I liked this better than the latest Ruth Ware novels!
It takes place on an island, the set of a reality dating show, where the main narrator has been cI liked this better than the latest Ruth Ware novels!
It takes place on an island, the set of a reality dating show, where the main narrator has been cajoled into coming with her wannabe actor boyfriend. Things take a turn when there's a fast change in the weather, and this becomes a real survival story, not a fake survival story. I always very much enjoy the reader who voices Ware's books. I don't want to say too much and spoil it, but it really held my interest. Except... one spoiler below...
I had a little problem with the ending. I feel like the four women could have told the truth about how horrible the villain of the tale was and just said they had sneaked to his villa looking for the insulin, he'd woken up, and they'd had to kill him in self defense. It seemed convoluted to have to create a diary making him look like a saint, not to mention bad for the world....more
I always listen to this author's books as audiobooks. The same reader reads them, and I like her, and the books are always entertaining enough. But reI always listen to this author's books as audiobooks. The same reader reads them, and I like her, and the books are always entertaining enough. But recent ones seem to have big holes in them and elements of the plot seem extremely unlikely. This one is pretty bad in that regard- the murder requires so many random events to happen just right. But I still enjoyed it. There's a spoiler below.
Leonora has just figured out who the murderer is. That person says, "Here, I'll make you a nice cup of tea." Leonora takes it and thinks, "Well, hmm, it tastes weirdly bitter, but okay," and she drinks it down. Really!?...more
Ruth Ware's books always capture my interest quickly and are enjoyable to listen to- I like the reader who always reads her books, so I always read thRuth Ware's books always capture my interest quickly and are enjoyable to listen to- I like the reader who always reads her books, so I always read them as audiobooks- and this is no exception. The main character is Jack, a woman who works as part of a team with her husband, Gabe, testing corporate security systems. Gabe is a hacker, and does the computer work, while Jack is on-the-ground specialist in breaking and entering. One night she comes home from a job and discovers her husband dead, and quickly realizes she is the main suspect. She runs off, determined to figure out who committed the murder herself. She's a badass, very good at her job and very determined to achieve her goal, so it was fun to watch her overcome obstacles and figure things out.
Spoiler below.
One flaw of this book is that there are so few characters that it's pretty easy to figure out who the guilty party is....more
Bodie didn't have a great time at boarding school- she was awkward and unpopular, to start with, and then, in her senior year, her roommate, Thalia, wBodie didn't have a great time at boarding school- she was awkward and unpopular, to start with, and then, in her senior year, her roommate, Thalia, was murdered. Later, one of the only Black people on campus, a sports trainer, was convicted for the crime. Decades later, she comes back. Now a successful podcaster, she's there to teach a class in podcasting. One of her students has a lot of questions about Thalia's murder, and so does Bodie.
I read this as an audiobook with a very good reader, and I zipped right through it. It's propulsively entertaining and thoughtful, with well-developed characters and good, precise writing. This is very much a "Me Too" novel, and while Thalia's experience is pretty cut and dried, there's also something with Bodie's ex-husband, which pops up in the middle of the novel, and this offers much more ambiguity.
I like a boarding school story, and this is quite a good one....more
There is a lot that's good about this book, the first in a series, but it's too plotty for me. In a book with well-developed characters, I can deal wiThere is a lot that's good about this book, the first in a series, but it's too plotty for me. In a book with well-developed characters, I can deal with a bit of mystery. But they just kept adding new mysteries on top of the main one, and this is a very long book, and soon I started hearing the siren song of new, different books, so I abandoned this one. The two main characters are well-developed, but there are a lot of other characters who are less so, and I was having a hard time keeping track. One of the things I liked about it was that it was set in Philadelphia, my home town, but it could be anywhere- the sense of place was not strong. And the magic was interesting- but all kind of vague. It didn't work for me. I got like 2/3 of the way through, though....more
I did not know this was based on a true story in England in the 18th century, and I didn't know what that story was, so when there's a murder- very laI did not know this was based on a true story in England in the 18th century, and I didn't know what that story was, so when there's a murder- very late in the book, after I was pretty involved with Mary Saunders, the main character- it blindsided me. I was reading in the kitchen, where my husband was making coffee, and my son was in the next room, and they both checked on me, because I was exclaiming, "Nooooo." "Oh my God." "Argh!" My son thought there must have been a terrible world event that he hadn't heard of yet, and was relieved to find it was "just" a fictional character.
