clairebartholomew549's reviews
663 reviews

Husbands & Lovers by Beatriz Williams

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dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this book, although - as with many books with different timelines - I enjoyed the historical story much more than the present-day story. Hannah's story is absolutely fascinating, to the point that I'd probably read a whole book about her life as a World War II refugee who ends up married to a British diplomat stationed in Cairo. Her narrative had so much to say about making sense of and living with trauma, opening yourself up to hurt after unimaginable tragedies, and the boxes women are put in. The present-day story is interesting when it comes, but I agree with other reviewers that the characters felt a bit shallow and the love story a bit strained. But the scenergy is gorgeous! This was definitely a fun, fast read that had a lot of depth.

I'm a little torn about how the author constructed the "big reveal" that Monk's father raped Mallory. The "revelation" coming so late in the book sort of felt like it was just done for shock value, and it didn't feel like we spent enough time with Mallory's emotions and experiences at all. I was surprised by how casually the information was dropped, especially considering the sensitivity and emotional intelligence with which Williams writes the most harrowing aspects of Hannah's story.
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Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

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

4.0

This is an exceptionally well-done slice of life book. We follow Gail through her daughter's wedding weekend as she deals with work issues, her ex-husband who she is on amiable but sometimes awkward terms with, and a myriad of feelings about her identity and her life. Gail is so endearing: she struggles to read people sometimes, but she is so genuinely kind-hearted and witty, and her relationships feel so real and lived-in. The characters are flawed and lovely, and being with them for the literary space of three days was a delight.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for giving me an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!
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How to Say Babylon: A Jamaican Memoir by Safiya Sinclair

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Woof, this book was a lot, in the best possible way. I don't usually read a lot of nonfiction, but a really good memoir is an exception, and this is a really, really good memoir. Sinclair's story is about being raised in a strict, patriarchal household, and although the specifics of having a Rastafari father and upbringing may not resonate with everyone (and certainly one hopes the violence and abuse Sinclair, her siblings, her mother experienced is not everyone's experience), the themes are universal. Societies putting different expectations and restrictions on girls and boys, sexualizing girls at a young age, policing their bodies and beings, and blaming them for any sexual violence men inflict upon them. Patriarchs of a family expecting their wives and daughters to be both wives and daughters: having no needs at all, never criticizing or demanding respect from the "man of the household," and their lives revolving around satisfying the man. Chafing at the strictures of the life and world you are raised in and trying to escape with any means possible. A family attempting to heal horrible, devastating ruptures in their very fabric and laying the groundwork for healthier families in the future. Sinclair captures all of this absolutely breathtakingly, with immense compassion for her younger self (and with more compassion than I could ever muster in her situation for her father) and a voice that is so grounded and evocative. Despite this book being heavy at times, I was glued to it and couldn't stop reading. There is something hopeful about this story: Sinclair and her family do eventually break free of their traumatic upbringing, and they strive to do better for future generations. This is a beautiful, unflinching, triumphant story, and I highly recommend it to everyone. 
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Bibliophobia: A Memoir by Sarah Chihaya

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

As an avid--some would say unhinged--reader, I was so excited to read this book. This memoir traces Chihaya's relationship with books through a tumultuous childhood and young adulthood. Chihaya dives deep into the books that have shaped the way she interacts with herself and the world around her, and she is exquisitely vulnerable about her lifelong struggle with depression.

Despite the synopsis, which mentions Chihaya's mental breakdown being central to her memoir, I was definitely unprepared for how dark and devastating this book is. This is a book that will make you feel very seen about your ugliest thoughts and the ugliest parts of yourself, but it will also leave you feeling gutted. This is a powerful read, but definitely not light-hearted or easy, and although it does delve into how reading can function as a crutch and a way to escape your head to the detriment of your mental wellbeing, it's not really about reading so much as the stories we tell ourselves about who we are and how we function. This is one of the rawest and realest depictions of depression I've ever come across.
 
