Retro Review: My Brilliant Friend (The Neapolitan Novels #1)

When I started this blog, I had been posting reviews on Goodreads for about 6 months. In the interest of having all of my book writing in one place, I will post one of these old reviews every Friday. They weren't written with a blog in mind, so please forgive the lack of summary and off-the-cuff tone.

5 stars. Visiting art museums as a child, I always preferred narrative art over portraits and landscapes. I liked putting together the visual clues, drawing inferences from the content, and using my imagination to fill in the rest. Like a typical child, I was attracted to the excitement, the illustrations, the battle scenes, the hidden elements that truly tell a story. Very occasionally, though, I'd come across a portrait that mesmerized, or a landscape that took my breath away. I remember viewing Whistler's Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl at age 10, and being totally and completely captivated. She's so pretty, so magnetic, and I saw layers and layers of personality in her face. Just as Whistler's portrait held surprising depth for me at age 10, this book is, perhaps, one of the most unexpected page turners I've ever encountered.

A lot happens in My Brilliant Friend. Many things occur. And yet it doesn't feel action-packed. I'm aware that some readers give up halfway through this book, frustrated with the lack of forward movement. Sometimes it dragged for me, too. But as I really consider this story and its complexities, I realize that it is, in fact, a narrative portrait - not thrilling at first glance, but layered and personal, allowing the reader a very intimate and very in-depth look at a somewhat unreliable narrator's portrayal of her childhood, her family, her surroundings, her development, her education, and her closest friendship.

Most importantly, her friendship. The most precious and terrifying relationship in her life. This is a novel truly about Elena's friendship with Lila. She's painfully aware of the impact this friendship has had on her life, on her formative years, and how this friendship has shaped her attitude and her priorities and her idea of success, and she spends a lot of energy attempting to capture the details. From anyone else's pen, this might be repetitive, cliche, or boring, but coming from Ferrante and her incredible translator, the story is engaging, wonderful, and from my perspective, easy to relate to.

Yes - to be a woman is to compete with other women. At least, in my experience. The "frenemy" concept is real. The constant comparison is real. The jealousy, the manipulation, the drive to be better, the validation that comes from the approval of your friend. The roller coaster of feeling superior only to be dashed by her inevitable success. The race to be first - first at anything. All real. I don't know about other women, or other men, but all of this was commonplace in my childhood and adolescence. And while I suppose I've matured, and those around me have grown up as well, thinking about it - remembering - brings up the same intense emotions as it did back then. The same anger and fear and the need to be better.

My Brilliant Friend is beautiful. It's a work of art. It moved me and made my heart beat faster. It's full of fascinating details about Naples and poverty and politics and religion and tradition. And I can't finish without addressing the fact that this book includes as much about masculinity as it does femininity. Elena's observations are honest and strong.

My Brilliant Friend on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: The Seventh Sense

2 stars. I think the most surprising thing about this book for me was that … it wasn’t actually all that surprising. I don’t know if it’s because I read it after the 2016 election or after the Zuckerberg testimony, or maybe because I’ve really never known a world that’s unconnected, but it really wasn’t all that … enlightening. 

Now, I grew up during a time when a lot of technology was emerging in the average household, and I, like everyone else my age, asked for a cell phone, asked for a screenname, asked for internet time and was told absolutely not – I was taught, essentially, not to trust it. My parents were always vocal about the risks and the threats out there.

So the idea that the connected nature of the world must be considered at all levels of decision-making, analysis, problem-solving, etc. was not particularly groundbreaking to me. I also felt, as someone who is not interested in managing another person let alone world domination, there weren’t many actionable takeaways for an average consumer who understands the nature and the implications of this networked world and enjoys it anyway. 

I was impressed with the writing, I appreciated the historical context and the references and the quotes and the pithy phrases – it’s very accessible – and I certainly enjoyed learning and flexing my philosophical muscles – but it didn’t spark anything in me. If anything, it just reinforced something that I’ve always known but perhaps never could never articulate – to me, the author tried to package an existing thread of mainstream thinking as a revelation. The fact that the evolution of networks is omniscient, constantly evolving and should be remembered … considered … recognized everywhere is an important diagnosis, but an unoriginal one.

