Reading Recap: August '25

 

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

I absolutely devoured this over the course of 48 hours on my annual camping trip. I knew the major themes of the book, but I managed to stay mostly spoiler free which I think is a big part of my rating. Flynn gracefully straddled the line of having her book be direct enough to zip through, yet vague enough that your imagination wanders. With such an unreliable narrator, who knows what really happened? Her descriptions are unexpectedly disgusting. I need to read it five more times.

    Another aspect Flynn killed (haha) was the reveal. I won't spoil it, but she did a great job of setting it up and still including something refreshing. Every character is written with empathy even if they seem cartoonishly evil at times. It feels a lot like the grown up version of V.C. Andrews, which is probably why I like it so much. / ★★★★½

 

The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard

This was another last-minute grab for Storygraph Reads the World. I guess I thought it would focus more on the sisters' relationship. They were barely in the room with each other, and their relationship was much more of a jumping off point for various romantic escapades than a central element. It pisses me off that we're supposed to care for the two of them without seeing more of their chemistry.

    I wanted so badly to like it. Hazzard's writing is phenomenal--I think she could write a bestseller about watching paint dry and geewhiz if she doesn't give it a shot here. Maybe I'm just anti-romance, but for all the drama in this book, none of it hit. The ending tries to blow everything else out of the water and ends up feeling out of place. Caroline I could save you. / ★★★

 

Crumb: A Cartoonist's Life by Dan Nadel

I've hashed out my criticisms with this book with so many different people that I'll try to keep it short and sweet: it works better as a movie. The book is well written, but the nature of autobiographies means it's detached. Unemotional. Crumb is supposed to be an off-putting martyr figure, not a guy who does X, Y, and Z. I haven't seen Terry Zwigoff's movie, so it's pure speculation when I say that his atmosphere is much more encompassing of the "Crumb" persona. It extra hurt because I waited a month on the library hold list for lukewarm word vomit and the illustration I wanted as a poster doesn't exist online. To be fair, Nadel did a good job of providing context and alternate viewpoints surrounding Crumb's work. He doesn't shy away from accusations of racism or sexism, and creates a more well-rounded account because it. / ★★★

 

Stories and Early Novels: Pulp Stories by Raymond Chandler

Raymond Chandler I am so sorry, but short stories just aren't my thing. Chandler's stories are better than most because they present a complete world--still, that's nothing compared to the feeling you get when you sink into one of his full-length novels. Noir is meant to meander and gradually build until a million seemingly-unrelated details converge, not move from point A to point B. It was interesting to read them in chronological order and see him start to toy with the genre, and I think his stories that weren't about detectives were a lot more creative and entertaining. In Pearls are a Nuisance he did just decide to write two gay man and I appreciated that. "When it came to the clinch down there in that brush with us two alone and no holds barred I just was too soft to go through with the deal. Tell that blond you got a loop on I was asking for her." / ★★★½

 

Damned by Chuck Palahniuk

Palahniuk fell into the trap of getting older. Sure, Damned is more polished than his earlier novels, but it isn't as cocky and it certainly doesn't have as strong a premise. At times it feels like a half-baked parody and the cliff-hanger screams "I didn't finish this in time for my deadline" instead of "let's write a series." That being said, I was pleasently surprised at how much I grew to care about Madison. Strange teenage girls can do whatever they want and I'll eat it up every time. It made me want to reread Choke, which isn't something I ever expected to say. I'm not sure if I'll ever complete this series. Maybe in another couple months when I've fallen victim to the Palahniuk bug again. He's a tricky little man and I'll probably never manage to write him off for good. / ★★½

 

The Rainmaker by John Grisham

Oh god where do I even begin. I don't remember a lot about the movie, but it was very fun to imagine all of this shit happening to poor little Matt Damon. Grisham does an amazing job at making the court scenes dynamic, and I think he's a lot like Chandler in his writing style. The reader is fed tidbits throughout the first couple hundred pages, and the closer you get to the trial the more you feel like everything is going to fall into place or come crashing down. The ending was fascinating from an author's point of view because Grisham decided the reader wouldn't like Baylor if he got rich. He's relatable because he sucks and he doesn't have a dollar to his name. I need to read his entire bibliography immediately and maybe go to law school but no I would probably die first that's literally the moral of the story. Kill Matt Damon! / ★★★★½

 

6 books — 2401 pages — avg 3.50 ★