It was interesting. The writing was okay -- well developed characters, dialogue that flowed but is maybe a little too timely (it will be dated very quIt was interesting. The writing was okay -- well developed characters, dialogue that flowed but is maybe a little too timely (it will be dated very quickly), and reasonably well-paced. There's a lot of time spent on plot building and character development, so it's action heavy at the end. Mileage may vary on pacing: I was intrigued enough by the foreshadowing, character development, and character interactions not to be bothered by the slow plot burn.
I will say, pay close attention to the genre before reading..I picked it up from my library's recommended ebooks section, and when I finished, I had a queasy, unhappy feeling in my gut. It's a very unsettling, especially if you're not prepared for horror. It leaves the reader with a sense of ... inescapable doom. It sounds dumb, but I didn't realize it was a horror book when I checked it out, and I probably wouldn't have read it if I'd realized that. I think maybe it's well written horror (I tend to avoid horror as a genre in both books and film bc I don't like how it makes me feel), but I did find it pretty fucking horrifying....more
Very direct and to the point with applicable, useful tips and tools that can be implemented immediately. I checked it out as a library book and withinVery direct and to the point with applicable, useful tips and tools that can be implemented immediately. I checked it out as a library book and within 90 pages realized this was such an important resource, I purchased a copy for myself and a copy for a friend in a similar situation....more
It was well written for a historical fiction. I normally would've rated it 3 stars (does what it's supposed to do: entertains and amuses), except it'sIt was well written for a historical fiction. I normally would've rated it 3 stars (does what it's supposed to do: entertains and amuses), except it's also a murder mystery and I figured out the murderer (pretty much) and motive in the prologue. I didn't actually figure out the murderer, bc they hadn't been introduced, but an accomplice to the murders was introduced in the prologue and that was the guy I figured as the murderer. Then it turned out to be someone in that guy's household.
Anyway, bc I do expect murder mysteries to have *some* element of, y'know, mystery to them, where I'm turning pages second-guessing my theories ... this was something of a disappointment. Every attempt to misdirect to other suspects just confirmed my original suspicion further. Halfway through the book, I began skimming instead of reading just so I could finish faster and confirm my deduction.
The writing was descriptive and the characters were well written. I just found the mystery very predictable....more
Truly fantastic must-read. I borrowed it from the library, devoured it in a day, and immediately purchased my own copy. Excellent, practical book baseTruly fantastic must-read. I borrowed it from the library, devoured it in a day, and immediately purchased my own copy. Excellent, practical book based on solid research. Anyone interested in education, mental health, or communication should read this....more
Really excellent investigation into truth, memory, law, history, narrative, and how we as humans perceive both ourselves as individuals and others in Really excellent investigation into truth, memory, law, history, narrative, and how we as humans perceive both ourselves as individuals and others in our community; all distilled through the prism of an "unsolved" murder. Highly recommend....more
This collection of short stories is the first Agatha Christie anything I've read, and I really enjoyed it. I've kind of gotten into detective fic lateThis collection of short stories is the first Agatha Christie anything I've read, and I really enjoyed it. I've kind of gotten into detective fic lately, but I'm having trouble finding good authors.
First there's the usual trouble -- preferences of style and tone with author voice. But on top of that, I've discovered with detective fiction that I may well enjoy an author's voice and writing style perfectly fine, but often an author advertised as such can't actually construct a tight detective fiction for anything. They might have written an interesting *story* (oftentimes, I'll pick up a book marketed as a crime novel or detective fiction which is more properly a thriller or true-life inspired crime retelling), but it is not properly a detective fiction with a mystery being unraveled. Or, upsettingingly, it is set up as such, but the mystery is ridiculously easy to unravel. As in, I read the first clue and go, "Oh, they're running a scam on the farm where they kill war veterans and take their money." (quite literally the plot of a "mystery" I just checked out -- figured it out by page 73 and returned it to the library).
My point is, I kind of avoided Agatha Christie because she's an older author and I guess I figured that would make her predictable. Well, these short stories were delightful. There were only 2 where I was able to guess the killer within a few lines, and the rest were quite fun and twisty. I will definitely be checking out her longer form books....more
So in a 5 star rating system, my rating works something like this:
Mind-blowing/ life-changing/ really stays with you: 5 stars Perspective shifting/ gripping/ thought provoking: 4 stars Entertaining and well written: 3 stars Generally okay but had a flaw or two: 2 stars Riddled with flaws, how did this get published: 1 star
I rate most of the books I finish 3 stars, because most of them are 3 stars. Occasionally I'm lucky enough to find a true gem of a read (a 4 or 5 star), and sometimes a book I rated 3 stars right after reading I will realize, months later, was actually a 4 star bc it has not left my mind. If the story and writing sticks around like that, it's a 4 star book.