The Seventh Sense on: Amazon | Goodreads

Retro Review: The Secret History

When I started this blog, I had been posting reviews on Goodreads for about 6 months. In the interest of having all of my book writing in one place, I will post one of these old reviews every Friday. They weren't written with a blog in mind, so please forgive the lack of summary and off-the-cuff tone.

4 stars. What could I possibly say about The Secret History that hasn’t already been said? There’s so much in Donna Tartt’s writing - so much detail, so much exposition, so much meticulous plotting. One of her gifts - truly - is that she includes all this in a way that feels completely natural. It’s brilliant, and weird. It left me feeling worn out maybe a little confused, in a good way.

I mean … it’s completely incredible, deeply intellectual and … full of first world problems. It epitomizes the use of sophisticated language and smacks you in the face with privileged stupidity. It’s carefully fleshed out and sharply thorough and somehow the lack of character development feels okay. What am I even saying? How can I even describe it? Like I said, it feels natural. It’s wrong and it’s right.

The Secret History is a smooth, robust, heavy book written without any obvious effort; the words birthed from a mind soaked in literary thinking.

The Secret History on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: Behind Her Eyes

5 stars. Hahahahaha. Awesome. 

Quick, super high-level summary: A lonely single mother, Louise, has a drunken encounter with a man in the bar, only to discover that he's her new boss. And married. To a beautiful, intriguing, seemingly-perfect woman named Adele. Soon, as she gets to know both of them, she begins to uncover secrets ... upon secrets ... upon secrets.

There's a lot that made this book successful. At first glance I was annoyed with the author for trying to channel Gillian Flynn (everyone tries to channel Gillian and everyone fails, because she writes stories that are thrilling, not thrillers ... but that's a story for another day). I felt hints of Paula Hawkins and Jane Harper, too, so I was annoyed and frustrated and all set to mock this book into oblivion for feeling so derivative. It appeared, in every sense of the word, to play by the rules.

And then things took a turn.

And then things took another turn.

And I was so into it.

Things I loved:

Sarah Pinborough's knack for writing different voices. I've read books that switch POV unsuccessfully because the author can't write more than one reliably believable tone and the characters are virtually indistinguishable. Here we have two/three individuals with their own quirks, interests, personality accents. It's wonderful and fresh and impressive.

The fact that despite very weird, wild, far-fetched, almost-maybe-supernatural events moved the plot forward, the characters behaved almost exactly like I'd expect them to - that is to say, realistically.

Pinborough's absolute, unwavering commitment. This wouldn't have worked had it been half-assed. I know there are complaints about the characters acting in ways that are ... expected, perhaps, reinforcing a caricature. But that's partly what made the puzzle pieces here fall into place - because they all fit the way they're expected to. That's a little abstract and might not make sense, but it really, really worked for me.

I know, I know, that ending (it's true - #WTFThatEnding). Sick. So sick. And somehow so satisfying in a crunchy, tangy way that hurts in all the right ways. Like taking a shot. I'm really, really blown away. The writing is good AND the plot is good AND the characters are good and I highly recommend this as a soul-sucking book that's worth your time. Convincing? No, maybe not. But just let ... it ... go and let yourself be entertained.

Behind Her Eyes on: Amazon | Goodreads

Retro Review: Sleeping Giants (Themis Files #1)

When I started this blog, I had been posting reviews on Goodreads for about 6 months. In the interest of having all of my book writing in one place, I will post one of these old reviews every Friday. They weren't written with a blog in mind, so please forgive the lack of summary and off-the-cuff tone.

3 stars. I suppose it's nothing I haven't seen before (epistolary sci-fi is weirdly popular these days), but I really enjoyed Sleeping Giants. This could have been a philosophical tome about humanity's place in the universe, but it turned out to be a quick read with simple characters and a fast-moving plot.

I got vibes: Battlestar Galactica vibes, Transformers vibes, and Illuminae Files vibes, which I didn't hate, but they definitely lessened any sense of originality, subject matter-wise.

There's something really fun about the way the chips fall into place here, though. The fast pacing was really appealing - normally I'd complain about the spotty character development but I found myself racing to the end because reading about an alien technology robot weapon is so cool. And surprisingly thought-provoking.

Points for making a predictable ending super entertaining. I can't wait to find out what happens next.

