Reviews and Comments

It took me a while to get into this story but I'm glad I stuck with it. If you like stories with a lot of battles between heroes and monster villains, this is your book. While I enjoy a superhero show as much as the next person, reading fight scenes in a novel is not to my taste. As the story unfolds, the social commentary ramps up. Would be especially relevant to New Yorkers who are familiar with the personalities of the city's boroughs. As an outsider, I understood enough to see where the story was headed but I'm sure it offers more to New York inhabitants. I read this book via audiobook and enjoyed the voicing and dramatization.

I liked the use of a strong narrative voice in this book, and that the story is narrated through the eyes of one of the side characters. The world inhabited by the characters is dangerous and difficult and I really got a sense of it. I did find the language (racism, misogyny, fatphobia, etc) difficult to deal with. I didn't like the protagonist, Oscar, a young man with Incel/stalker tendencies, and I had a hard time empathizing with him. This isn't always necessary in order to enjoy a novel but, in this case, I thought my ambivalence toward him lessened the effect of the conclusion. Overall, I'm glad to have read this story. I may go through it at a later date and read through the footnotes which I left out as they slowed the pace of the story.

A fun read with lively characters. I enjoyed the voice of the book, the short, snappy sentence structure, the witty language. An inordinate number of similes. Unbelievably so. Once I noticed, which was early into the novel, I couldn't un-notice. Wild imagery. Satisfying ending.

Listening to the audiobook while driving.

This was a difficult read. I listened to it in audiobook form which heightened the story as well as the tensions surrounding the themes (CW. This book is about sexual abuse and, in particular, grooming). I was, at times, angry with the author. For most of the book, it feels apologetic, minimizing, even encouraging. This is because we are in the mind of the fifteen year old girl who is experiencing the abuse. If we feel confused, it's because she feels confused. This type of close read of a complicated and complicating character can be difficult. It can even be seen as problematic. I thought it was inspired. I recognized this girl. This book will stick with me, always, in good ways and bad. (tip: Stay for the interviews at the end of the audiobook)

Listening while travelling

Listened to the audiobook version over the past week but I've both listened to the book and read it in text multiple time over the years. It's my go to for when I need an artistic boost. Sure. There are an inordinate number of plithy statements and obvious platitudes between these covers. But there is also truth. Think of it like a meditation. Reommend.

This epic at the speed of trees taught me to pay attention to the journey. It took me nearly a month to read and was not time wasted. Profound, illuminating, reality shifting. I'll be chewing on it for years to come.

Started reading this morning. Already astoundingly beautiful. A slow read. I think I'll be with this for a while.

Wonderful. Winterson claims that the mind can't tell the difference between the past and future. Only now and not now. And the story goes round and round and round.

This was part of my middle school curriculum. I initially read it in seventh grade and a few times later in my early teens. This is one of the few books that I have a full memory of. It haunted me. It still does. Is it better to have something and lose it or never have it at all?

Lots of useful information on writing poetry and exercises to practice the concepts learned. It's like taking a class without the tuition. If you're like me and know next to nothing about the mechanics of poetry writing, this book is for you.