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femmefatigue's reviews
31 reviews
Long Distance by Penelope Mortimer
3.0
Pretty torn on this. This book has some phenomenal feminist prose that discuss the contradictions in femininity and intimate experiences of womanhood and I did think it was fantastic in places. However, it also very heavily dips itself into surrealism and in places is incredibly difficult to follow. If you dig beautiful prose and don't mind difficult to grasp, contradicting allegory then absolutely give it a read. It has some very relatable and intimate exposition that make you strongly empathise with the pain Penelope Mortimer was going through at the time of writing. But if you're looking for a more structured and easier read, one of her other books may be more appropriate.
Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister: Three Women at the Heart of Twentieth-Century China by Jung Chang
4.0
As with all of her books, Jung Chang gives a fascinating glimpse into Chinese history in Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister.
Some reviewers have complained that the book focuses more on the Soong sisters' infamous spouses than it does on the sisters themselves, but I think that while it does look at the lives of Sun Yat Sen and Chiang Kai Shek through the lense of their partners (Ching-ling and Mei-ling), ultimately it's these womens' stories that Jung Chang is focused on.
I also thought it was a deeply interesting insight into the corruption, insecurity, and plainly flawed humanity of these hugely influential Chinese historical figures. It gave a strong impression of the sense of familial piety that can often drive financial corruption, but also of the plain vanity and greed that drove the "Father of China" S.Y.S and dictator of Taiwan C.K.S.
It was also really interesting to see some of the blind motivations behind the New Life Movement that the Chiangs headed, almost wilfully ignoring the root problem of mass poverty in China. I felt like a lot of this book gave an insight into the way political leaders engage with society and the people (or don't), and it often had me considering the motivations that drive political leaders today.
If I were to fault it, I'd say maybe some of the information can be a little dry at times, and naturally, the book doesn't have quite the same emotional weight that Wild Swans does - but I can't say I necessarily expected it to, since Wild Swans was autobiographical.
Ultimately, I thought it was a really interesting book, and I can't wait to move onto her other works, like the biographies she wrote on Mao and Empress Cixi.
Some reviewers have complained that the book focuses more on the Soong sisters' infamous spouses than it does on the sisters themselves, but I think that while it does look at the lives of Sun Yat Sen and Chiang Kai Shek through the lense of their partners (Ching-ling and Mei-ling), ultimately it's these womens' stories that Jung Chang is focused on.
I also thought it was a deeply interesting insight into the corruption, insecurity, and plainly flawed humanity of these hugely influential Chinese historical figures. It gave a strong impression of the sense of familial piety that can often drive financial corruption, but also of the plain vanity and greed that drove the "Father of China" S.Y.S and dictator of Taiwan C.K.S.
It was also really interesting to see some of the blind motivations behind the New Life Movement that the Chiangs headed, almost wilfully ignoring the root problem of mass poverty in China. I felt like a lot of this book gave an insight into the way political leaders engage with society and the people (or don't), and it often had me considering the motivations that drive political leaders today.
If I were to fault it, I'd say maybe some of the information can be a little dry at times, and naturally, the book doesn't have quite the same emotional weight that Wild Swans does - but I can't say I necessarily expected it to, since Wild Swans was autobiographical.
Ultimately, I thought it was a really interesting book, and I can't wait to move onto her other works, like the biographies she wrote on Mao and Empress Cixi.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
5.0
Beautiful novel that I found surprisingly anthropological. The scenery of the House is so simple and beautiful, it was such a pleasure to read.
The second half of the book especially towards the end really made me reflect a lot on the ways people relate to each other and what lenses we use to try and understand others and the world around us.
There's a really elegant simplicity to this book, an interesting storyline and ultimately quite a lot of interesting conjecture into the ways we understand eachother as people.
The second half of the book especially towards the end really made me reflect a lot on the ways people relate to each other and what lenses we use to try and understand others and the world around us.
There's a really elegant simplicity to this book, an interesting storyline and ultimately quite a lot of interesting conjecture into the ways we understand eachother as people.
Solo Dance by Kotomi Li
4.0
I love reading books by women who've suffered from depression, mostly because I think it normalises a lot of my own thoughts and experiences, and I think it's the poignant but achingly relatable descriptions of depression and trauma in this book that make me give it a 4 stars.
This book is extremely emotional, and readers should be aware that there is a lot of triggering content in this relating to death, suicide, and rape.
I deeply related with so much of the content in this novel, being a lesbian who's also suffered with depression, and some of her descriptions of the physical sensations that come with being depressed are so beautifully poetic.