I liked this quite a bit. I've enjoyed Emma Donoghue's two most recent books enough that I decided to explore her backlist. This one is about a very poor but bright London girl with a taste for color and finery, not something you really find much of in her poor slum, or in her school, where children are being raised to be obedient and humble seamstresses or servants. Her mother doesn't show her much kindness- partly because she's working constantly and doesn't have any time for tenderness. Mary is raped at 14, and then kicked out of the house when the rape leaves her pregnant. And she's raped again when she's out in the world and suddenly unsheltered. She's taken in by a kind prostitute, and ultimately decides shat she'd better sell sex rather than having it taken from her all the time.
She winds up having to leave London and seeks out an old friend of her mother's, a dressmaker, for whom she becomes a maid and seamstress. She makes some awful mistakes. She's definitely not a flawless character- but she's just a young teenager who has been abandoned. I like the details of 18th century life, and I was obviously drawn into the characters, because it slayed me when disaster hit....more
I found this really gripping, although I'm not quite sure why. I guess it's the way Highsmith inhabits her main character's head, and of course I'm inI found this really gripping, although I'm not quite sure why. I guess it's the way Highsmith inhabits her main character's head, and of course I'm interested in the idle expat's way of life. I want to own a house in a small Italian town and use it as a base to travel all over Italy, Spain, France, Greece...
Tom Ripley's a bad person who gets a chance to go to Europe for free when an acquaintance's rich father mistakes the quality of his friendship with his son- which turns out to be a very big mistake indeed- and sends him there to persuade the son, Dickie, to return to the United States from Italy to take up the reins of the family business. Ripley gets obsessed with Dickie. He doesn't exactly fall in love with him. He more wants to be him. And he finds a way to do it.
This is fascinating because it's like the opposite of a murder mystery- it tells you all the things you're trying to figure out when you're reading a mystery.
I've read other things by Highsmith, and read about her as well, and her complicated and messed up views of sexuality, same sex and otherwise, are definitely all on display here. Ripley is described as a caricature of a murderous homosexual, but I think he's too well-developed a character to be considered a caricature? And Highsmith is a mess- a lesbian who has been described as kind of fundamentally not liking women (like Ripley, who definitely dislikes women), who kind of hated herself for wanting them. I think I heard she had a cycle of pursuing then discarding female partners.
Anyway, as soon as I finished this, I wanted to read the second Mr. Ripley novel, which is purported to be better than this one, but I had some ARCs I needed to get to. I'll definitely read it, though....more
There were a lot of things I liked about this book, but it still doesn't quite add up to a satisfying novel.
I liked the no-nonsense depiction of sex wThere were a lot of things I liked about this book, but it still doesn't quite add up to a satisfying novel.
I liked the no-nonsense depiction of sex work. Newly widowed Eliza decides after a short, unhappy marriage that if her choice is to be raped and used as a servant by a husband or to work in a brothel in booming gold rush era Monterrey, a brothel where women are treated fairly and allowed to say no, there's no contest. She's happy with her life. She goes out to eat and chooses what to order. She develops a really great friendship with another prostitute. And she walks all the time. As someone who walks a whole lot, I enjoyed Eliza's observations as she walked around Monterrey. You don't often hear about a main character's ramblings in a novel. She reads books when she can get her hands on them, and when she reads Poe's The Murders in the Rue Morgue, she is inspired to try a little detective work, especially because the young women who have been disappearing around Monterrey seem to be sex workers.
Eliza's a good character, wide open to the world in a way that maybe only a young person can be. It was interesting to see her interest in her work, paying attention to her different customers, learning things from her conversations with them.
