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pkc's reviews
392 reviews
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
dark
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
If I was asked to review this story around the mid way point, it probably wouldn’t have been massively favourable. In fact, I came reasonably close to DNFing but in the last 70 pages, something happened. The core of the story unveiled itself, made itself known in a really profound way that I hadn’t expected. At just over 140 pages I hadn’t expected as much depth as I got from this book. It’s a touching and haunting look at the safety (or lack thereof) of black people amidst the persistent thrumming drumbeat of a system that is built to oppress and violate in equal turns. The second person narrative is so well considered and any reader can become engaged in the unease and feel everything that “you” are supposed to feel. I loved the protagonist and the rich storytelling was poetic, languid and sumptuous at points.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
Having read ‘Malibu Rising’, I had no idea how a whole book about Carrie Soto, a troublesome side character in every sense, would fare in her own story, but TJR’s approach is simple - embrace every single that made her troublesome in ‘Malibu…’ but give her a reason and a purpose. The result is almost 400 pages of joyful character development and exploration in a subject that I have little to no interest in (tennis) creating a speedy narrative that I greedily ate up in three sittings.
I think another key to the success of this story was the supporting cast - Stop’s dad, Javier in particular was a gorgeous treasure. Each of the other tennis players had a distinct, fleshed out and realised persona. In short, it was glorious. You don’t need to have read any of the other TJR celebrity books (‘Malibu Rising’, ‘Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’ and ‘Daisy Jones and the Six’) but it’s an enjoyable experience getting some of the references. I hope TJR isn’t done with this universe.
I think another key to the success of this story was the supporting cast - Stop’s dad, Javier in particular was a gorgeous treasure. Each of the other tennis players had a distinct, fleshed out and realised persona. In short, it was glorious. You don’t need to have read any of the other TJR celebrity books (‘Malibu Rising’, ‘Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’ and ‘Daisy Jones and the Six’) but it’s an enjoyable experience getting some of the references. I hope TJR isn’t done with this universe.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism
Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher
slow-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
2.5
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
At the half way point, I couldn’t have envisioned giving this book five stars. Some of the subject matter is harrowing and tough to read, but tell me why I finished reading it, feeling, of all things, hopeful? Mungo as a protagonist is sweet and complicated. His journey of discovery is as joyful as it is harrowing in places and seeing him endure what he does filled me with a deep sense of anger and hurt and seeing his transition at the end of the novel left me feeling conflicted. No one should endure what he has to, but the result is that he survives his ordeal with his brother and the loch and comes back with a sense of perspective - he will fend for himself and do what is right for himself.
All in all, a much bleaker picture than ‘Shuggie Bain’ but definitely more complex and engaging.
All in all, a much bleaker picture than ‘Shuggie Bain’ but definitely more complex and engaging.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
I Was Better Last Night: A Memoir by Harvey Fierstein
funny
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
5.0
I loved this book so much! Listening to it in Harvey’s inimitable rasp was a cherry on top. What a career this man has had and what an example of someone who has seen the social conscience change and adapt and moved right along with it. I found a lot of kinship with Harvey’s descriptions of his childhood and it sat quite close with my own I think. I finished this feeling inspired and dying to make something of my own. Harvey’s showbiz encounters and stories are delectable too!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The first Oseman work I’ve marked below 5 stars! I adored this continuation of Nick and Charlie’s story (as I love all of their stories) but Charlie was annoying me a little bit. I get that he’s a teenager and everyone is flawed but I just found him so unreasonable! That being said, it was sweet, but a little racier than previous Nick and Charlie stories. I loved it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder and Alcohol
Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was an achingly sad book in how it ends and the inevitability of the ending but a really sweet story of a nontoxic male relationship growing up in Thatcher ravaged Britain. I love the protagonists, though I found their dialogue reminiscent of Renton and Sick Boy (though the plots of Trainspotting and Mayflies couldn’t be less comparable) and it annoyed me slightly in places. Tully’s wife Anna really bothered me in places too, but with the subject matter, O’Hagan does a really good job of the light and dark of such a complicated debate. I will also say it was gorgeously written despite my occasional gripes with the dialogue.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
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
5.0
This book is so beautiful. I love it when an author takes a seemingly unloveable character and fills them with so much heart, pathos and goodness that you can’t help but root for them. Backman even goes as far as to book-end the story with two halves of the same scene so that where the unsuspecting reader views the eponymous Ove as a grumpy, horrid man in the beginning, we have accepted his flaws (for the most part!) by the end. The cast of supporting characters is so beautifully drawn and I’d be so shocked if you didn’t finish this book in floods of tears. I sure as heck did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Outing
Making History by Stephen Fry
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Stephen Fry’s voice and tone are truly like butter to me, so this was a great listening experience. There is an entire moral question that goes unanswered in bringing this book to a conclusion, and there’s an argument to be made that it’s a very uncomfortable compromise, but all in all, I enjoyed this for the character development of the protagonist - Michael/Mikey - and the majesty of Fry’s writing. I’d also say that, aside from one a fair too casual instance of the ‘n’ word, the book has mostly aged well and it is interesting to read about the loss of political correctness when bigots in 2023 too often bleat that political correctness has gone mad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, War, and Deportation
There’s one instance of the author using the ‘n’ word despite being Caucasian, and I think (if I remember correctly) the hard R word is used once or twice.