Laura
Structure: ★★★★ Prose: ★ Pacing: ★★★ Intrigue: ★ Logic: ★ Enjoyment: ★Overall Rating: ★★A seemingly well-meaning self help piece that relies too heavily on misrepresenting research findings and leaning on philosophical theories.I'm a woman. I get burnt out. You'd think this would be the perfect book to find some enlightening information on how to cope. Instead, I found myself reading through more of the research the authors cited than the actual book itself, which in its own way burned me out!I don't disagree with a lot of the basic premises of this book. I agree with the Nagoskis' explanation of the stress cycle and how one might break out of it. I agree with the solutions they provide to help relieve stress and find support. I also agree with a lot of the feminist rhetoric they reference throughout the book (yes, the patriarchy [ugh] is real and yes, it can be a contributing factor to any person's stress.) Having said that, the information that I found to be relevant and factual wasn't all that groundbreaking and I'm sure anyone could find a TikTok or YouTube video that explains all the useful information in under 5 minutes. That's really unfortunate considering the shortcomings weighing against the work (in my opinion).Firstly, the prose was infuriating and borderline condescending. It felt very much as if this entire book was written for middle-grade students, not women, especially with the number of Disney references used to explain basic concepts. Ideas were over simplified and spoken in a tone that held 100% conviction in blatantly untrue statements (more on that later) while also somewhat talking down to the reader. The uses of (ugh) with any mention of ‘the patriarchy' and Nietzsche was insane to me. How can these women be hammering feminist philosophy into our heads the entire book yet they cringe every time they mention (and they mention it A LOT) one of feminism's most basic principles? They also provide TLDRs at the end of each chapter, which is an odd choice because it invites the reader to skip ¾'s of their book.My next big issue with the book is the ubiquitous thread of the Human Giver Syndrome (HGS) feminist philosophy used throughout the book to prove every point they make. It's one thing to mention HGS once or twice to drive a point across but I find it troubling that a philosophical theory is the essence of every chapter in this book and is written as absolute truth. Not only do I find it discrediting to use a single theory as the foundation of a mental health self help book, but the idea itself I find hard to support. The theory that all women (and all femmes and people of colour as per the footnote) are virtually born into giving every drop of their existence to checks notes all white men (and I guess all NBs and mascs too since they're not included in the previous footnote). This feels really icky and borderline sexist. I know some may relate to this idea and maybe it even helps some people realize a cycle they're in, but HGS just feels like an easy out; all women are victims to the system and white guys are benefitting off the patriarchy (ugh). The Nagoskis also flip flop between being a Human Giver as a good thing and a bad thing. Inherently, the suggestion is that no one should be a Human Giver because it strips your autonomy and self worth through giving “every drop of your humanity” to another (a man), yet it's also described as a great quality in women because we're therefore more conscientious and caring. When you describe something so visceral as giving your whole humanity to others, I don't know if you can backpaddle and spin it as a cute positive quirk that supposedly every femme and POC possesses. They even go so far as to suggest “[giving your] boys a lesson each day in being a human giver”. You want to teach your child to be codependent? That's not very healthy, and it's strange that we wouldn't just teach our daughters NOT to be human givers, no? I don't relate to HGS and it's definitely not a reason for my burnout, no matter how many times this book tries to affirm that it is. I've only identified with HGS in a past highly abusive and manipulative relationship, so I fear for the women who see this type of relationship to men as the norm.Lastly, but arguably most importantly, the authors misrepresent or straight up give inaccurate information from the sources they cite throughout the book. I read through a few dozen of the sources they cite to validate the accuracy of the information they provide throughout the book and was left very disappointed multiple times. Here are just some of the examples I wrote down:- They mention an article that apparently supports the ‘redistribution of sex' to support incels, yet the actual article (albeit written in a cringy right-wing tone) does suggest that sex should be a human right but is strongly against the idea of ‘redistribution of sex'. Instead the author suggests that decriminalizing sex work and promoting the innovation of sex robots (yeah) can help incels gain access to consensual sex. That's very different than the alarming characterization they made that a major newspaper supported forcing women into sex for incels.