The writing is good, of course, because it's Jane Smiley. I like how young and growing Monterrey is kind of a character in this book. But somehow-- maybe because I don't really love mysteries?-- the ending seemed kind of random and unsatisfying. Still, 4 stars, because it kept me entertained. I believe in being generous with 4 stars and stingy with 5 stars....more
I really liked the first couple of Ruth Ware books I read. I think maybe it was because I hadn’t read a lot of the gripping domestic fiction genre? OrI really liked the first couple of Ruth Ware books I read. I think maybe it was because I hadn’t read a lot of the gripping domestic fiction genre? Or maybe they were better. This one certainly sagged a bit in the middle and could have used some editing. Still, I read (listened to) the whole thing, and I did get caught up in the plot.
After reading my first Ruth Ware book, The Death of Mrs. Westaway, I felt like maybe I’d found a new, more modern Daphne DuMaurier. I think this book, It Girl, has a heroine who might just be as annoying as the unnamed narrator in Rebecca. My god, she’s so passive, so unwilling to make a fuss. I guess it’s pretty British? Or maybe it’s because the character is from a lower class than most of the people she winds up being friends with. But I got seriously sick of her saying, “No, no, I’m okay” or “No, No, it’s no big deal,” when she clearly wasn’t or it clearly was.
Another thing- female friendship, one of the delights of my life and a thing I enjoy seeing portrayed well in fiction, is not this author’s forte. This is sad, because this novel would be so much more moving if the relationship between Hannah, our narrator, and April, the murder victim, was more alive and well-depicted. I get that April is a difficult character- but still, there was not one moment in this book that the relationship between them seemed at all real.
I didn't love this as much as Hamnet, but I still liked it quite a bit. O'Farrell is a wonderful writer. Her poetic writing about historical worlds isI didn't love this as much as Hamnet, but I still liked it quite a bit. O'Farrell is a wonderful writer. Her poetic writing about historical worlds is almost unparalleled. It's just that this main character is less in touch with the world than Agnes in Hamnet- she's a noblewoman, and very young, so of course she's not running around collecting honey from her honeybees or gathering herbs for tisanes. One thing I loved about Hamnet was the farmwife aspect. I love to read about women who have a job that they're very good at.
Lucrezia, in this book, is basically a captive for her whole short life, first in her father's house, then in her husband's. Her father, the Duke of Tuscany, uses her as a pawn for money and power, and then her husband, the Duke of Ferrara, attempts to use her as a brood mare. Neither of them ever treats her as a person with a right to her own life. This novel is based on a true story of the young wife of the Duke of Ferrara who died, perhaps from poison, just a couple of years after their marriage. Robert Browning's My Last Duchess was probably about Lucrezia and Ferrara. There's something independent in Lucrezia that I liked and I like her passion for creating art.
Thanks to Eidelweiss for giving me access to the digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Spoilers below.
Hah! The Duke of Ferrara died without ever having a child! Also: sucks to be Emelia the maid!...more
This is the nastiest book I've read in a while. I am okay with reading about unpleasant characters, but they have to be realistic and complex. These pThis is the nastiest book I've read in a while. I am okay with reading about unpleasant characters, but they have to be realistic and complex. These people are unbelievably unlikable in an unearned, fake way. I also hate this representation of female friendship. I feel like sexist men like to say that women are always cutthroats in competition with each other. While female competition can be a thing, I believe it's much more complicated than that. But not in this book!
This is set in Sweden, which is the reason I chose to read this, but really, it could have been set in any isolated spot. An American couple have moved here and had a baby. They are both wicked assholes. The woman's long-time friend, also a wicked asshole, comes for a very long visit.
