The stories within Beijing Sprawl aren’t cozy or happy, necessarily, but they feel like they capture a moment of life that will become nostalgic, and that growing nostalgia bleeds through the page.
Tag Archives: Food for thought
Despite Unevenness, ‘Deer Woman’ a Compelling Read
The disjointed nature between the flowing river of words and characterizations afforded Starr and those she comes into contact with versus the gravel pit given to the villains makes Deer Woman feel at times as though it had been written by two authors taking turns, or composed of two different manuscripts shuffled together.
‘Death’ Asks Timely Questions with Robots
Death of the Author has a lot to say about art, its creation, and those who make it for us that is more relevant than ever.
‘Girl’ Ponders Trauma, Identity
The Girl Before Her feels less like a narrative than it does someone trying to work out where they’ve come from and how they ended up in their present place and as their present selves. The reader is a ghost over Papin’s shoulder as she turns herself, and her family, inside and out in search of answers.
‘Last Call’ Echoes Uncomfortably to Present
History repeats itself; whether or not you study it, chances are your recently elected political leaders haven’t. But I found unlikely optimism in this niche book of history.
‘Woods’ More Human Nature than Thriller
In The God of the Woods, Moore isn’t concerned with crafting a whodunnit so much as a careful sketch of a far more human story.
‘Nest’ a Cozy Exploration of Monstrosity
It’s hard to pick a favorite element in this “cozy horror.” Is it the blood and gore? The love story? The neurodivergent or asexual rep? The family trauma? Somehow, it manages to be all of the above.
‘Chronicles’ An Intimate Look at One ‘Backyard’
It’s lovely and intimate to read such inner thoughts of another person. It’s intimate, too, to see Tan’s drawings improve over the years and the birds within them grow increasingly lifelike.
‘Bigfoot’ an Earnest Dive into Cryptid Lore
Even if I haven’t come away from this book believing in Sasquatch any more than I did going in, I have a far greater belief in the very real place, and effect, these stories have in our world.
‘West’ Ponders History Through Poem and Essay
West isn’t, and cannot be, an all-encompassing history of a time and place, but it is a fascinating and weighty addition to a more comprehensive view of the region that millions of us call home.
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