the quality of the writing.. its clarity, the heft in the narrative voice, the substance !!!! i'm not nearly smart enough to expresthis is.. SO GOOD
the quality of the writing.. its clarity, the heft in the narrative voice, the substance !!!! i'm not nearly smart enough to express my grasp on this text but this was so good y'all have to TRUST me !...more
this was really fucking good holy shit i am still processing as i write this
it's like a romance novel except it's not at all. it somehow talked about this was really fucking good holy shit i am still processing as i write this
it's like a romance novel except it's not at all. it somehow talked about Muslim traditions, Pakistani culture, being gay while Muslim, the immigrant experience, anti-Blackness and colorism in South Asian communities, mental illness, and films ???? and it did all that so well. idk, y'all just gotta read this and see for yourselves. the writing was great, too, every word, every line served a purpose. personally, Nur's anxiety hit me so hard. i cried like 7 or 9 times.
what a solid debut for Kasim Ali, an author whose works you definitely need to look out for! ...more
this book gutted me like a fish (ha ha). what a crazy and surreal reading experience it has been for me. ngl i unironically enjoyed it because our narthis book gutted me like a fish (ha ha). what a crazy and surreal reading experience it has been for me. ngl i unironically enjoyed it because our narrator was very compelling, in the sense that i was morbidly curious about what batshit crazy thoughts she will act upon next. the intrusive thoughts keep winning here!
i can never predict the next words that come out of every character's mouth. they were all so unwell and in need of help, the level of delusion was actually quite insane. the self-awareness and mental illness of every single page— it's indescribable. it's so unhinged idk what else to say. one chapter i would be deep in thought about my own mental illness and reflecting on my own life and existence, and then the next chapter i would be reading about fish smut in detail. the most entertaining scenes were the group therapy sessions though (not the fish sex!) because every single character was so fucking crazy. the wit and humor reminded me of Fleabag and Bojack Horseman, and i like those shows a lot. i feel constantly sick reading this book but idk if it's because of the fish sex or because of the mental illness being shown here.
on a more serious note (meaning: let's overlook the entire fish sex plot), the author did an amazing job writing about mental illness, addiction, delusion, dependency, etc etc. the main character's observations of the world felt so real to me, it didn't feel like Broder was trying to write about mental illness— just that this is how her life is being personally experienced and that this is how naturally miserable her life is (.... sorry).
“Why were some sadnesses so much more permissible than others? Why did it seem like everyone was going to be okay except for me?”
so yes, unfortunately for me, i enjoyed this. i am not saying it's a good book so i am not recommending it to anyone ever. i am not exactly the target audience, but i am not above enjoying a very unserious book. i still cannot believe this is an actual published book.. like what does it say about our society that we have a book like this? anyway, i want to study Melissa Broder in a lab. i hate relating to the main character. either she should stop being relatable or i go see a doctor.
“Were my incessant thoughts and feelings just a mechanism to escape the nothingness, or was the nothingness comprised of my thoughts and feelings themselves?”
anyway, it's such a weird and silly little book! fun and entertaining and absurdly hilarious, but also incredibly sad and depressing. i do not recommend! but if you are very tempted to read this still after everything that i said, then i suggest you read it with friends because that makes the experience even more fun and weird. i am lucky to have Allaine and Tina to buddy read this with and to share the experience of reading this silly fucking book together. i would have absolutely hated this book without them....more
Elena Ferrante writes so well. her language is so precise! like how does she find the words to describe complex feelings so exactly? it's amazingElena Ferrante writes so well. her language is so precise! like how does she find the words to describe complex feelings so exactly? it's amazing...more
“You say these things about your life, and it’s like you’re talking about me. It’s like you’re reaching inside me and plucking out a thought or a f“You say these things about your life, and it’s like you’re talking about me. It’s like you’re reaching inside me and plucking out a thought or a feeling I didn’t even know I had. I know that probably sounds weird, but that’s why I used to write down everything you said. You made my life make sense.”...more
120623 (2nd read): 5 stars. ok i get it now oh my fucking god. i get it!!!!
082522 (1st read): 3 stars. this book made me feel so miserable, but i enjo120623 (2nd read): 5 stars. ok i get it now oh my fucking god. i get it!!!!
082522 (1st read): 3 stars. this book made me feel so miserable, but i enjoyed it. it's probably true that this is Sally Rooney's best book, but i personally liked her previous books better. i have the feeling that i'll appreciate this better if i were in my late 20's or early 30's, though i wish to never relate to Sally Rooney books by then (hopefully)....more
this made my mental health both better and worsen.
even though it had slower parts, i still rlly loved the overall story. the characters, the parallelthis made my mental health both better and worsen.
even though it had slower parts, i still rlly loved the overall story. the characters, the parallels, the themes— how it all came full circle. i love the siblings' relationship and how they handle grief differently. i love how they each have a different approach to life and how they eventually come together....more
the feelings of displacement, loneliness, heartache, anger, longing, vulnerability were so palpable throughout the entire book, i felt so heartsick anthe feelings of displacement, loneliness, heartache, anger, longing, vulnerability were so palpable throughout the entire book, i felt so heartsick and sad. identity and belonging are also central themes to the story, and i rlly liked how the feelings of betrayal were expressed when immigrating. the guilt and doubt and regret and resentment were so well-written, i rlly don't know what else to say. the storytelling was immaculate! the way some moments in the story are reduced to its basest facts imitating how the characters would remember and tell them, it's so well-executed. the story spans almost 20 years, so while it felt epic, it was also intimate because of the way it was compressed and told. also, i rlly loved how Andean myths were woven into the stories so smoothly, contrasting the urban landscape of Colombia and the North American cities.