I don't believe there are that many toxic friendships because friendships take care and feeding- and friendship is an opt-in relationship. The two "friends" in this book would have ditched each other long ago....more
This might not be good, but it kept me turning pages- or, well, listening, because I read it as an audiobook. An artist has apparently murdered her huThis might not be good, but it kept me turning pages- or, well, listening, because I read it as an audiobook. An artist has apparently murdered her husband, and then she never spoke again. A psychoanalyst wants to help her and gets a job at the mental hospital where she lives now. Towards the end, I thought about quitting because this author really treats every single female character in the novel with contempt, but by then, I wanted to find out what was going to happen. I will have completely forgotten this in two weeks....more
Thanks to Libro.fm for giving me early access to this wonderful audiobook. The reader was excellent, which added another layer of awesome to an alreadThanks to Libro.fm for giving me early access to this wonderful audiobook. The reader was excellent, which added another layer of awesome to an already great book.
And another thing, there are many trigger warnings that apply here. I'll be more specific in the comments.
I loved this. It ticked all the boxes. When it starts out, you're plunged immediately into this absolutely vibrant world with an even more vibrant main character. Daunis is a recent high school grad who lives in Michigan's upper peninsula. She's biracial, the daughter of an Ojibwe father who died in an accident when she was 7 and a white mother who comes from a rich, privileged family. She's not entirely accepted anywhere, which doesn't stop her from being deeply involved. She was a hockey star, and she's a high-speed runner and a great student, especially in science. She makes daily visits her maternal grandmother, who has been incapacitated by a stroke, and she volunteers at the reservation to help serve the elders lunch. She has great conversations with Lily, her cousin and best friend, and her brother, who also plays hockey. So many books, especially YA books, operate in this limited world with rather few people, so I especially enjoyed he richness of this one. I loved her aunties, her native grandma, the Anishinaabe myology, customs and language that she illuminated here, and I really loved the elders. I mean, they're old, and they take a long time to tell stories, and you can't rush them- but then they're also funny and interesting and they totally show up for Daunis when it counts.
So it takes a while, the bringing to light of this rich world, and I loved it all, especially as the writing is sharp and vivid and occasionally quite beautiful. And then the plot starts to show itself. And there's a lot of plot, too! I tend not to like books with so much emphasis on mystery and action, but I was so into this world and this character that it carried me along and I couldn't stop listening. There's a new attractive guy in town. A guy with secrets- and Daunis is drawn into danger and darkness and a striving for justice, and it's a bit of a rollercoaster. I think this might be my favorite book of the year so far? Spoilers below--
I couldn't be happier to read a YA novel in which the young woman tells her romantic interest at the end that he has to go away and get himself together while she gets herself together separate from him because they both love each other enough to want the other to grow strong before linking lives. I am heartbroken that Daunis had to be sexually assaulted and that we never got to see the rapist punished, that basically, white people aren't held responsible for their actions. But that's the world we live in, isn't it? It was brave of this writer not to make everything turn out fair and sunshiny at the end. But god, I love this character like she's a real person, so maybe she's going to change the world? Or maybe we all have to work to change it ourselves. In the meantime, I'm going to suggest this book to a lot of library patrons....more
Kind of uninvolving? I need interesting characters to care about in my historical fiction. I finished this, which is saying something in 2021, but I nKind of uninvolving? I need interesting characters to care about in my historical fiction. I finished this, which is saying something in 2021, but I never really cared.
Plymouth Colony, 1630. We hear mostly from the governor's wife, who has angst about marrying her dead best friend's widower. We also hear from a former indentured servant, now a free man, not a puritan, who justifiably, I think, feels cheated by his former masters over land distribution. I can't help wondering if they were happier to cheat him because he's such a dick.
A crime is on the way, and there's lots of foreshadowing, but you don't really care. One thing that's clear is that the puritans are here mostly for greed, and that white supremacy has reared its head right from the first moment. Children have apparently been indentured- sold- away from their parents. A 13-year-old servant is raped by her master's brother. A native American's dismembered head meant to inspire fear is displayed for years on a pike above the meetinghouse. So much for the pretty picture painted by millions of Thanksgiving Day plays for much of American history....more
While not a great book, or even a book that's as good as other Ruth Ware books, this one was here for me as the election loomed, and it kept me distraWhile not a great book, or even a book that's as good as other Ruth Ware books, this one was here for me as the election loomed, and it kept me distracted, which I badly needed.