Generally, I try not to waste my time on 1 or 2 star books.
I rate this book 2 stars for a few reasons.
First, I just don't like this particular type of story - it's the kind that has a minimum of two (sometimes more) interwoven plot threads from connected but not interacting characters in different timelines. When it's done well, I don't mind it, but it's very hard to do well.
Done well, the different plot strands need to be well-balanced and equally intriguing enough that the reader doesn't get irritated at being interrupted/ jerked back to the present by plot thread A when they're immersed in plot thread B, and usually there's some kind of link between the two plot threads which is signified by a tangible object or referenced memory/ moment. Those features did not occur in this book. I was frequently irritated when the different plot strands interrupted one another; I found myself wondering at the emotional investment/ involvement of the characters and their connections to the story (which seemed tenuous in the present day); and there was no specific tangible object or referenced memory/ moment to serve as an emotional touchstone to the past. There were several candidates, but a single one never stood out as special or unique.
The lack of connection of the present-day protags to one another, as well as the main protag's lack of connection to her personal history or any kind of tangible personal historical object really left me unable to "buy in," to the historical narratives, because they were largely represented as the protag vividly imagining/ reliving her great-grandmother's experiences as she learns about them, which just rendered the scenes ... unbelievable to me. I found myself blurting out things like, "How would she KNOW that?!" as a peer of the protag -- in this case, the granddaughter of the protag's grandmother's friend -- provides this incredibly detailed moment-by-moment historical account of the protag's grandmother's actions and behavior. It's unrealistic! I can't "buy in" as a reader! You've lost me!
On top of that, there's a whole suicide plotline which, in my opinion was just terribly handled. Full disclosure, my own mom died by suicide when I was in my 20s (I'm now in my 40s), which the person who gave me this book knew, so that adds an extra layer of weirdness to me as I'm reading this.
The protag's mom died by suicide when she was a preteen, or late childhood I think? Timeline unclear. In any case, she is an adult now and has not processed the trauma, particularly the forgiveness aspect (with suicides, there is often an element of blame that halts/ holds up the grieving process). So there are portions of the book which involve the protag musing on suicidal peoples motivations (not her mother's, specifically; suicidal people, generally, in a sense which she is also applying to her mother: she posits that some people are so afraid of living that they live a half life until they have nothing to live for).
I found these sections uncomfortable at best and just anti-mental health at worst, with very little valuable information. I certainly wouldn't give this book to someone with sensitivities around mental health or suicide myself because it perpetuates a lot of stereotypes about mental illness, as it's all through the lens of the protag survivor who is struggling to understand the trauma through her own self-identity as "normal" and "mentally healthy". Despite frequently mentioning difficulty making friends and fitting in, the protag does not appear to consider herself to be neurodivergent or mentally non-comformative -- her lens as she tells the story and approaches the deconstructing of her childhood trauma is of a woman who perceives herself to be mentally healthy and neurotypical. So she's not exactly useful in deconstructing mental health as a genetic, neurodivergent, generational response. She approaches it solely as a trauma response, which I also found irritating. Like, her mom died by suicide because of inherited trauma bc her grandma fought the Nazis?!? What's so scary or wrong with depression as the explanation? Why couldn't mom just have died by suicide caused by depression? It almost came off as, like, oh the protag's grandmother was this brave woman who fought the Nazi's ... and the incredible trauma she experienced from that was the cause of not only her post-war suffering, but the mother's life-long trauma, and the protag's, so, y'know. Being a brave war resistance fighter causes intergenerational trauma.
I was like uhhh, well, that's one takeaway from the studies on intergenerational trauma, I guess ...
On that note, I also certainly wouldn't give this book to someone who has no experience or understanding of mental health struggles or suicidal ideation and is seeking to understand more. Definitely felt like the author discovered the inherited trauma research and thought it was fascinating, decided to write a book (thank God they wrote about Nazis instead of slaves, I guess, because this was not handled well and I don't want to know how much worse it could have been).
I don't know. It was all kind of ablest and distasteful and poorly written, and I'm not sure which was the greater offense. I can handle a lot of crap if it's well written, but I didn't feel this was even that well written. Maybe I was just in a bad mood....more
This took me a ridiculously long time to read mainly because I'm in grad school and working, but I found it to be a very accessible read. She has a prThis took me a ridiculously long time to read mainly because I'm in grad school and working, but I found it to be a very accessible read. She has a practical, frank, no-nonsense voice which lays out the facts of the situation in a relatable and honest way. I highly recommend this book....more
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