Tag Archive for: Literary Fiction

,

Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow

Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And TomorrowTitle: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Genre: Literary Fiction
Format: Audio
Pages: 401
Length: 13h 52m
Narrator: Jennifer Kim, Julian Cihi
Rating:

My Thoughts

I’m honestly not sure how I feel about TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW. There are aspects I loved and others I didn’t. Even though the story was slow, I felt compelled to keep reading. I loved how well the story shows the evolution of relationships—how they can grow stronger, become weaker, or break under life’s pressures. I also loved that this story showed that life is a matter of perspective and communication. I loved the look at grief and how individual it is. I’m not sure I cared for Sam or Sadie very much. They often seemed selfish, especially when it came to their games, success, and each other.

The God Of The Woods

The God Of The WoodsTitle: The God of the Woods
Author: Liz Moore
Genre: Literary Fiction
Format: Audio
Pages: 478
Length: 14h 36m
Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld
Rating:

My Thoughts

I thought THE GOD OF THE WOODS was a very interesting read with a lot to discuss (i.e., it’s a great book for a book club). I wanted to love it, but I didn’t. I loved the concept, but the story seemed really disjointed, way too long, and so depressing. I also despised most of the characters, making it hard for me to love the story since I’m a character-driven, rather than plot-driven, reader.

I don’t think I was in the right frame of mind when I started this one. However, it’s my book club’s pick for November so I kept going. I would’ve rather read this when I was more in the mood for this type of story. I might’ve liked it more, but maybe I wouldn’t have. The beginning held so much promise and then it just kept letting me down.

My Friends

My FriendsTitle: My Friends
Author: Fredrik Backman
Genre: Literary Fiction
Format: Audio
Pages: 436
Length: 13h 7m
Narrator: Marin Ireland
Rating:

My Thoughts

I don’t know what it is about Fredrik Backman, but he has the ability to tell a story with so much feeling and depth without it being boring or seeming contrived. He writes characters, situations, and the feelings of both better than any other author I’ve read. I love his ability to tell his stories in parts.

MY FRIENDS was a beautiful story about growing up, found family, resilience, and finding the silver lining in really shitty circumstances. It deals with hard topics like bullying, immigration, abuse, sickness, and grief. Even though the story is sad, it’s interspersed with laughter and happiness, and ends with a feeling of hope. There are also a lot of farts (iykyk). This one kept me guessing until the end and I loved taking the journey with the characters.

Hello Beautiful

Hello BeautifulTitle: Hello Beautiful
Author: Ann Napolitano
Genre: Literary Fiction
Format: Audio
Pages: 383
Length: 15h 6m
Narrator: Maura Tierney
Rating:

My Thoughts

HELLO BEAUTIFUL is a touching story about love, loss, depression, betrayal, forgiveness, and second chances. Even though I’m not a huge fan of Little Women, I liked how Napolitano used it to shape the Padavano sisters. (And, in this case, Laurie ended up with the right sister.)

This book will definitely give my book club a lot to discuss. Also, while I didn’t mind the audio for the most part, there were times that I thought the narrator sounded robotic and with no emotion in her voice.

, ,

Ariadne

AriadneTitle: Ariadne
Author: Jennifer Saint
Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
Format: Audio
Pages: 308
Length: 11h 59m
Narrator: Barrie Kreinik
Rating:

My Thoughts

I really love Greek Mythology even though I don’t remember most of the details I learned about each myth back in high school. I was excited to read ARIADNE because I also love retellings. However, I don’t really think it can be considered a retelling as it was just a written account of one version of Ariadne’s mythos. Retellings should put new spins on old myths or fairy tales.

Despite that ARIADNE isn’t a retelling, I still enjoyed reading it and relearning about her. The writing was interesting and kept me engaged. I wanted to know what was going to happen and I hoped the story would go a certain way. I also loved the inclusion of her sister Phaedra’s life outside of Crete. I now look forward to reading Jennifer Saint’s other books surrounding Greek mythology.