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theelliad's reviews
221 reviews
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind
4.0
This is a book of complete chaos and disgust and yet I’m utterly obsessed! The writing style is so beautiful and I found myself rooting for little Grenouille despite how fucked up he is! This book does exactly what it says on the tin…
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
1.0
Well, that was a journey and a half. Did I actually dislike this as much as some of the course books of the same rating…probably not. However, I really really didn’t like this and for several reasons.
1. I wanted to like it so much. Miss Butt I would trust you with my life but evidently not with book taste. My high expectations definitely resulted in this falling so short
2. This book refuses to accept the creepy and paedophilic nature of its own existence. It is so uncomfortable at so many points and yet it’s weirdness is apparently ignored in favour of the plot.
3. It’s approach to many of the themes it touches on is so insulting. From its use of derogatory language towards disabled people and the queer community to its non chalante approach to the concept of rape (a word used as a synonym for eagerness in many cases and then not addressed in cases where consent is actually not confirmed). This adds to the uncomfy nature of the book and honestly made me want to DNF it throughout
4. The concept is so good, the execution is awful- I wanted so badly to love this idea of spontaneous time travel but the way it is used, and the sexual focus of the story just made it fall short
5. There is no character development. Literally how? you are focusing on the same group of people across all of there lives- why are they so boring?
1. I wanted to like it so much. Miss Butt I would trust you with my life but evidently not with book taste. My high expectations definitely resulted in this falling so short
2. This book refuses to accept the creepy and paedophilic nature of its own existence. It is so uncomfortable at so many points and yet it’s weirdness is apparently ignored in favour of the plot.
3. It’s approach to many of the themes it touches on is so insulting. From its use of derogatory language towards disabled people and the queer community to its non chalante approach to the concept of rape (a word used as a synonym for eagerness in many cases and then not addressed in cases where consent is actually not confirmed). This adds to the uncomfy nature of the book and honestly made me want to DNF it throughout
4. The concept is so good, the execution is awful- I wanted so badly to love this idea of spontaneous time travel but the way it is used, and the sexual focus of the story just made it fall short
5. There is no character development. Literally how? you are focusing on the same group of people across all of there lives- why are they so boring?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Homophobia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
A Brief History Of Time: From The Big Bang To Black Holes by Stephen Hawking
3.0
I have learned to love a physics book but this one just didn’t have the same kick as the previous 2! I love all the spacey stuff and the humour though
Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
3.5
It’s rather ironic that my hold on Adichies book commemorating the grief of losing her father came in the day before I bury my own grandad… I feel like this was a definite case of divine timing. In all seriousness I could genuinely listen to Adichie’s words and voice forever, and this was such a lovely exploration of human emotion and experience especially during the covid 19 pandemic when everything- even grief- became harder
The Tyrant's Tomb by Rick Riordan
3.0
These books are still fun and immaculate escapism- they definitely (like the other two series) get darker as they go on. This book also saw the return of characters and a bunch of call backs so was really good :))
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
5.0
Never would I have expected to find a book so triggering and love it so dearly- this was so specific in its traumas it became somewhat healing and I fell in love with the parts of me I saw reflected in these characters. This story of a small town and it’s hockey obsessed people branches into accountability, power, social norms, grief, the exploitation of children in competitive sports, sex and assault politics, homophobia (internalised and external), secrecy, systematic and institutional failures and family dynamics without ever feeling too full. Backmans writing is so easy to love and I will be thinking about this book for a long time
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors
3.0
This book made me both deeply uncomfortable and left me speechless from its misplaced philosophical takes on love, trauma, learning, addiction and aging- if we ignore the wattpad level sex scenes which were both much too frequent and too little in purpose, this book really was quite good. It’s very ‘Normal People’ in its lack of plot and its two badly matched people with many many issues who you continue to route for despite it! There was both relatable and hateable elements to every character which is always fun for me. However- READ THE TRIGGER WARNINGS AND DO NOT READ/AUDIOBOOK THIS IN PUBLIC