My only real criticism of this book would be the ending - **spoilers ahead** so stop here if necessary.
***The book is largely about a woman who is planning to kill herself, and she goes on a trip around the world beforehand where she meets different people with different stories that influence the way she sees the world. Now the first part of the book explains the woman's life (growing up as a lesbian in Taiwan at a time when LGBT visibility was a lot more scarce, her violent sexual assault, her previous relationships, and what leads her to finally make up her mind on killing herself), and then the end of the book consists of her trips, and the people she meets, and I cannot stress enough how beautifully the author handles all of this content.
However, my problem comes in at the very end of the book, when the protagonist reaches her final destination, the place where she plans to commit suicide, and is more-or-less saved by her ex-partner and friends from her 'old life' in Taiwan. Now, ignoring the fact that they were miraculously in the right place at the right time, my problem is that as she wakes up to see them in the hospital bed, they essentially 'convince her' out of her depression and suicidal ideation, and it just felt off. As someone whose also lived with suicidal ideation most of her life, I can fairly confidently say that you can't be convinced out of it in a single conversation. Teaching someone to value their own life is something that takes a considerable amount of time to achieve and in many cases may not even be possible. Essentially saying "No, you were so loved all this time" is just not a convincing argument to stop someone from being depressed, or from wanting to kill themselves.
If I'm honest, having tried to write about depression before myself as well, I got the impression that the author didn't know how to finish the story maybe because those feelings haven't been resolved yet for herself either? I could be wrong, but it just felt like an unrealistic, feel-good ending was shoe-horned into the ending of the book because the author wasn't sure how to end it. ****
However, I do want to caveat that criticism by reiterating how utterly beautiful and well-written the rest of this book was. Reiji Morris' simple prose really lend themselves well to the subject matter. If you suffer or have suffered with suicidal ideation yourself, it really is a great book because you feel so seen in the ways that the protagonist thinks about life and death and how she deals with and describes her depression. It's poetic, relatable, and deeply moving as a novel, and even despite the odd choice of ending, I'd still recommend it to anyone interested in queer Asian literature, Taiwanese culture, and female depression.
This book is extremely emotional, and readers should be aware that there is a lot of triggering content in this relating to death, suicide, and rape.
I deeply related with so much of the content in this novel, being a lesbian who's also suffered with depression, and some of her descriptions of the physical sensations that come with being depressed are so beautifully poetic.
My only real criticism of this book would be the ending - **spoilers ahead** so stop here if necessary.
***The book is largely about a woman who is planning to kill herself, and she goes on a trip around the world beforehand where she meets different people with different stories that influence the way she sees the world. Now the first part of the book explains the woman's life (growing up as a lesbian in Taiwan at a time when LGBT visibility was a lot more scarce, her violent sexual assault, her previous relationships, and what leads her to finally make up her mind on killing herself), and then the end of the book consists of her trips, and the people she meets, and I cannot stress enough how beautifully the author handles all of this content.
However, my problem comes in at the very end of the book, when the protagonist reaches her final destination, the place where she plans to commit suicide, and is more-or-less saved by her ex-partner and friends from her 'old life' in Taiwan. Now, ignoring the fact that they were miraculously in the right place at the right time, my problem is that as she wakes up to see them in the hospital bed, they essentially 'convince her' out of her depression and suicidal ideation, and it just felt off. As someone whose also lived with suicidal ideation most of her life, I can fairly confidently say that you can't be convinced out of it in a single conversation. Teaching someone to value their own life is something that takes a considerable amount of time to achieve and in many cases may not even be possible. Essentially saying "No, you were so loved all this time" is just not a convincing argument to stop someone from being depressed, or from wanting to kill themselves.
If I'm honest, having tried to write about depression before myself as well, I got the impression that the author didn't know how to finish the story maybe because those feelings haven't been resolved yet for herself either? I could be wrong, but it just felt like an unrealistic, feel-good ending was shoe-horned into the ending of the book because the author wasn't sure how to end it. ****
However, I do want to caveat that criticism by reiterating how utterly beautiful and well-written the rest of this book was. Reiji Morris' simple prose really lend themselves well to the subject matter. If you suffer or have suffered with suicidal ideation yourself, it really is a great book because you feel so seen in the ways that the protagonist thinks about life and death and how she deals with and describes her depression. It's poetic, relatable, and deeply moving as a novel, and even despite the odd choice of ending, I'd still recommend it to anyone interested in queer Asian literature, Taiwanese culture, and female depression.