. But something was missing for me.
There There by Tommy Orange

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adventurous dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Great character introspection and very good portrayal of native Americans. I was kind of lost in the multitude of people due to the listening to the audiobook.
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden

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

3.5

This book has very quiet writing style, with sort of classical feeling to it. It was gripping for the 2/3 of it and then weakened toward the end. 
You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue

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

4.0

Pretty funny book with great descriptions of ancient empire. It's very cool that is set during one day. My enjoyment was diminished by struggle with Aztec names/terms and thus characters' roles.
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

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challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Very creative. There's a lot of layers to peel. It's fun and thought provoking. 

This books demands your interaction with it. You can even play and research stuff post reading since there are many real and fictitious references. In fact, I took extensive referencing as a kind of mocking the academic community. But nonetheless, the book itself provokes many reviews and analysis making absurdity of it.

That's all I got. I'm not smart enough for deeper insight. 
Here'a a video about it that I like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Etk4VXjyzmU
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

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adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Very dark imagination of today USA from 30 years ago. It's interesting to think about scenarios like these because it's not that improbable for some of things to happen although it's a work of speculative fiction. It's weird to say but I enjoyed reading it. There's a lot of characters coming into the story throughout the book and I would like a deeper characterization of them but this is maybe coming in the second book. 
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

I will think about it for a long time. There's a lot of emotions to process.
Island by Aldous Huxley

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challenging informative slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Value of this book lies in its utopian philosophy and critique of totalitarian societies. There's very little plot and it serves just to deliver the ideas of this imaginary idealistic country. 
I read it back in my early twenties and I was more amazed with it then. Now I think there must be better books on the topic.
The Touch System by Alejandra Costamagna

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informative reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

It's just OK.
Asylum Road by Olivia Sudjic

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Wierd little book. The first half was excellent, e pecially with building tension. Second half was more experimental, following the mental state of the protagonist. Writing was pretty good. The premise was interesting but not fully developed, needed a bit more editing IMO.