T Rothschadl

White dudes, plus Mina Crandon's vagina

Revisado: 10-26-24

Helped along by the inherent drama and interest of the topic, this book drags around the middle (I do not need to know this much about the many, many men speculating about the capacity of Mina Crandon's vagina). The interesting stuff--the relationship and psychology of Mina and Roi Crandon--finally comes toward the end. Jaher focuses almost exclusively on white dudes, which is an odd choice for documenting a movement, spiritualism, that has been so deeply intertwined with issues of women and femininity since Day 1 with the Fox sisters. I was quite annoyed by the British narrator's persistent mispronunciations of East Coast North American words, from Antigonish (a town in Nov Scotia) down to the Hartford Courant (a newspaper in Connecticut). Perhaps some due diligence could've been exercised? But otherwise, the narrator was good.

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all about Jia's insides

Revisado: 08-07-24

Fun premise, twisty story, exciting climax. Yet I myself wanted to murder the main character by a few chapters in. (Mom-guilt and shame do not make up the entirety of anyone's inner life--I don't care how divorced they are.) Add to that weird transitions, confusing event descriptions, abrupt conversational shifts, improbable reactions and motivations--this book has the basics of structure down pat, but everything else is just weird, sloppy writing. The very worst thing, though, was the author's descriptions of the physical manifestations of Jia's negative emotions--so repetitive! We get it! Sensations are occurring in her stomach! You can't keep a character's feelings dialed up to 11 constantly without sacrificing the reader's suspension of disbelief and stomping all over their patience. So glad to be done with this book! I only regret that I couldn't find a plot summary to save myself the slog of the second half.

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Conservative nonsense

Revisado: 07-10-24

Colin Elliott objects to regulated trade, welfare "dependence," and--strangely--road signage. I, personally, find these notions unsavory, but hey, he's entitled to his politics. However, on top of this, he projects notions of free market economics backward, arguing that Rome would've been better off with unregulated trade. This is a no-no for historians: you can't criticize people for not embracing ideas no one had even had yet. Queasy politics AND queasy historical craftsmanship. Avoid!

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Childhood favorite, destroyed

Revisado: 05-25-24

The cast of actors is just awful. Mendanbar is flat and awkward. Telemain is annoying. The narrator sounds like she's thinking to herself, "I AM READING FOR CHILDREN." But, like, stupid children. Even when I was a kid, my inner narrator voice didn't speak slowly, enunciation excessively, or exaggerate tome of voice. It just read. Like a normal person. In sum: avoid, avoid.

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I guess...

Revisado: 05-01-24

This book is so complex that it requires deep concentration to consume via audio. Books that I *really* like have sufficiently compelling action and/or characters to engage that concentration, but the balance of Wells's formula didn't quite do it for me, in this case. I don't regret reading it, but I don't want to read it again, either.

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solidly so-so

Revisado: 01-03-23

Promising premise, fun characters, interesting mix of influences (Garth Nix, Welsh mytholgy, Hunger Games, romance novels), but the author's choice of language can be repetitive ("Fallen gods!"; "Y made a Z noise") and the pacing drags at times.

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Writing group and editor: MIA

Revisado: 09-19-22

I'm rarely motivated to review the things I read, but this is a book of the most frustrating sort. There's a lot to draw you in. The premise is interesting, the plot twist is flat-out awesome, the secondary characters and worldbuilding are interesting. But the writer's execution grates on the nerves so badly that you're trapped between wanting to know what happens in the sequel and dreading actually reading it. The repetition is the problem: the language, but also the characterization. Yes, we get it. The main character "has no magic." She is bullied by students and family. Say it a few times, then get out of the way of the story. Where was this author's writing group? Or his editor? Someone, somewhere, has failed to get out their red pen out and perform due diligence, leaving the rest of us to wade through the sort of prose that gives genre fiction a bad name.
PS Pretty disappointed also in the author's failure to engage with the fact that he has made his main character a woman of color.

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Holy anti-Semitic stereotype, Batman!

Revisado: 03-29-19

Loved this playful, sympathetic, and funny book...except for the greedy, hook-nosed Jewish moneylender who plops right down in the middle, ruining everything. Yikes! Why, Edith Nesbit? Why?

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas