this was such a refreshing read!!! i was initially intrigued when it was announced the winner of the international booker price, and had to scour every bookstore for the book before i settled for an ecopy.

this was such an interesting tale between two characters with opposing backgrounds. diving into the complex relationship between the colonizer and the colonized, writer and the "assistant". i loved how the book eventually put the longstanding, unspoken conflict between the two of them into words at the end, might seem a little heavy handed, but it helped put the ideas into my mind.

the food descriptions were absolutely fabulous. as a hong kong person myself, taiwanese cuisine is rather popular from home, so i was able to remember some of the dishes mentioned in the book!!! and it was always nice to go "oh ive tried that before!!!"

the format of this book is also rather clever, till this moment i am confused if the actual "taiwan travelogue" is an actual book. apologies as i read this book in a campsite with zero service, i could barely research the backgrounds of the book at all.

i am also interested in reading it in its original mandarin chinese! as a native speaker myself, i want to also experience it in how it was written, but lin king has did a fabulous job in translating not only words, but culture and also flavor.

4.75/5!!!

i had really high expectations for this book but unfortunately this just didnt hit the spot for me.

personally, i wasnt too captured by the plot. the book felt like it had no plot, rather. i didnt mind the disjointed narration, i think it was a good decision and a good way of storytelling, the plot just was not gripping enough for me. the ending also just was not what i thought it was going to be? i liked the reveal and the concept is very cool, but it was rather rushed. the pacing of the book was off, i couldn't really get into it and had to force myself to continue reading

several characters kind of just fall off halfway through the book??? abigail only really got one-two chapters that had some development, same with the mother in law whose name i dont remember.

i did enjoy the unreliable narrator, and thinking about what can be trusted/what is real. but some parts of the "humor" was not humor and just felt very very over the top. it also definitely was not thriller, more like a suspense book.

i know anne hathway is supposed to be natalie in the movie adaptation and to be honest, this does sound like it would be a good movie. maybe it would change my opinions on the book!!!

3/5

holy feast and food and wine. i swore to myself that i will read the odyssey before the movie and i am so happy that i did!! now i can confidently say i have read (one translation of) the odyssey!!!!

this translation got recommended to me by a friend who also studies classics, and hearing that its a translation that was written by a woman, it was a no brainer for me to get it.

i think reading the translation's notes really gave me some insights into the vocabulary and choices wilson made. while i do agree with some of the arguments about words that are too modern, i thoroughly enjoyed her writing. it is easy to read and is pretty digestable, the prose is beautiful and also her choice of iambic pentameter made it very flowy to read in my mind.

people say "she stripped odysseus of his manliness" but manliness doesnt come from belitting women and also being all gung-ho and shit imo. i was able to find moments in her translation where odysseus was vulnerable but also a fierce leader of his men. all the people who are shitting on this translation for being "an interpretation" has clearly not heard about "an act of translation is always an act of betrayal" #reference.

i think each translation brings out a different interpretation of the story, and each reader will inherently have their own interpretation of the translation.

i am interested to compare different translations and what they perceive differently and the different choices they make!!!

4.5/5

there is something so familiar about this book and i cant place my finger on it. it's like ive read it before but i also dont know from where.

edit: i found out i read it during my first year of university LOL thats why i knew the story

this book is a solemn yet strong story about the anishinaabeg people surviving during an apocolyptic-winter. i liked the discussions and glimpses into the community trying to find themselves and revive, and despite the cold chilling winter, community and people will uplift each other and help each other through it.

however, rice's storytelling is a lot of telling and not a lot a showing. there are moments in the book where i was like, this does not need to be a full chapter of descriptions and narrations, it couldve been someone's actions or thoughts.

maybe its because i probably have read a similar story elsewhere, but the plot fell flat for me. it wasn't as gripping as i thought it was going to be, and while it did hook me for a little, i wasn't too immersed in the story.

the pacing of the book felt slightly off, with time jumps that were rather big. i think if the book was a little longer, talking about those time jumps mightve helped.

3.25/5

finished this book in basically one sitting! when i picked this up at the independent book store's free section, i had really zero expectations. i only knew of this because of the musical, and i barely knew anything from that other than it was tony-nominated (i don't actually know if it won anything).

i brought the book to work (summer camp) and a couple of the campers (and staff) told me they had to read it for school when they were in the eighth grade, which i was surprised with because i didnt even know this book existed until a day before i read it.

it made sense as i read that an 8th grader will read it. i do admit i am a tad older (#23) than the targeted audience. the themes/motifs are rather simplistic and not subtle, the narrator and way of storytelling is pretty straightforward. i am not the biggest fan of first person POV but it is not too bad.

loved all the characters and how rich they felt in the book. hinton was able to create such strong interpersonal relationships between the characters in such a short period of time. and through the characters, he was also able to touch on themes like the wealth disparity, found family etc etc.

i did see the ending like halfway through the book, and did feel sad when the ending eventually happened. i liked how the book ended on a rather hopeful note, with a glimpse towards the future. and despite having some rather heavy topics, i feel like this book does carry a positive message for younger (like pre-teens/teenage) readers. i am just too old.

3.75/5

taylor jenkins reid does it again with lesbians 🫶🏻

i did not have much expectations when i first went into the book, i knew of reid because of evelyn hugo and enjoyed it, and i liked stories that touched on social issues, which this one does.

i find it really interesting how reid is able to still immediately grasp the reader's attention back to the suspense and the unknown of the "current" timeline even if most of the book were flashbacks. it was pretty easy for me to jump back into the anxiety of not knowing what will happen.

enjoyed the romance subplot with a sprinkle of figuring out homophobia in the 1980s, i think it was a nice touch. and it is refreshing to see smart/nerdy female leads in a romantic relationship too.

i liked how all the female characters are rather different (mainly lydia, vanessa and ofc joan; donna felt rather flat however) but they all have this one goal of just being in space. its nice seeing female friendships in academia/STEM esp in a very competitive setting.

some stuff did fall flat for me, but was not too blaring for me to absolutely hate it. i did read it in mostly one sitting so, fire book regardless!!

4/5

holy moly are the only words i could really think of right now.

i remember the first time i opened the book and was immediately taken aback by the graphic nature of the book. very much told me what to expect in this book. it doesnt shy away from misogyny, racism, sexual abuse, domestic abuse, but this book is still somehow so beautiful in its own way.

celie is such a resilient and loving protagonist, despite so much trauma and pain, she still manages to treat everyone with care and respect. the light in her never dwindles despite everything.

alice walker is able to take such devastating issues and stories and turn them into something hopeful through the letters between celie, nettie and god.

the few pages about god, and what it is, and what it represents will stick with me for a while.

4.75/5