dwrevans's reviews
186 reviews

Some Rain Must Fall by Karl Ove Knausgård

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

4.75

Woweee, what a read! I loved this so much and genuinely think it has changed my perception of literature, life etc. dramatic words, but the rawness of this book and - the struggle - is real. KOK is not a very loveable guy by the end of it, but the flaws on show are very real, disarming, and human. Possible the best novel in the series, I was hooked and went on a real emotional rollercoaster with this one. His shame and his decisions are one thing, but the way he writes about how he understands his life and the relationships within it are so great and relatable. I really love it and the sense of struggling for this heavy dream of being a writer (often very selfishly) whilst grasping for meaning and meaningful relationships. Proper banger 
On Palestine by Ilan Pappé, Noam Chomsky

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dark informative medium-paced

4.0

Architecture: From Prehistory to Climate Emergency by Barnabas Calder

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challenging informative inspiring medium-paced

4.25

Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata

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

3.0

An odd one. It's cold, it's snowy, they're in the countryside ... and they have a weird old relationship. Some tender and beautiful passages but on the whole it was hard to relate to these characters and their doomed relationship. They're a bit broken and messing themselves about emotionally all over the shop. I didn't love reading about that tbh, but it was short and poetic, probs not my thing or something I'd recommend quickly.
Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan

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

4.25

Wasn’t immediately grabbed by this but the last 100 pages were incredible. Totally blown away by the ending and message, and those 3 scenes where Tom interviews/interrogates each family member… it felt like something out of a Dostoyevsky
Dancing in the Dark by Karl Ove Knausgård

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reflective medium-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? Yes

4.25

Really enjoyable read, but some of the darker parts of Karl’s character as a teenager definitely made me uncomfortable. It’s hard to comprehend writing about yourself so honestly and it makes me wonder whether I was as messy as a teenager/young adult? Quite possibly, I mean, almost definitely, but it still makes some of this a bit icky. Still, the intensity of emotions, the self-centredness, the horny mess, the desire to be someone … this book does bring it back and take a nice meandering way through an interesting chapter of Karl’s life. 
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

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dark hopeful reflective fast-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? No

4.75

Reading this book was like spending an afternoon at a beautiful gallery. In the few pages here, you get a glimpse of this man, his life, and the powers that shape existence in the town. It’s incredibly touching and dark, and left me thinking about it days after. 
H(A)PPY by Nicola Barker

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adventurous slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang

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informative inspiring sad medium-paced

4.5

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

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

4.25