- They cite a study in Fiji where young girls watched American TV for the first time and stated that 29% of respondents showed signs of an ED within months. The study only interviewed 30 girls and the questions seemed to be leading the girls into answering that they were willing to diet to look like their favourite characters like Xena and Agent Dana Scully. While I'm sure there is validity to the argument that media changes how we see our bodies, a study of 30 girls in an interview study doesn't feel like a super credible source to hinge an important argument on. Also, 29% of 30 is 8.7 so I'm not sure how they got that percentage...- Later in the chapter they connect TWO sources to the statement, “only a very small fraction of the population can lose weight and sustain that weight loss through diet and exercise, establishing a new defended weight.” The first source is an “anti-obesity drug study” from the 1980's that's main goal was to prove that anti-obesity drugs work better than any other method of weight control after crash dieting. Okay, so not only is this study extremely problematic and antithetical to the Nagoskis' arguments, but they're using it to tell people that exercise and healthy eating won't help them reach any goals they might have? The first problem with this study is that all the participants crash dieted (an extremely unhealthy weight-loss method known to cause people to bounce back to their original weight shortly after), so that alone disregards ‘healthy diet and exercise'. Secondly, the study is aimed at discrediting any other method of weight management in order to promote their drug, however the healthy diet control group DID still see the benefits of a slower weight gain toward their original weight. The second study the Nagoskis cite actually contradicts their statement as well, with the study's conclusion reading, “Several studies using the Aerobic Center Longitudinal Study database have observed that cardiorespiratory fitness level and physical activity level are inversely associated with future weight gain,” meaning that people are less likely to go back to a defended weight as they exercise more. Neither study mentioned anything associated with or similar to a “defended weight”. So why are the Nagoskis telling readers that very few people can succeed in creating a new defended weight (if they want to!) when the studies they cite back to actually prove the opposite, even the problematic one they chose to use for some reason.- The last occurrence I'll mention (there are many more but I must move on with my life) is when the Nagoskis declare that men are more likely to use separate knowing and women are more likely to use connected knowing, and that is why women are Human Givers and men are not. What's really interesting is (drumroll please) that's actually just false! The study they cite for that statement actually says that men and women use both types of ‘knowing' equally, and that social context was more indicative of which gender used a specific type of knowing more. So really, men and women use different types of knowing based on which social groups they're with rather than intrinsically using one or the other more based on gender. I'm really trying not to believe that the authors acted in bad faith and assumed readers wouldn't look into the sources they provided, but the only other explanation for so many misrepresentations and twisting of facts is incompetence, and I just don't think that's much better.In conclusion, I ended up feeling more burnt out after reading this book than when I started. I constantly felt like I was being lied to in order to induce gender-based rage rather than actually addressing everyday reasons for burnout like the political and economic state of the world, international conflict, job instability, cost of living, loneliness, family and friend relationships, physical and mental health conditions, and so much more on top of the basic gender issues the authors single-mindedly hammered home. I was really close to giving this a 1-star but in the end they did give SOME useful and truthful information about breaking the stress cycle that I'm sure some people will find useful.
Structure: ★★ Prose: ★★★★ Pacing: ★★ Intrigue: ★★★ Logic: ★★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★Overall Rating: ★★★A food-focused history of one of the world's most infamous minerals.I love the idea of looking at history through the lens of a particular subject or commodity, but with specific subject matter comes the risk of becoming repetitive or dull. Salt: A World History unfortunately suffers from this. While Kurlansky offers fascinating historical data surrounding salt and its uses around the globe, there's only so many ways you can make preserving food (particularly several types of fish) interesting.The book does provide some intriguing information on cultural uses of salt, like the preservation of bodies in Egypt and the currency of salarium for Roman soldiers. I was, however, hoping to see more of that type of information. Why is salt part of so many superstitions for instance?The structure of the book was a little all over the place, literally. We jump through time and venture different regions of the world somewhat randomly, only to learn how they also used salt to preserve various food. Kurlansky also provides several recipes throughout the book, which is another thing that is interesting until you've read a few, and then they tend to blend into each other.In conclusion, there were some grains of interesting information in a mine of mundane.
