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Shirley Jackson this is not

Mrs March by Virginia Feito

November 14, 2021 by Rooooomie Leave a Comment

This has all the hallmarks of a book I should love: an unreliable narrator, an unhappy housewife, comparisons to Shirley Jackson, a movie version in the making with Elisabeth Moss as the main character, and teasers about a final reveal/twist. But while it was an enjoyable read, it didn’t live up to those (arguably sky-high) expectations. Mrs March lives a comfortable life as the wife of George March, a successful author. But after someone points out to Mrs March that the pitiable protagonist of George’s […]

The boredom, the rush, the despair, the fear and the hope

Who They Was by Gabriel Krauze

October 25, 2021 by Rooooomie Leave a Comment

Bingo: Rep (with a bingo for row 3) CW: violence, drug use. Snoopz, our protagonist, is in a car that’s slowly trailing a woman down a fancy street in London. As she reaches the front door of her house, Snoopz and his friend Gotti get out, sneak up behind her, and strike: Snoopz puts her in a chokehold while Gotti struggles to snap off the woman’s diamond-encrusted Cartier. Snoopz spots a giant diamond ring on her finger, but try as he might, he can’t remove […]

“My vagina is a crime scene”

Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi

October 20, 2021 by Rooooomie Leave a Comment

Bingo: Pandemic I’ve been reading a lot of books this year that focus on women’s experiences – how they relate to themselves, to their partners, to their mothers. Burnt Sugar also falls into that category, as it tells the story of Antara, an Indian woman dealing with her mother’s descent into dementia, while at the same time reckoning with her dissatisfaction with how her life has turned out, and exploring her traumatic childhood. I made the mistake of reading a couple of Goodreads reviews after I […]

I have very little to add to what other cannonballers have said about this book

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

October 2, 2021 by Rooooomie Leave a Comment

Bingo: The Wilds (making my 5th bingo with row 1) One fall, four Blackfeet friends go on a hunting trip, and take advantage of an opportunity to kill a large number of elk – elk that they are not supposed to be shooting. 10 years later, this terrible decision catches up with them, as something from their past is out for revenge. This book had been sitting on my shelf for a couple of months, but I moved it to the top of my to-read […]

Not a cliche

James Acaster's Classic Scrapes by James Acaster

September 26, 2021 by Rooooomie 2 Comments

Bingo: self care; my go-to comfort reads are personal essays – bonus points if they’re funny, too. (And that makes bingo #4, with column 3) For me it’s a bit hit and miss whether a stand-up comedian or comedic actor’s talent translates to the written word; just because you’re funny on screen doesn’t mean you can write a funny story for readers. (Looking at you, H Jon Benjamin – some books just don’t need to be written.) James Acaster fell in the middle for me. […]

A beautiful but heartbreaking read

Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor

September 26, 2021 by Rooooomie 2 Comments

CW: everything (seriously, anything awful you can think of, it’s probably in this book) Bingo: Flora Without a doubt Hurricane Season is one of the best books I’ve read this year. I cannot recommend it enough, but have to warn that it is an exceptionally painful book to read. Inspired by a true story (which Melchor initially wanted to explore in a non-fiction book, but decided against due to the danger she’d expose herself to in trying to research it), Hurricane Season unspools the story of […]

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