User Profile

caracabe

caracabe@books.theunseen.city

Joined 1 year, 11 months ago

Writer and software engineer in the US Midwest. I enjoy poetry, horror, some f/sf, some mystery, some literary fiction (but not the kind where the main character is a professor and nothing happens).

This link opens in a pop-up window

James Baldwin: Giovanni's Room (1956, Dial Press, N.Y.) 5 stars

Considered an 'audacious' second novel, GIOVANNI'S ROOM is set in the 1950s Paris of American …

Review of Giovanni’s Room

5 stars

Beautiful music telling us terrible things, to paraphrase Tom Waits. Heartbreaking and lovely. (And if, like me, you get stopped short by the guillotine being used in the 1950s — the last execution by guillotine in France was in 1977.)

Yuval Noah Harari: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2018, Harper Perennial) 4 stars

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (Hebrew: קיצור תולדות האנושות‎, [Ḳitsur toldot ha-enoshut]) is a …

How can we distinguish what is biologically determined from what people merely try to justify through biological myths? A good rule of thumb is ‘Biology enables, Culture forbids.’ Biology is willing to tolerate a very wide spectrum of possibilities. It’s culture that obliges people to realise some possibilities while forbidding others. Biology enables women to have children — some cultures oblige women to realise this possibility. Biology enables men to enjoy sex with one another — some cultures forbid them to realise this possibility.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by  (Page 146 - 147)

Yuval Noah Harari: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2018, Harper Perennial) 4 stars

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (Hebrew: קיצור תולדות האנושות‎, [Ḳitsur toldot ha-enoshut]) is a …

When I read a nonfiction book that has points to make, I often find myself in a debate with the author. I bring up counter-examples. I construct parallel tracks of thought, with facts they omit, that lead to contrary conclusions. I point out where their reasoning by analogy breaks down, and I call the word “obviously” a euphemism for “because I say so.” I do this whether I disagree with the author or not. “Sapiens” is a good book to argue with.

Premee Mohamed: No One Will Come Back for Us (2023, Undertow Publications) 4 stars

Here there be gods and monsters - forged from flesh and stone and vengeance - …

Review of No one Will Come Back for Ys

4 stars

A blend of science fiction, folk horror, and cosmic horror, this collection of stories is hard to classify but well worth reading. The story notes at the end are an entertaining touch. (Tip: read the story before the note. Spoilers.) My favorite pieces here are “Four Hours of a Revolution” and “Quietus,” but there’s not a clunker in the book.

Lisa Kröger, Melanie R. Anderson: Monster, She Wrote (Hardcover, 2019, Quirk Books) 4 stars

Meet the women writers who defied convention to craft some of literature’s strangest tales, from …

Review of Monster, She Wrote

4 stars

An interesting book in itself, and a good resource to plan your future reading. My TBR list has grown by a few dozen titles. I’m happy that this book starts with Margaret Cavendish, and that it includes Nobel laureate Toni Morrison as a horror writer.

Bora Chung: Cursed Bunny (Paperback, 2021, Honford Star) 5 stars

Cursed Bunny is a genre-defying collection of short stories by Korean author Bora Chung. Blurring …

Refreshingly Weird

4 stars

Bora Chung is versatile in her weirdness. Some of these stories might be classed as surrealism, some as horror, some as science fiction or fantasy. Almost always, the characters are relatable no matter how bizarre their circumstances.