Structure: ★★★ Prose: ★★★ Pacing: ★★ Intrigue: ★★ Logic: ★★ Enjoyment: ★★Overall Rating: ★★A strange and vague guide on green witchcraft that feels unsatisfying to the end.I'll preface that I'm not a witch, nor am I very familiar with practices or origins of witchcraft of any kind, which is why I was interested in this book. Therefore, my opinions may be uninformed, so take this review with a grain of salt.I found that Murphy-Hiscock explained the ideals and general practices of green witchcraft fairly well, although I've seen many reviews from witches stating otherwise. I did find that the concessions to make witchcraft accessible for everyone were a little hokey. That one should make shrines to each element, but you don't actually need an object like a candle or a jar of water, that a photo of fire or a waterfall will work just fine? I can't imagine communing with a postcard of Niagara Falls. Secondly, the author tends to give information with a high level of conviction but no information or citations to back it up. I understand this is a craft that is carried down more in person than through cited sources, but she included plenty of sources in the back of the book without citing to them. The sources also don't leave the reader with much confidence, with books like “Witchcraft for Dummies” included in her research.I also found that there was a lot of general knowledge that is sure to leave a lot of newcomers a bit directionless after reading. Things like telling readers to find their local plants and use them in their spells is just like saying, “Find local vegetables and make a meal with them.” It's kind of an obvious thing to suggest and yet doesn't give any specifics on what kind of things to look for and what specific spells to use them with.I was really hoping to learn about the origins of green witchcraft and the role of green witches in their heyday, but there wasn't much in the way of historical learning. It really felt like a white-centric point of view on witchcraft without delving into various cultural impacts on modern witchcraft, so I think there are probably much better books to learn about witches and wiccan practices.The last section was what I had most looked forward to before even reading the book. That is, the recipe and ingredient guide. This was probably the most useful and informative section, although there were also a lot of generalizations there too without any regard for botany or geology. Even in the recipe section there we recipes like the one for an “Herbal Milk Bath” that just called for water, milk and “herbs”. Why even write that recipe if it doesn't call for something specific? Why not create a few “milk bath” recipes with different herbal blends for different uses? In conclusion, this kind of felt more like a cash-grab than a well-informed guide.
Structure: ★★★★★ Prose: ★★★★ Pacing: ★★★★★ Intrigue: ★★★★★ Logic: ★★★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★★★Overall Rating: ★★★★★A selection of adventures from Caitlin Doughty's optimistically death-filled life.I've been a longtime fan of Doughty's online videos and I really enjoyed her “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” memoire I read a couple of years ago. Caitlin is a trailblazer in death-positive education, creating informative and hilarious videos on her YouTube channel about the funeral industry, cultural death practices and macabre stories like her series on “Famous Corpses”. From Here to Eternity deep dives into Doughty's experiences with people around the world who practice ancient and modern death rituals that challenge social norms. I love her prose, and she has such an authentic voice in her memoires.In conclusion, I will eat up anything Caitlin Doughty writes. She is singlehandedly teaching the world that death doesn't have to mean caskets or cremation, and is fighting to give people the power to choose their version of ‘the good death'.