Sleeping Giants on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: Down Among the Sticks and Bones (Wayward Children #2)

4 stars. I was pretty excited about Every Heart a Doorway - I loved the world, the writing and the essence of sheer possibility emanating from the pages - and hoped for the same in its sequel. And it definitely delivered - thought not how I expected.

Instead of returning to Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, we get a backstory: Jack and Jill's, to be specific, and their journey to and from the Moors. We meet the Master (Jill's creepy vampire) and Dr. Bleak (Jack's steadfast scientific guardian) and we learn how the twins were shaped leading up to the events of the first book. 

It's a quick read and McGuire's atmospheric, playful writing shines once again. But I have to admit I was disappointed, only because I wanted more out of the story - I wanted to visit more worlds and encounter more backstories and linger with the idea of doorways. There's a lot to enjoy, though, here. 

I truly admire McGuire's ability to put some sorely-needed emphasis on identity acceptance in her writing. I have to admit I thought she got a little heavy-handed in the first half of this book - it's like she prioritized her need to send a message over her need to incorporate it into the story successfully or smoothly. But what a message! As soon as any complaint crossed my mind I was hit with a strong premonition that I would refer to the preachy parts one day when I'm raising children of my own.

So, not what was I expecting, but magical nonetheless.

Down Among the Sticks and Bones on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy #1)

4 stars. A young Egyptian thief with emerging special powers accidentally calls a warrior to her side - a warrior who belongs to a species only remembered in ancient myths and stories. As she tries to wrap her head around why / how / who she really is, and embarks on a journey to her homeland, a young and well-intentioned prince in a brass city learns how cruel and complicated the world - all worlds - can be. Both become wrapped up in a dangerous political game full of mayhem, magic and monsters.

This was wonderful, full of colors and impressive creative elements. Bear in mind - the world is complicated and the terminology takes some getting used to. But the twists and turns are totally worth it. It's WAY too great to be a debut and I'm happy to say that I learned from it.

Along those lines - this book's exploration of big themes (themes like racism, sexism, tradition, religious conflict, power, loyalty, etc.) is not subtle. It doesn't come across as preachy, thank goodness, but a lot of things happen - a lot of characters interact a certain way, or behave a certain way - simply because of social tradition or because it's expected and what people are used to. Two species hate each other because they are "ancestral enemies;" protocol is followed because "that's the way we do things;" references to ignorant prejudice, racial slurs and social injustice abound. 

It's not subtle, as I said, but it is done carefully so that - essentially - everyone has a point, or a motivation, or a reason. That doesn't make it okay, but it makes a powerful statement about the complexities of a connected world.

If I had one complaint, it would be that the author takes us deep into Trope Town almost immediately. I was delighted by the complexity of the protagonist, the deeply detailed setting, and yes, I was delighted by the zombies and flaming swords, but I rolled my eyes at the instant undercurrent of romance. Can we not, for once? In a book full of such sophisticated writing / world-building, it stood out like an extra amateur sore thumb.

But people should read this, because it represents the unrepresented. It illustrates places and ideas rarely illustrated in mainstream literature. It depicts these places and ideas and people with a deft and reverent touch. It cinematically illuminates a rich and colorful and exotic world. I couldn't put it down and I can't wait to sink into the second one.

The City of Brass on: Amazon | Goodreads

Retro Review: Vicious

When I started this blog, I had been posting reviews on Goodreads for about 6 months. In the interest of having all of my book writing in one place, I will post one of these old reviews every Friday. They weren't written with a blog in mind, so please forgive the lack of summary and off-the-cuff tone.

4 stars. I’m officially a Schwab superfan. This book is fun, carefully crafted and surprisingly deep - three features I’ve come to expect from such a talented author. I was completely absorbed by the simple plot and delicious characters and wanted to revel in how … unsloppy it was. Is that weird? The writing is thorough, graceful and tidy. It sparkles and shines.

For a book that examines such huge moral quandaries, it’s also extremely entertaining. And unpredictable. Somehow Schwab incorporates elements that would normally get a “well, that’s convenient” reaction and makes them feel fresh and somehow perfect. Sharp twists keep things interesting and it’s just full of fantastic characters that are too smart for their own good. I’m in awe. Highly recommend. I want more!

Vicious on: Amazon | Goodreads