#7 A Collection of Near-Perfect Reads
Not quite earth-shattering, but there was definitely a wobble
Gosh, I picked chunky books this go around! I’m usually a < 300 pages type girl because I find conciseness is just as important as story; but two of the books I really wanted to read happened to be bigger so I ventured out of my comfort zone.
Boy Parts by Eliza Clark 4/5
“Do you like it rough? I think so. I think I must. Men are rough, aren’t they? Have I always had a taste for rough stuff, or did I acquire that? In the back of Lesley’s car, on the floor of a friend’s house, half-conscious with my underwear around my ankles? Was it my idea to have him hurt me, or did he just let me think it was?”
This book was so completely deranged but I loved it. It came from a TikTok recommendation of female authors — some female energy was desperate needed of the back of several male authors.
It’s about a photographer who is very attractive and seems to get everything she wants but she has been through a lot of trauma which manifests itself in her relationships and work. It is very dark and has some twists and turns where you think they won’t take it there but they do, and then some.
Previously I wrote about how I didn’t enjoy Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, which has a similar chaotic energy but where Boy Parts succeeds is how it drip feeds you why the Irina, the main character, is how she is. You think there isn’t a method to her madness because she doesn’t think there is but the reveal is really heartbreaking.
Misery by Stephen King 4/5
“The shuddering would not stop. The pain was like the end of the world. He thought: There comes a point when the very discussion of pain becomes redundant. No one knows there is pain the size of this in the world. No one. It is like being possessed by demons.”
The concept of this was not particularly captivating but… it’s Stephen King.
An author is kidnapped by his number one fan after a car crash and forced to write a continuation of his best selling novels. It does feel a bit self-grandiose because it’s about writers and talking in depth about their process and methods.
But the more I read, the more I loved it — which isn’t surprising — the pacing is basically perfect; it draws you in and keeps you hooked and you don’t even notice it happening. I also enjoyed the parallel between the book the author is writing and the actual story — it was very meta.
The descriptions of the authors pain were very vivid, to the point where I would physically wince at times. The villain was a classic ‘psychopath’ — crazy for the sake of crazy — there was an attempt at giving her a backstory but I felt her childhood messiness didn't justify the insane things she was doing.
This is the second King book I’ve read and although it was formulaic there’s still no disappointment. I know I’m going to get an edge of the seat, can’t put down thriller and he delivered.
1984 by George Orwell 4/5
“Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.”
A classic I actually enjoyed (sorry Dostoevsky)!
The idea of this seems pretty simple now because there’s many a story built around it but while reading I kept remembering this was a first of it’s kind. There isn’t much nuanced take I could have that hasn't already been said but it really was groundbreaking.
It follows man stuck in a world with an oppressive regime — they control the language, the news, history, the food, everything. And they are always watching. If you slip up even with a negative thought they would not only imprison and torture you but erase you from existence.
I enjoyed the themes of freedom of thought/speech, dangers of group-think and control that were explored. The ending also wasn’t happy or sad which was unexpected, even though I couldn't guess how it would end, when it did I realised it couldn't have ended any other way.
I am fiending for more books with unlikable/unhinged female protagonists. Despite getting comfort from knowing the general plot of a book there is something inviting about absolute chaos that only comes together on the very last page.