Characters: ★★★★ Atmosphere: ★★★★ Writing Style: ★★★★ Plot: ★★★ Intrigue: ★★★ Relationships: ★★ Enjoyment: ★★★★Overall Rating: ★★★½He's Farouking with everyone's mind! Only Xavier is a match for the Shadow King.I haven't read much X-Men and I definitely haven't read any Shadow King stories until now, but I did watch and love Legion as my first foray into the X-Men universe (other than the blockbuster movies). Because of my existing love for the Shadow King character, I found this story more enjoyable than if I was going in with no previous knowledge. The plot was fairly simple but the heroes' struggles were exciting to read and I was just waiting to see how Xavier's secret plans might unfold. In conclusion, it was a fun one-night read that made me want to watch Legion again but it isn't making my top comics list.
Characters: ★★★★★ Atmosphere: ★★★★ Writing Style: ★★★★ Plot: ★★★★ Intrigue: ★★★★★ Relationships: ★★★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★★★Overall Rating: ★★★★½A tender and wholesome high school love story tackles the age old college dilemma.As Nick and Charlie's relationship develops, they run into a classic high school couple's problem: do they go to the best college or the closest college? I really love how the minor characters are really starting to form their own storylines and building deeper connections with the main characters. Heartstopper has been a refreshing queer love story that's wholesome and inclusive and I hope it never ends.In conclusion, if I Nick and Charlie make their relationship long distance I'm going to be so sad.
Characters: ★★★ Atmosphere: ★★★★ Writing Style: ★★★ Plot: ★★★ Intrigue: ★★★★ Relationships: ★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★Overall Rating: ★★★A vampire horror in which the scariest part is having to babysit three insatiably hungry children.We follow unreliable narrator, Joey Peacock who is a forever-teen vampire who's been roaming New York City for the better part of 60 years. He lives underground with his small found family of vamps in the forgotten corners of NYC's subway systems. He spends his nights charming people into letting him eat them, assaulting unwitting women, and getting kicked out of nightclubs. Classic vampire stuff. It's when he comes upon a group of child vampires that things really start to unravel.This story had some predictable twists and turns, and some unpredictable that didn't feel like they made much sense. None of the characters were very likeable, but hey, they're vampires. Should they be likeable? This was the first of Buehlman's books I've read and in the two I've finished, they both included child or childlike characters in graphically sexual situations. I don't care to read more to see if this is a trend in all his works, but having two in a row with this subject matter was enough for me to retire this author.The plot moved along at a good pace and it was an easy read but I found the inner thoughts of the main character to feel odd considering it's supposed to be a 60 year old vampire who was transformed as a teen in the turn of the century, yet sounds like a teen from the 1970's and beyond. Even then, it's not even his voice; just meant to sound like his he's been telling the story all along. Some of the key plot points felt lazy (it was right in front of us the whole time! forehead slap) and the character choices seemed unrealistic at times in order to drive the story forward. In conclusion, even vampire kids are annoying.
Characters: ★★★★★ Atmosphere: ★★★★★ Writing Style: ★★★★ Plot: ★★★★ Intrigue: ★★★★ Relationships: ★★★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★★★Overall Rating: ★★★★½An exciting and heartwarming adventure that's both fun and easy to read.I listened to the audiobook version of this, which is the best way to experience this book for reasons the reader will soon discover. This was also the first books I've read of Weir's, so I can't personally compare this to his other works. We follow Ryland Grace's perspective, waking up in a space shuttle with no memory of why he's there, but through flashbacks he slowly recovers his memories and unveils the severity of his situation. Grace problem-solves his way through his mission, to some sort of resolution, but not without unexpected help. The book shines through its cast of characters and the humour that keeps things lighthearted. In conclusion, I hope that if I ever get stranded in space I find a sassy pal to help me through it.
