theelliad's reviews
234 reviews

I truly experienced every emotion through this play, hating parts of every character and yet praying for them, understanding the fundamental horror and yet finding the beauty. Kushners exploration of AIDS goes beyond just homophobia of the time; commenting upon race, religion, politics and gender and including simplistically poetic social commentaries which will stay with me for a long time. Watching the NT performance alongside this was also such a good idea- Andrew Garfield truly brings everything to Prior and the cast, set and costuming is all so perfect 

A perfect start to dark academia season! This book is a perfect middle ground of the dislikable elite of the secret history and the drama and ya dynamics of if we were villains! The audiobook for this was so wacky which fed the obsession massively. This follows Clare a history of art student in edinburgh (YES I KNOW SCOTLAND) as her past and present mistakes are revealed, immersing the reader in scottish landscape/culture, teenage girlhood, violence, revenge and betrayal! My main complaint is the lack of any academia structuring- the university serves as the setting but not much more, there aren’t the clever references of TSH and IWWV hence the lower rating 

This is a stunning collection of poetry even more relevant in the wake of Trump's second attempt at presidency. I am OBSESSED with Hayes writing style and am so excited to study this one 

You have to hand it to Christie, this is endlessly clever, immersive and entertaining! 

As much as I hate to praise another dead white man who was an awful person, this really is textbook absurdist fiction! For me, reading the full book of a story I know so well for the first time was equal parts nostalgic and new. Audiobooking this was also the best choice as Carroll’s fiction is so musical and audible! I especially liked the moral reflections in the epilogue, and like A Christmas Carol, this book carries a message that society will never quite outgrow. Lots of fun and a nice easy read what a shame he was a kiddy fiddler 

So You Want To Talk About Race explores systematic and institutional racism and oppression across the world through Oluo’s conversation centred approach. This book is full of important lessons on the ways in whic our everyday actions can be changed slightly to take action against oppression and against our own predjudice and privilege. This is not written for people who aren’t willing to learn, its purpose is to show you that there is always more every individual can do and includes more complex examples of micro aggressions. It is hard to hear, but needs to be heard. I found most interesting the chapter focused on the ways in which white activism contributes to the exploitation of people of colour, especially when intersectionality is concerned. That said this wasn’t revolutionary in a literary sense, it doesn’t need to be to convey the lessons and motivate me to be better but in comparison to the overall books i have read this year it falls into this 3.5* category

It’s a cute little fantasy and the world building is soooo interesting however it wasn’t as revolutionary as it was when i was like 10! 

This book wasn’t for me, I wanted to be a Murakami girlie but maybe I just don’t get it. Don’t get me wrong this is beautifully composed, the writing style is breathtaking and their are moments of description that feel so cosy, I’m also aware that a twisted retelling of Oedipus is bound to be weird and so had an open mind going in. HOWEVER (and it’s a big however) I found so much about this problematic. 1. The way women are written, I knew going into this that it was a common criticism of Murakamis work however the blatant passive sexualisation of every female character is just uncomfortable and inexcusable, 2. leading on from that, i cannot get behind a book which has a ridiculously romanticised scene of r*pe and pages later the only acknowledgement is the main character literally stating ‘I shouldn’t of  r*ped her’ (sorry if you consider that a spoiler, i think it’s something i would have liked to know in advance) that isn’t wacky that’s just wrong, 3. the plot really wasn’t as special as i expected. The middle section of the book in which the pieces fall together was certainly engaging and clever, however beyond that this really didn’t do it for me. Laced with repetitive actions and seemingly pointless pages of description this is a classic case of good concept terrible execution (and is also about 300 pages longer than it needs to be), 4. ANIMAL VIOLENCE IN THAT MUCH GRAPHIC DETAIL WAS SO UNNECESSARY literally what did the kittens do to you Murakami I am in pain still and it’s been days 

Well ouch… Everything I never told you is a beautiful anatomy of familial love, placing siblings, parents and children at its very heart. There is something raw and real in each character and I think this story will hold a special place in my heart for time to come- strange really, it’s so simply written, the plot is free of twists and shocks, and yet it was one of the most engaging things I have read in a while! 

This book entirely captured all that I love about psychological thrillers, playing on the sentiment ‘if you could pass your pain onto someone else, would you?’ there is wackiness written with such beauty it feels real, the lines are laden with ambiguity, there is shakespeare, there is the most fundamentally unlikable narrator I have ever read and yet it was genuinely such an experience to read. Was it perfect? no, but given my enjoyment of this giving it anythint less than 4* just felt wrong