elwirax's reviews
479 reviews

Meh. 
 

The audiobook was very good but the story itself was disjointed and rather anticlimactic. I didn't like the main character (or any of the characters for that matter) and her tendencies for poor decisions and lack of logic. The Rebecca influences in this book were very evident in the small town setting and manner of concealing the body. Since I did not like the classic, the parallels were equally as uninteresting.

An interesting exploration of themes and subject matter that were unfortunately overshadowed by the lack of character development and ability to connect with the characters due to the writing style. I thought that the book did very little in the way of exploring the the main characters psyche for a book that deals with harsh topics such as human experimentation, race inequality and the abuse of power. While the plot was intriguing, the pacing was slightly off and lacked any sort of climax or high stakes. This is particularly evident at the end where things are just happening and being discussed rapidly, leaving me with many unanswered questions. 

Overall, this was not a bad book. Its focus on the evils and horrors of medical experimentation on Black bodies is important. However, the execution lacked the emotional impact such a story would warrant due to poor pacing and characterisation.

This is my 3rd P. Djèlí Clark and it was as enjoyable as the others in terms of worldbuilding, a fantastic concept and discussions of racism. However, due to its fast paced, action packed nature, I did not always understand what was going on. I also don't think monster hunting is really my thing but that's not really the book's fault.

 

My heart is always so overjoyed to see progressive content from generally conservative cultures (especially when it comes from my homeland). This was an interesting exploration of political conflict,  personal freedom, shame, hypocrisy and forbidden love. The political discussions were perhaps my favourite part of this book and perhaps the saddest part of this novel was how relevant its discussions are in contemporary politics not just in Poland but in various countries of the West. Protests being shut down, the difficulties of getting medical care unless you pay for private, food shortages and the fear of speaking out against an oppressive government were truly saddening and difficult to read about (though I do think that this book was heavily anti-leftists, these are all things that weren't magically resolved after Communism fell in Poland). If anything, I wish the historical and political context were a bit more detailed, there were inklings as shown through the aforementioned examples but very much surface level. The story had the potential to be more impactful had the author fully submerged the reader in the time period.
 

In terms of characters, I liked that both Ludwik and Janusz sought to create meaningful lives for themselves but through drastically different methods. Where Ludwik outwardly opposed the countries' oppressive politics and aimed to leave, Janusz conformed and gained privileges by engaging in organisations that maintain the social order. While I rooted for Ludwik I thought his belief that the USA was a sort of haven was a bit misplaced and unfortunately we do not see his character come to that realisation. Janusz was a very two dimensional character and I didn't really feel any true connection between the two especially given their strong and opposing political opinions. 

Jędrowski utilises some beautiful and poignant lines in this book to convey an atmosphere of pressure and unease in the wider context of the characters' lives. Yet, at times, I felt that the author pushed this lyrical style into strange directions through his repetitive use of similes and metaphors, I feel like points could've been more hard hitting had the author just said what he meant in plain words rather than trying to embellish them. This overwritten vs underwritten nature of the author's writing style made it difficult at times to remain engaged in the story. 

Overall, I thought this was a good book which explored many interesting themes, though the characterisation and political situation could've been used better to create a more meaningful story.

Unfortunately, this was not my type of magical realism. I like that all the stories were connected but I was expecting this collection to be more magical yet, they were all relatively uninteresting. They got slightly weirder as the book progressed but not enough to keep me engaged. Lucking, they were only 2-3 pages long which made the reading experience fast. Highlights: The Tenement, The Elf, Grandpa Shadows, The Family Trade and The Shacks.

This was an informative non-fiction book, written in a very straightforward and accessible manner that would work for those largely unfamiliar with academic writing. It provided relevant content warnings for each chapter which was great for those who require them and a timeline of asexulity in publication and media towards the end which was very interesting.

As an ace, this did not provide me with any new information in that regard though this is an invaluable resource for the Black asexual experience through its  discussions on the intersectionality of racism and (a)sexuality and which I admittedly hadn't considered in great detail before reading this book. While it is clear that the author researched this book extensively, particularly concerning historical context, perhaps it could have benefitted from being more scientifically based in other areas (though I acknowledge the sparsity of adequate data on asexuality). The author had a tendency to make big statements but not support them with any relevant referencing for example in the following quotation: "These are male supremacists who fail to form romantic and sexual relationships or connections, blame others for their social and sexual ineptitude, and believe that women should be required or forced to have sex with them. Several have even become mass killers because of their frustrations and misogyny". While I can't argue that this statement is untrue, it would have been good to get some examples when such statements were made to ground the argument. This is not to say that the author's own experiences and views (or the people she interviewed) are invalid as a member of both communities but that the arguments provided could have been stronger with supporting evidence and a more in-depth analysis/ examination of the impacts of the discussed ideas on individuals rather than just being surface level. Additionally, the author repeated many of the same points frequently and as it was often quite disjointed in terms of structure where I couldn't always grasp the connections/comparisons being made.

While this may seem like a largely negative review, I think that this is a great start for those who are unfamiliar with the topics discussed (the intersectionality of (a)sexuality and racism). It was informative and well researched, yet accessible and touched on issues I might not have considered as a white asexual. I really have no major faults with this book other than slight nitpicks which are just my personal tastes in terms of non-fiction. I'm really glad that books like this are being published more frequently as they can be very validating to individuals who are struggling with their ace identity, compulsory sexuality and racism. Overall, it is a really solid nonfiction, would recommend.



Personal highlights:

"Help not Wanted"
"Frigidity"
"Refusal"
"Histories"
"Black Asexual Insight"