Characters: ★★★★★ Atmosphere: ★★★★★ Writing Style: ★★★★★ Plot: ★★★★★ Intrigue: ★★★★★ Relationships: ★★★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★★★Overall Rating: ★★★★★A brilliant tale following expert con artist Locke Lamora and his crew as they venture out of out of their depth.First of all, I'm a sucker for a good heist story, especially in a medieval setting. Secondly, Lynch has a gift for crafting imperfect characters that you want to root for. His prose is so pleasant to read, and he somehow has a way of making crude language blend in flawlessly with the rest of his writing. It's astonishing that this is Lynch's debut.I loved the flashback chapters where we learned more about Locke and Jean's transformative upbringing and relationship growth. It really sets up a lot for the latter half of the story, and I'm sure will deeply play into the following books. The twists and turns, revelations and surprises within the plot made for an immersive and gripping story that you never wanted to end.In conclusion, this is one of the best bromances I've read in a while (but not quite on the level of Royce and Hadrian in Riyria) and I'm excited to read the rest in the series!
Structure: ★★★ Prose: ★★★★ Pacing: ★★★★★ Intrigue: ★★★★★ Logic: ★★★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★★★Rating: ★★★★½Prisoners of the Castle offers unique perspectives from WWII that can be heartwarming, heartbreaking and optimistic, all at the same time.When this was chosen as a book club pick I expected to read a harrowing tale filled with melancholy characters and horrific interactions. Instead, we see a sliver of hope and humanity in a faraway castle during one of the world's darkest times. We follow dozens of POWs, German soldiers and other notable characters in relation to Colditz throughout the length of the war and its aftermath. The reader gets to witness every escape attempt, visit every secret room or tunnel, and learn the outcome of dozens of soldiers who entered the castle. The structure of the story quickly jumped from one person's story to another, which was hard to follow sometimes, but followed a chronological timeline that helped recenter the reader along the way.In conclusion, I really want Wes Anderson to make a Colditz movie, but I fear the prisonbreak scene from Grand Budapest Hotel will be the best homage we get to the whimsy of the castle.
Characters: ★★ Atmosphere: ★★★★★ Writing Style: ★★★ Plot: ★★★ Intrigue: ★★★ Relationships: ★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★Rating: ★★★The Dark Forest struggles with the same issues as its predecessor but ends on a high note.We continue our story throughout the next few hundred years with humanity trying desperately to come up with a plan to defend themselves against the ominous Trisolarans. In this second book, I found the plot lagging along and suffered from a distinct lack of dehydration. We primarily follow Luo Ji, a sexist astronomer who has never felt true love. It's fine to have an unlikable character, but nearly all of the characters in The Dark Forest are hard to read about. We spend far too long learning about Luo Ji's creation of his dream woman and his visions of her throughout the story. He even goes so far as to use government funding to find a real version of her, a woman who somehow is okay with all this and is happy to marry and have a child with him.It's not just Luo Ji who is unlikable. All of the Wallfacers are stiff, self-involved, and apparently unable to come up with even an inkling of a plan to save humanity without mass murdering the very people they're aiming to protect. I found this a little unimaginative and lazy. I also found the use of time-jumping with cryostasis a bit convenient to move the plot along. We enter the future where everything has been progressing along, but no further progress was attempted towards the Wallfacer project. No new Wallfacers of later generations were assigned, and humanity has mostly become overconfident that they'll beat the Trisolarans when they arrive. We really believe no other attempts would be made? The ETO just dissolved?It was hard to read the droplet scene. Not because it was horrific and graphic, but because I cannot believe that humanity as a whole anticipated this droplet for 200 years and once it arrived they assumed that it was friendly? It was sent 200 years ago, when humanity was even less of a threat. I would have thought humanity got smarter and more aware of extra-terrestrial dangers following the Trisolaran contact. Nope!The last quarter of the book becomes a lot more compelling, with the reveal of Luo Ji's plan and the final conversations with the Trisolarans. Is Luo Ji's plan also just a fuck humanity to fuck the Trisolarans plan like all the other Wallfacers? Yes! But at least he's not DIRECTLY doing it. It is one of the better plans, and it created a really compelling cliffhanger into the next book, which I will probably end up begrudgingly reading.In conclusion, I hope I don't have to read about imaginary dream girls for the rest of the year.
