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you are an astute reader of plotless, postmodern literary fiction. your tastes are erudite, intellectual, far above genre drivel that hits the nyt best sellers list—WRONG!!! i’m hitting an imaginary buzzer and the floor drops from under you and you are now stuck in a SAW style torture chamber with nothing but a copy of The Likeness by Tana French. i am forcing you to read until you are ready to admit that there’s nothing quite like an irish detective novel—it’s dark and twisty but perfectly paced, the suggestion of magic lightly touches each book, not the magic of fantasy but a magic of history carved into a lush landscape, of dark corners, of old manor houses and small stone cottages, of inherited feuds, and of prickly, strange and special characters. you will love tana french or i’m never letting u outta this fucking cage okay
Apr 15, 2024
Related Recs
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Evocative Irish settings, multi-dimensional character portraits, mystery, and lyrical storytelling… happy October.
Oct 2, 2024
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An ex-Chicago cop, Cal, decides to retire in some unknown town in Ireland where he can escape from his life in the US, and finally take a deep breath, drink some beers on his porch, and stare out into nothingness for the rest of his life. Needless to say things don’t go as planned, and you end up with a half mystery, half meandering tale about growing old and moving on from what has overtaken the characters’ lives. This was an awesome read, it was sometimes nail-bitingly stressful, and at other times relaxing and vibe-y.
Nov 12, 2020
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I'm ridiculously behind and everyone has probably already read it. But I finished Gone Girl a couple weeks ago and absolutely loved it. The suspense, dual unreliable narrators, and strange intimacy you sense between them...phenomenal. You start by thinking Nick (the husband) doesn't know his wife at all and that he has just projected all his self-loathing onto her. Then you realize he wasn't entirely wrong and you didn't know Amy either. You don't know them but you do. They don't know each other but they do they do they do. The titular theme that you can never really know someone (yet you also can) summarized in these lines from the first page:
What are you thinking? How are you feeling? Who are you? What have ... What have we done to each other? What will we do?
*funny note 1: this was my 3rd attempt at reading Gone Girl over the past 4 years. every time i tried to read it i could never get to Amy's part because i just haaaaatedddd Nick so much i couldn't bear to be in his head any longer.
*funny note 2: my boyfriend was extra cautious around me and even a little anxious while i was reading LMAO
*sidenote: the movie was fine. i thought the pacing was a little fast, but understandable. what i didn't like was you didn't see any of Nick's internal monologue, so he just seems like a regular bum kind of a dick. when really he's like a huge piece of shit.
Jan 26, 2024
Top Recs from @booknotesblog
reading aloud to a friend or husband or partner is truly one of life’s little joys. swapping chapters back and forth is the perfect activity for a day in the park, a rainy afternoon on the couch, before dinner after a long hike on a camping trip, or in bed. i particularly recommend doing this with something silly, like a 1970s pulp fantasy novel or 1950s teen romance from the discount bin of a used book store.
Apr 8, 2024
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it’s fun and you’ll probably fall in love!!!!!
Apr 10, 2024
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the first time it’s an accident, the second time it’s a bit
Apr 8, 2024