I’m glad I gave this book a second chance! While it is often difficult keeping track of whose head we’re in, I got used to the style/flow after a while. It helped me to note down in the margin who was thinking or speaking. It’s difficulty, I think, is part of its charm. It kept me on my toes, revealing just enough to keep me guessing, but in a good way. Most of the characters felt very distinct from each other, but some of the one-line characters didn’t stick out to me...but then again, they weren’t supposed to. There is so much contained within the 24 hours over which the book takes place that it would be impossible to become familiar with every single person in much the same way it would be for you or me in my day-to-day life.

Why I’m giving it a 3 out of 5 comes down to the fact that this worth a read if you have the time and brain power to dedicate to following along with it. And there are no chapter breaks. And there are a lot of trigger warnings to be wary of!

Content Warnings

The Secret Sharer: An Episode from the Coast by Joseph Conrad

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a quick read, but it packed a lot of intensity and emotionality packed into it. I was on the edge of my seat by the end of it!

Content Warnings

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Knowing about Oscar Wilde's past is crucial to reading this novel. It's not just that his gayness was an open secret, but that his targets weren't just men, but also boys. As in actual teenage children. Wilde was also openly Antisemitic and misogynistic in his real life and throughout the novel. What his three main characters do, say, think, and feel very closely mirrors Wilde's own. Much like the titular Dorian, it is clear that Wilde suffered from an inflated ego, was bloated with pride, and had a conscience that weighed him down...but not enough to change, grow, or do better. Trigger warnings abound throughout this novel as we watch Dorian explore the world of vice and sin, leaving a body count in his wake.

Content Warnings

Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

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fast-paced

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

1.0

I have no idea what I just read. The only reason I read the whole thing is because I had to read it for school. I had no idea what was going on until I read multiple reviews, summaries, and reading guides. It’s unclear to me what I was supposed to take away from this novel.

In the same way that I find most poetry to be incomprehensible, so, too, do I find Noopiming. I don’t understand the point of putting one sentence on a page. Or that was the chosen format for at least half of the book. This 350 page book is 150 pages at most. I’d say this book is a waste of time to read, but that'd be a lie since you can read the whole thing in less than an hour.

Exercises in Style by Raymond Queneau

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funny informative lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I'm taking a class that is based on (some of) the exercises in this book. It’s been fun to see which exercises my classmates choose to try, as well as reading the exercises we haven’t gotten to or won’t get to. Obviously, it gets repetitive, as is the intended nature of of the book, but it’s got its own charm to it. You can read a few at a time or jump around and still get something out of it. It’s a nice, simple how-to if you’re looking for unconventional ways to change up your writing.

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

God, this book was such a waste of my time. I only finished it because I had to read it for school. It’s god awful. It was never entirely clear what was happening, to whom, or why. Most of the dialogue and narration just repeats and repeats, which serves to clarify literally nothing. The adults fail the children at every turn, which is hugely upsetting. And while no, books don't have to have happy endings, hopeful endings, virtuous characters, or good morals, so help me, I can’t tell what lesson(s) I’m supposed to take away from the torture the characters go through at every turn. My professor told us that this is one of Faulker's more “accessible” novels, and I have to wonder how his other works can possibly be less accessible than this novel. This novel is just word salad. I wish I hadn’t been assigned this book because it’s such a slog and with no pay-off.

Content Warnings

Native Guard by Natasha Trethewey

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emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

Trethewey's short collection of poems weaves the author’s upbringing as a mixed race child in the American South in the 1960s and 1970s with that of poems based on histories of Black Americans and Black American soldiers during the American Civil War. Like all her work, it is vivid, poignant, and concise.

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waytoomanybooks's reviews 140 reviews

waytoomanybooks's reviews
140 reviews