Characters: ★★★★ Atmosphere: ★★★★★ Writing Style: ★★★★ Plot: ★★★ Intrigue: ★★★★★ Relationships: ★★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★★Rating: ★★★★½I kind of hate Soichi, but I also feel a lot of sympathy for Soichi.This collection of short stories features the misadventures everyone's least favourite preteen boy as he navigates social settings. Spoiler: he's creepy and weird and horrible to everyone. He's the little imp popping in from the ceiling to spit nails at you and gloomily say he never wanted to be invited anyway. That's where I feel an ounce of sympathy for our sweet, horrible boy. Although he earns everyone's disgust, it's hard not to see how he's affected by the alienation he's receiving in every social situation. He's a disturbed boy, seemingly cursed from birth to be a 'demon', but is he really THAT evil? Unlike a lot of other Ito series, there's no death in Soichi (from unnatural causes). There are a heck of a lot of hospitalizations, but everyone in the end is no worse for wear. He also doesn't ever really hurt his immediate family, and you kind of get the sense that his immediate family isn't scared of him at all. It makes me wonder just how reliable the narrators are in this story—is everything real or are these just terrified misrepresentations of a mischievous oddball boy who's got a strange fascination with the occult? In conclusion, I guess pretending to be a cat won't get you out of every situation, but you might as well try it anyway.
Characters: ★★★ Atmosphere: ★★★★ Writing Style: ★★★ Plot: ★★★★ Intrigue: ★★★ Relationships: ★★ Enjoyment: ★★★The Three-Body Problem brings forth some interesting scientific theories to a classic alien invasion story that overall left me apathetic.Three-Body really shines in an academic sense, with well-researched historical fiction elements and scientific theory dumbed down for layman understanding. The plot is engaging, the mystery is compelling and the ending leaves you wanting more.However, there are a few problems I have in this book.It's incredibly bleak. Don't get me wrong, some of my favourite books torture the characters through seemingly unwinnable scenarios, but Three-Body takes this to another level. Earth is a cesspool of corruption, deceit and disregard for life, and every character you meet proves this through victimhood, betrayal, or both.There are two characters you hold any stake in—Ye Wenjie and Shi Qiang (Da Shi)—and the rest are expendable characters lacking personality or growth, that just serve to drive the plot forward. Some characters, like Mike Evans, seem to come into the plot as a convenient tool to drive the ETO forward. It's a glaring problem for me in a book where I am (maybe) supposed to root for humanity and I don't care about, let alone like, almost every single character.Building on convenient plots and overall lazy writing, I found the Sophons to be a strange plot convenience. I'll admit, I'm just a dumb regular sci-fi reader with no science background, but I find it hard to suspend my disbelief of tiny proton-sized computers programmed not only to disrupt particle colliders (I could work with that), but also project communication at faster-than-light speeds to target humans?Not only that, but the Three-Body VR game seemed like a strange vehicle to spread awareness of the Trisolarin problem. The ETO may want to recruit the top minds based on their ability to solve the Three-Body game, but the actual solution is an existing theory called the Three-Body Problem. Could a layman not Google the name of the game and figure out the answer to the mystery fairly easily? Are there no game guides in this universe where one nerd completes the game and shares the solve for everyone else? Why would the ETO only want to recruit people who can truly understand the science behind the Trisolarins' planetary problem if they would benefit from the masses being empathetic to the aliens? The VR game felt like a convoluted approach to express the same information in a more ‘sci-fi' way.In conclusion, the best takeaway from this novel is that I can find so many circumstances to exclaim, “Dehydrate!” in everyday life now.
This is an extremely long book that spends so much time developing characters that you inevitably don't care all that much about when something happens to them. Many of the characters were boring or straight up unlikable, so listening to their struggles for 50 pages at a time gets to be monotonous, and the explicit scenes felt a bit gratuitous and unnecessary in parts. I found they didn't really add much to the story and seemed like they were added for a horror or shock element in an otherwise slow and uneventful novel.
