reader_in_the_meadow's reviews
172 reviews

challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

If I hadn't known that this was a debut novel, I would've never guessed so. Reading this I felt like Jenny Mustard was writing since forever.
Her writing style, while definitely needing some acclimasation, was one of the highlights for me. While very curt and pointed, it is nonetheless poetic at some instances and doesn't take the flow out of reading for me.
The two main characters, Sam and Lucas, gelt so very real to me, and I actually was rooting and then not rooting and then rooting again for a happy end for them.
Definitely not a lighthearted read, talking about some heavy topics, it is nonetheless a very very good book I think more people should read!

Life and Ideas: The Anarchist Writings of Errico Malatesta by Errico Malatesta

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informative reflective slow-paced

3.75

I liked this, but I also found certain things quite dislikable if I am to be honest.
While I found that Malatesta's ideas and argumentation were solid and quite agreeable. He manages to converse his thoughts in a coherent manner, even though he is quite repetitive at some points, which can be quite tiring. One thing, I can see people could mind, is his highly theoretical thinking, which at some points, again, can be quite tiring.
Another quarrel I have with this, is the way his qritings are compiled. As he never wrote a book on his thoughts, preferting writing articles and manifestos in newspapers and magazines, the compilation of these is just simply great. Even though, they are hard to understand at some points and it can be overwhelming to read about so many different subtopics, this was really infotmative and helped me understand the idea of his view of anarchism.
The additional material by translator and editor Vernon Richards, namely his notes for a biography and introduction, gave a great amount of context to Malatesta's writings. I sadly didn't read part III (Malatesta's Relevance for Anarchists Today) as I grew quite tired of the highly theoreticised nature of the text and decided zo come back to that part some other time.
All in all, this is a great book to understand Malatesta and his idea of anarchism.

A Map for the Missing by Belinda Huijuan Tang

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adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring 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

I cannot fathom to start on how I would describe my emotions while reafing this. They were all over the place.

I went inzo tjis with almost no real expectations, since I never heard if this book prior to buying it, so when I actually started reafing it after quite some time it just stood on my shelf, I was so positively surprised that I just could not put it down.
The writing style had something so damn poetic about it, I made so many remarks while reading. Interacting and interpreting the story through a storytelling and language approach was amazing because it is just such a beautifully written story.
The characters, while sometimes unlikable, are in their essence such bareskinned human, it felt like they were actually real and they shared their experiences with me.
And don't get me started on how much I started to think about what thought ideas and processes this started. I started to wonder about how much we are fotmed by the people around us and how we in turn form their character and history. Who are we and why have we become who we are? How does our history and that of our family and friends influence us and our lives?
This story about family, time, loss, missed chances, regrets, and so much more touched me so deeply I know it will definitely stay in my mind for a long time.

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

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dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

A main character so obnoxious I simply couldn't put the book down. And for some reason I found myself rooting for this character I absolutely despised.

Isaac and the Egg by Bobby Palmer

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challenging emotional funny hopeful sad tense medium-paced