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!
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A Forty Year Kiss by Nickolas Butler

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

3.0

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book has a really sweet premise - two people who were married for four years in their 20s reunite four decades later - but I found it a bit trite and cheesy. It wasn't that there was no conflict - there certainly was - but it bothered me that the characters seemed to breeze past the conflict much faster and with much less conversation and reconciliation than I would expect. I found both Vivian and Charlie a little flat, and the relationships didn't feel particularly fleshed out. I really wanted to find this book special and endearing, but it was meh to me. It was definitely well-written, but it just wasn't for me.
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There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak

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dark emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I don't think I liked this book quite as much as Shafak's debut, The Island of Missing Trees, but I still enjoyed this. It takes a while for the stories to intersect, but I didn't mind - getting insight into 1840s London, 2014 Turkey and Iraq, and 2018 London was really interesting, and I feel like I learned a lot. In some ways this is an incredibly heartbreaking story about religious persecution, classism, and the Western world stealing artifacts from indigenous cultures in the name of "preservation," and in other ways it's a beautiful story about curiosity, finding your life's purpose, and being connected to your heritage and culture. At times the history felt heavy-handed, but I ultimately found it illuminating enough to capture my attention.

However, I didn't love that we got more chapters of Arthur's perspective than we did of Narin's and Zaleekah's - the narrative did address how Arthur thought he was entitled to take artifacts from the Mesopotamians and how he had the racist belief that Britain was better qualified to take care of artifacts than the people that created them, but giving him so much air time felt counterintuitive to what the novel was trying to communicate (or, at least what I thought the novel was trying to communicate).
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The Sleeping Land by Ella Alexander

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

4.0

This is a gorgeously written and creepy book that I absolutely ate up. Set right after the fall of the Soviet Union, we follow a team of archaeologists as they attempt the first Western dig of Soviet territory since the czar was executed in 1918. And then things get weird...

This book is spoooky. There's a creeping sense of dread and doom pretty much from the beginning, and it keeps amplifying at a steadily faster pace. The scenery is very evocative throughout - the Trans-Siberian sleeper train feels claustrophobic and electric, and the dig site is desolate and mysterious - and our characters are true weirdos who rile each other up constantly. The book does take a little bit to get going, but once I was about 25% in I was hooked.

Thank you to NetGalley and Unnamed Press for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

You definitely have to suspend your disbelief a bit with the revelation of the creatures - it seems impossible that they would never have been discovered over thousands of years and would have managed to survive in such a barren area and so isolated - but I really liked the twist. It felt appropriate for a group of archaeologists, and Siberia is so remote; it especially was during the Soviet Union.
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Shanghailanders by Juli Min

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

4.0

This book is unlike every other book I've read. It goes backwards in time from 2040, with every chapter shifting perspectives between members of an incredibly wealthy Shanghai family, and with occasional perspectives from other people who interact with them. I found all the vignettes compelling, even though, as many reviewers have pointed out, the structure of the book makes it relatively plot-less and leaves you with way more questions than answers. The snapshots in time help explain why all the characters act they do, and the ruminations on wealth, family, and love are impactful.
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The Edge of Water by Olufunke Grace Bankole

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emotional informative 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

4.0

I enjoyed this book a lot. We follow a mother, Esther, and daughter, Amina, in Nigeria as they deal with their patriarch's infidelity, abuse, cruelty, and indifference, and then as the daughter moves to New Orleans and has to face Hurricane Katrina. The cornerstone of this book is definitely Esther and Amina's relationship, and I felt deeply for both mother and daughter throughout this book. Bankole beautifully depicts a parent's desire for their child to have a better life than them, and also how painful it can be when your child actually leaves and goes after their dreams. The narrative moves seamlessly between Esther, Amina, and their Yoruba goddess; between Nigeria and New Orleans; and throughout time. I was moved by the book's exploration of what it means to belong to a place and to people, and this book was fast and impactful.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tin House for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

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The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

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emotional funny inspiring reflective 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

4.0

I've been hearing about this book forever, and I'm so glad I finally got to it. It's hard to describe it - it's a combination workplace comedy, love story, time travel adventure, and spy thriller - but it's great fun all the way through. The narrator tells us early on not to get too wrapped up in trying to figure out the logistics of the time travel situation, and that's helpful so you just go along for the ride. The characters are hilarious and full of pathos, and our main character is deeply flawed and yet deeply lovable. This book takes on colonialism, state-sponsored violence, believing you are part of the solution when instead you are integral to the problem itself, forcing your ideas of how people should be on them, what history really means, and if it's possible to actually make a difference. It does all things while being very funny, endearing, and compulsively readable. I loved this book!
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