The premise was really exciting and the looming threat of the Dark Man really made me hope for more mystical/fantastical moments. I also hoped for more from Abigail, since I really loved her character and place in the overall story. In the end we're left questioning who these two really are and what place they really have in the overall world. Are they really the embodiments of Good and Evil? Have they always been “the chosen ones”? Did they somehow have a part in the plague? No questions are really answered... Which is very on-brand for a religious themed plot, but I found it left me unsatisfied.
In 1000 pages of build-up you really hope for some sort of battle for Good vs. Evil, sabotage, enlightenment... Anything. But we're really just left with a confusing turn of events and a lackluster end thought.
I loved the prose, but it wasn't enough to read 1000+ pages of people walking, eating, and talking a whole lot.
I listened to a Librovox recording of this on Youtube without any context because it's on the “1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die” list. Little did I know, I'd be listening to an old man read a female POV smut book from the 18th century. I guess I assumed it would be more of a ‘Memoirs of a Geisha' type book.
Obviously there's little substance in the story other than women's vaginas (often described as slits) getting demolished by penises described as battering rams, wonderful machines, stiff staring truncheons, and engines of love-assaults. Super creative choices, to be sure.
The book is definitely on the list due to its cultural significance (as a banned book and first example of pornographic prose) rather than its allure or quality of writing.
Nearly 300 pages of vigorous ego stroking.
Are you interested in reading paragraphs of excruciating Tolkien-esque detail about MJK's next-level dog food organization? Maybe you want to hear the authors describe themselves as a super hot couple, small and slender and tall and chiselled, in their early days. Or purhaps you love poetic prose about how laaame every other local band's posters were and how truly inspiring and aesthetic MJK's poster design was for early Tool shows. If so, this book is for you!
2 stars because at least it told his story, even if it made me like him a lot less.
More of a 3.5 than a 3 for me.
Freshwater is an incredibly creative debut novel with beautiful prose. We follow Ada's life from the womb to adulthood, a vessel for gods who are unable to leave her body and immerge as new personalities after Ada undergoes traumatic experiences.
I enjoyed the overall themes of the book, but what I found difficult was the storytelling and how the reader learns about Ada. There was a lot of jumping around and new context to past versions of Ada that we don't find out until much later, which feels kind of bad as a reader. Why is the author withholding important character progression from Ada's childhood until the last few chapters? There's no payoff in doing that, and it just feels like new information comes out of nowhere without any warning.
We also don't really learn much about Ada herself, only how she lives through others (mostly men) and how her alters/gods within her (Asughara and Saint Vincent) push her to self harm and pursue sexual opportunities. It became difficult to keep up with all the characters she was interacting with and really could have focused more on the few more impactful characters in Ada's story to drive more character development. There are only so many sexcapades you can read about until they all start blending together into a depressing blob of sweat and shame (for Ada at least).
It felt a lot more shallow than I was hoping, I guess. I was expecting some more mysticism, more about Ada's “real mother” (the snake), more ways the gods effected her than just causing her to harm herself or sleep with people. We don't learn much about Ada's studies, career, friendships, detailed world-travels, or daily interactions and how they're affected by her condition.
There were some really outstanding moments in the book and a lot of very confusing, bland, or unresolved moments too. What shines in this book is the prose and the themes.
It's incredibly surprising to me that this book is so highly acclaimed. Did we all read the same book?
RD Ronald's writing somehow spends a page of description without describing anything at all, uses bizarre metaphors/similes, and is packed with really cringe male gaze. The plot jumps around without context and the characters are completely devoid of.. well.. character.
It was a DNF for me.
I will start off by saying I had really high expectations of this book based on the reviews and it being a Goodreads 2020 winner. It's engaging and easy to read, and I'm sure it could help some people get through rough times.