this story would surely stay with me for a long time. ...more
edit: i'm giving it 3 stars after thinking abt it a few more days, but idk it might change
"I wanted to be the only one he saw. And all he could say wa
edit: i'm giving it 3 stars after thinking abt it a few more days, but idk it might change
"I wanted to be the only one he saw. And all he could say was he liked the way I saw things. That I had a good eye. Those were his words. A cold reality, devoid of emotion. He needed me to help him see."
idk what to rate this because i understand both the hate and rave reviews. i did not like the writing at first, and found myself passive until the last 15% or so. i only appreciated the writing style towards the end when i realized how sparse yet brilliant it was. the author has a way with words, every sentence deliberate and purposeful. they have layered meanings and could be interpreted in different ways. it may come off as robotic, but i think it's done on purpose to make you feel the emotional distance the narrator feels.
the icy, quiet atmosphere permeated every scene, and it felt melancholic. i like that every scene was brought to vivid life, and i enjoyed how evocative and artistic these snapshots were rendered. each scene was graphic and expressive, common slice of life scenes were muted yet vibrant (i know those are antonyms but you'll get what i mean if you read it). there was an underlying tension between characters, and much is left unsaid. there was more showing than telling, and we are left to fill in the gaps in between, which i unexpectedly enjoyed. the story tells of a plain life, but it was balanced by the cold atmosphere and the brilliance of the writing. the point here is that it is unremarkable, and only few can appreciate the sparse storytelling and understand the author's intentions, but the overall execution of the story is undeniably skillful. i do not know if i like this yet, because i could be both its number 1 hater AND supporter, but i will definitely try and read the author's future works. consider me intrigued by Dusapin's brain....more
skillfully written, complex, intense. i wish i could write like this in my silly little diary. this would've been a 5 stars, had it not lagged a bit iskillfully written, complex, intense. i wish i could write like this in my silly little diary. this would've been a 5 stars, had it not lagged a bit in the middle.
i like these kinds of stories and would definitely recommend this book to some people! ...more
i received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
RFK has grown a lot as an author. i’m so relieved to see how well-executed this book was. babel isi received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
RFK has grown a lot as an author. i’m so relieved to see how well-executed this book was. babel is an ambitious book with important themes that could only either be a total bop or a flop. idk abt everybody else but when reading TPW you could tell that RFK was still grasping at words and plot, and while TPW had solid themes, it’s not as sophisticatedly executed as in babel. so i’m very happy to find that babel is an absolute bop.
the themes are straightforward and presented in an authentic manner. it is dark academia, after all. i have always held an interest in linguistics and philology, and this tickled my brain in just the right way without being too overwhelming. you simply can’t compare this to other dark academia books. this is on another level of the genre. RFK has redefined dark academia and set a new standard for the entire genre. we sit through enlightening lectures (very nerdy!), go through rigorous exam season (miserable), and ofc— we experience whatever makes dark academia dark (but it’s darker, because the true horror of dark academia lies in the foundation of the institution itself). RFK’s writing has grown to be more refined and mature too; the sentences flow better and paragraphs are smoother than before. the atmosphere, the tension, the setting of every scene is thick and palpable and (idk if it’s the coffee but) i thought my heart would burst out of my chest (haha). with babel, the author has proven herself capable of executing her ambitious ideas. it’s chock full of 19th century British vocabulary, footnotes, historical events, and philology and linguistics texts while still maintaining appropriate humor and a compelling storyline. it sounds intimidating and heavy, and you might be expecting an academic textbook by this— but RFK makes them accessible without dumbing it down too much. it's sobering to reflect on the themes presented, because language is something people don't think much about every day, and one doesn't realize how deeply connected it is to colonialism. so it's excellently done.
but it’s not perfect ofc. the author's presence in the text is quite large; i could feel the sincerity and passion from RFK, but also her plan with certain characters and her train of thought. i found that RFK has a tendency to write specific traits into her main characters and she’s quite heavy-handed with it; it’s like she cannot help but write these kinds of personalities, which is okay, ofc, given the themes and context, but i wonder what type of characters the author could create without these fundamental traits and qualities to their personalities. i mostly enjoyed the characters though i still hope to see her write different types of characters next time.
anyway, there is a little stumbling towards the end, but this is still no doubt an excellent book. i loved reading it! i love learning alongside the characters, experiencing campus life again, and having the story unfold so slowly. the gradual progression of the story felt SO GOOD, idk how else to describe it. i loved the first half better than the second half, and the last part of the book was my least favorite, but i still love the whole book.
TLDR ; this is not your usual dark academia, and i feel like it deserves its own category in the genre. this was absolutely fucking brilliant, what else can i say? just read it on your own and see for yourself....more
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