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patrick2024's reviews
118 reviews
The Women Behind the Door by Roddy Doyle
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.75
Love love love this book.
The dialogue is so evocative. Even how you see the words on the page.
The narrative is authentic.
The characters are so flawed it makes them so real.
The story drew me in and by the last 1/4 I could not put it down. I think the non-linear jumps around time made it a slight challenge at the start and I still don’t see how it served the story.
The dialogue is so evocative. Even how you see the words on the page.
The narrative is authentic.
The characters are so flawed it makes them so real.
The story drew me in and by the last 1/4 I could not put it down. I think the non-linear jumps around time made it a slight challenge at the start and I still don’t see how it served the story.
Pictures of You by Emma Grey
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.5
A fun read. Quick pacing using time jumps and chapters from the perspectives of individual characters to good effect.
A very authentic rendition of coercive control added modernity to its narrative.
Utterly predictable with a scooby-doo ending.
A very authentic rendition of coercive control added modernity to its narrative.
Utterly predictable with a scooby-doo ending.
Theory & Practice by Michelle de Kretser
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
It took a lot to get into this. The trick was to swot up in Virginia Woolf who is mentioned often. Then everything slipped into place.
I appreciated the authentic storytelling of a whole manner of relationships including just how dysfunctional so many are.
Residents of St Kilda, Melbourne will be especially engaged with this.
I appreciated the authentic storytelling of a whole manner of relationships including just how dysfunctional so many are.
Residents of St Kilda, Melbourne will be especially engaged with this.
Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
Good gods! The tears that flowed.
This book captures so authentically the male voice. More precisely male friendship and how it is expressed. It was so funny and so warm. Drawing you into the relationships making the experience of reading so visceral at the end.
This book captures so authentically the male voice. More precisely male friendship and how it is expressed. It was so funny and so warm. Drawing you into the relationships making the experience of reading so visceral at the end.
Cher: The Memoir, Part One by Cher
emotional
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.5
Memoir is not buy usual jam but Cher’s conversational authentic telling of her story kept me turning the pages.
This Accidental Present: A Story of Two Families by Ross Wilson
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Great contextualised insights into the live of Oodgeroo. I’m addition so many surprises about Brisbane at the time.
What you are looking for is in the library by Michiko Aoyama
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
Lovely short stories that confirmed AND challenged my notions of life in Japan.
Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran
challenging
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
4.0
Beautifully written.
A little too stereotypical or cliches in character.
The Sri Lankan heart to the story was a joy.
A little too stereotypical or cliches in character.
The Sri Lankan heart to the story was a joy.
Wifedom: Mrs. Orwell's Invisible Life by Anna Funder
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
Women are written out of history. How? Patri-magic.
The first 30 pages were challenging but once Funder dove into the subject the pace took off in succinct punchy chapters.
At its core this is about injustice in a marriage and the insidious marginalisation of Eileen, wife of a famous author whom I now am repulsed by so much I choose not to type his name.
Funder examines the blunt elimination of a woman’s voice from her own story and how it is to us near invisible in its execution.
But the connection to Eileen is so finely done tears flow with hers as I read.
The first 30 pages were challenging but once Funder dove into the subject the pace took off in succinct punchy chapters.
At its core this is about injustice in a marriage and the insidious marginalisation of Eileen, wife of a famous author whom I now am repulsed by so much I choose not to type his name.
Funder examines the blunt elimination of a woman’s voice from her own story and how it is to us near invisible in its execution.
But the connection to Eileen is so finely done tears flow with hers as I read.