That being said, I found The Midnight Library to be a bit shallow and entirely predictable - like I was reading a mediocre YA book. I feel that the way depression is addressed in this book is immature and solved with empty platitudes. It's A Christmas Story with a modern woman twist, guided by a frustratingly apathetic librarian instead of ghosts.
Nora is down and out. Everything is going wrong, or at least she feels it is. Her spiral is the most gripping part of this book. When she eventually feels so in despair that she commits suicide, it kind of feels.. Like it comes from the plot needing to be driven rather than the character herself.
Once we get to the Midnight Library we start to go on our wild ride of different lives, something that you'd think should be super fun. Instead, every new life offers a view of the worst possible scenarios that Nora would be in if she did something she regretted not doing or vice versa. The author basically takes away any accountability in Nora's character by weaving a series of scenarios where her life is worse if she made different decisions:
Stayed with your ex-fiancé you walked out of your wedding on? He would have cheated on you and had a drinking problem anyway.
Didn't quit a promising swimming career? You would still be depressed, your dad would be a cheating scumbag and your mom would die alone.
Didn't back out last minute on an Australia trip with your best friend? She would die in a car crash on your birthday if you went.
Went out to coffee with that cute guy you turned down? Life is pretty good but your piano student's life goes down the wrong path and now he's a juvenile delinquent.
It feels like the book was made to show that no matter how good or bad your decision is, the life she lived is somehow the best of them all. It feels like there's a lack of self-reflection. Maybe Nora is kind of a shitty person for the things she's done to the people closest to her? No, that can't be. She shouldn't regret any decision she's made. Maybe she could take an ounce of accountability for where she is in her life? Well sure, but the only accountability you need to take is +staying positive+ when life temporarily sucks. There are a lot of people in situations where letting go of things and keeping your chin up isn't the cure to depression. This feels like the self-help 101 bandaid approach to the idea of mental illness.
Nora is also a self-proclaimed philosophy nerd, but I have never read a character lacking this amount of self-awareness or understanding of “the point”. She spends well over a year, maybe multiple years going through different lives and still doesn't spend a moment to think about all those philosophical perspectives of the mind and reality that the author tries to say she loves. After all her experiences she's still floundering in this alternate reality asking her guide what she's supposed to do. How can she quote philosophies and not take a minute to delve into literally any of the self-improving philosophies or ideas? It makes it feel like you're watching a teenager with limited understanding of philosophical concepts go through the motions rather than a highly educated 30-something year old.
The ending wraps up in a beautiful little bow that's sickeningly sweet. All of Nora's biggest regrets, all the things that were leaving her in despair are suddenly fixed. Her brother and her were on bad terms? Turns out a cry for help fixes everything. Best friend and you are drifting apart? Turns out she was just busy and she's moving back to your country next month! Your only piano student quit? No, he wants to continue lessons now! For all the unfixed things, well, didn't we learn they aren't her problem? Got fired from her job? Don't worry, it was a failing business anyway! Cat died? He would have died anyway! Ex-fiancé is still heartbroken? He was a fucking jerk, who cares!
It turns out that Nora was just suffering from situational depression, regardless of her history with anti-depressants. After the Midnight Library she has a new outlook on life. That's great for her, but the reader could have seen that coming within the first 80 pages. Once the first alternate life was so unsubtly wrong it was obvious that this was a self-help, don't-wallow-in-your-regrets type story. Sometimes it's okay to know the ending because the journey is enjoyable, but in this book it just felt like every different life somehow had the fun sucked out of it in order to spell out a moral or empty platitude. You knew she would inevitably be disappointed (whether it be by something so big as the death of a loved one or so small as boring sex) and she would learn that no life is perfect so just enjoy the one you have.
Overall, super preachy, lacking any subtlety, with a lead character whose main personality trait is that she doesn't have much of her own personality or identity at all.