The corporate retreat of a hip tech start-up turns into a then-there-were-none kind of mystery in the French Alps when an avalanche strands 10 or so people there, many of them annoying, bad people- and one of them is a murderer! This is a more classic mystery than Ware's other books that I have enjoyed. And I thought that the original murder took a shit-load of planning and luck to have worked out, which seemed pretty unlikely. Good ending though! Spoiler below:
This is the kind of psychological fiction (thing Gone Girl or Girl on the Train, but not as good), that really grabs your attention, but then it's jusThis is the kind of psychological fiction (thing Gone Girl or Girl on the Train, but not as good), that really grabs your attention, but then it's just gone. Even as I hurtled through this in a few days, it almost seemed that I started forgetting it even as I devoured it.
A number of characters, many of them bad people, show up at a destination wedding at a small island resort off the coast of Ireland. The bride runs a magazine ad the groom is the star of a reality show in which he gets dropped off at a remote location and has to figure out how to survive. There are lots of big dramatic secrets sand you know pretty early on that there's going to be a murder, but who, and why?
The audio production is great, which is one of the reasons I continued reading it, although the wedding details were fun, too. A number of different actors read different parts, and they were quite good, with very nice accents of the U'K. variety. Spoiler below- I mean, I guess it's a spoiler?
My favorite part of the book was when after the cake-cutting ceremony when the bride, who was beyond pissed, vengefully mashed the wedding cake into the groom's face. This couldn't have been more delicious....more
I got about a third of the way in, but there were too many rats. I am cool with snakes, spiders, what have you-- but I just have a thing about rats, aI got about a third of the way in, but there were too many rats. I am cool with snakes, spiders, what have you-- but I just have a thing about rats, and that thing is that I don't want to see them, read about them, think about them....more
This novel tells the story of Ilya, an exchange student from a very dark place in Russia, a town that had been built around a gulag, to Louisiana. He'This novel tells the story of Ilya, an exchange student from a very dark place in Russia, a town that had been built around a gulag, to Louisiana. He's always been a good student, and he worked very hard at his English in order to get this opportunity, but he doesn't enjoy it. His older brother Vladimir, back in Russia, has confessed to being a serial killer of three young women, and he's imprisoned. The narrative switches back and forth between Ilya in Russia in the past to Ilya in America, trying to figure out who really killed the girls, since he is absolutely sure that it wasn't Vladimir.
The mystery is too tidy, but I don't really care about that, as I'm not a mystery person. What I liked about this was Ilya's observations of the United States and its people, and I also liked the descriptions of his bleak hometown. A problem with the book is that I very much disliked Vladimir, and this made me not care if he got out of the peril he found himself in. Every time he spoke, he was saying something demeaning about women, and while that might be realistic when it comes to some young male characters, it kind of made me not care if he rotted in jail instead of getting out and killing himself with opiates. ...more
Huh. This was one of the New York Times' best 10 books of 2018, but I just thought it was pretty good psychological fiction.
It's no spoiler to say thaHuh. This was one of the New York Times' best 10 books of 2018, but I just thought it was pretty good psychological fiction.
It's no spoiler to say that two small children are murdered in this, as it's right in the beginning of the book. So then you take a look back and see what led to this tragic outcome. I'm interested in books and movies that look at the complex relationships between domestic workers and their employers, so this definitely held my interest.
Louise isn't just the nanny she's paid to be. She becomes indispensable, not just caring for the children, but also cooking, cleaning, and making Miriam and Paul's complicated 2-career household work. Someone who loves your children and who your children love? who goes on vacation with your family, who also washes your underwear and knows just how you like your coffee- are they just your employee? It's kind of fascinating.
Spoilers below:
That chicken! That was so weird. There's no way I would have let her keep working for me after that.
I have to say that I was a little disappointed by the end not to have more of an answer....more
I got almost halfway through and didn't really care, so off to the next book. Good, vivid writing, but perhaps not very vivid characters?I got almost halfway through and didn't really care, so off to the next book. Good, vivid writing, but perhaps not very vivid characters?...more
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