ktrain3900's reviews
264 reviews

Reflections in a Golden Eye by Carson McCullers

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

3.75

Strange. Succinct. Brutal. Raw. There are six characters to whom we're introduced. None would you want for a friend, nor would they want you, except perhaps in the most superficial way. There is a balance of internal morass and dialectic against external duties and social mores that drives both tale and characters to the climax. It feels inevitable (in fact in a few places characters note the sureness they will soon die) but nothing here is a given or a surety. The writing is stunningly controlled, although occasionally reliant on a dated racism of both time and place that may make the concise novel a slog or an impossibility for some readers.
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The Past by Tessa Hadley

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

A quiet book, centered around a not-so-quiet family, which is at its best in subtle details linking different characters and moments together over time and page. The plot was a whispered thread, the characters were not particularly likable, yet there was an elegance and nuanced handling to the writing that draws the reader through even the most excruciating parts. There are hints of the work of finer British authors such as A.S. Byatt and Ali Smith, but this book doesn't quite reach that elevation. Overall a fine novel by an author I'd be willing to read again. 3 to 3.25 stars. 
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

An utterly charming, genuine, and unsentimental account of the relationship between a grandmother and her granddaughter, as well their relationship with the isolated natural world of the island they inhabit with the girl's father/grandmother's son. The writing captures the spirit of both the old and the young with humor and honesty. A joy to not just read but experience. 
Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia by Christina Thompson

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adventurous hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

This sounded interesting from when I first came across it and it was so nice to find that my instincts were correct. The writing is intelligent but not show-offy; the tone is winsome and not without wit. We travel with the author chronologically from the first interactions between Europeans and Polynesians, across centuries of exploration, sociology, science, and navigation to unravel a story that the author notes is not one that belongs to white Europeans such as herself, despite the entangled history. Recommended even to those who don't normally read nonfiction.
Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun by Sarah Ladipo Manyika

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

A short, surprisingly deep slice-of-life novel flitting in and around the life of spirited septuagenarian Morayo Da Silva, who had (and has) a life many would not guess at if not told and shown. It's a delightful journey to follow Morayo (and her friends and acquaintances) and to think about the fullness of the lives of those around us every day. You could easily finish this in a day, but it's also a pleasure to step back and let it sink in. 
A Strangeness in My Mind by Orhan Pamuk

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

3.0

The word that most came to me while reading this was "Dickensian" which for me is a for better and for worse term. It means a sprawling epic, well-written, with scores of interesting characters...but it also means the female characters felt a bit lacking or less-developed than the male characters. I understand that the main character, our David Coppefield if you will, is male, but the story felt most full when the female characters were more present and human; I didn't feel this happened enough, or with much nuance (the male characters got far more nuance). Overall this was fine, and absorbing, but nothing special for me. 
Sunnis and Shi'a: A Political History by Laurence Louer, Laurence Louër

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challenging hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

3.75

I'm not sure if you can contain more information in fewer pages than this book does. Not an easy read by any means, it took me some effort to get into it, and I frequently found myself having to re-read sentences and paragraphs for comprehension. That said, it was well worth the effort, as I learned a lot about Islam and the politics and recent history of the Middle East. I might have liked a glossary so that I didn't need to flip around to assure I was understanding terminology correctly, but otherwise this is a dense, thorough, and unbiased account of an important subject. 
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

I can't recall the last time I loved a book so much that I stayed up until 2 am to finish it, nor the last time I actually read all of the supplemental materials at the end. This hit all the right notes for me: a bright, feisty heroine, a creepy old house (with an old cemetery!), weirdly intriguing characters, delightful folk-historic and sciency details, dreamscapes, family histories, vivid imagery, and so on. The movement between the real world of the setting and the nightmares and hallucinations felt seamless, rich with sounds and smells and horrifying sights. It's been a long time since a book has captivated me so wholly as this one did. If you love the gothic, the spooky, the dark and morbid, the haunted, the weird, the chilling, etc., you will love this book. 
Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

This was an experience, not a novel, more patiently and precisely crafted than pretty much anything I've ever read. The parallels--minor details--between the two sections (wandering in the desert, the howling dogs, spiders, getting lost and finding, the insomnia) are almost too overt, but carry a weight that pulls somewhere just shy of gravity. It is slow, almost plodding, small but powerful, with a feeling of the inevitable that will bewitch you into believing in inevitability...almost.  
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A Haunted History of Invisible Women: True Stories of America's Ghosts by Leanna Renee Hieber, Elizabeth Kerri Mahon, Andrea Janes

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adventurous informative mysterious sad medium-paced

3.5

An intriguing look at ghost stories through a feminist lens, exploring in particular such tales in which women are the subject matter. This book considers feminine and female tropes, the consumption of these women-as-ghost stories, who profits from such consumption, and what this means, particularly in cases where the featured female ghosts suffer multiple marginalizations. Unlike some, I didn't find the authors' belief in the paranormal to intrude on my skepticism or interest. I did find the writing uneven in places, swaying between academic and anecdotal in a way that was a little distracting. I'm not sure if that was due to having two authors, or to trying to include a lot of material that varied widely in its factual versus fictional content. Overall, a worthwhile and engrossing read for skeptics and believers alike.