Initial thought: What did I just read???
I think most people have at least heard of this novel at this point thanks to the film adaptation released in 2023 starring Emma Stone, Willem Defoe, and Mark Ruffalo. I haven’t yet seen it, but I will admit to having looked it up to see if it ended the same way. It absolutely does not end the same way. As a matter of fact, its drastic pivot at the finale causes it to have a very different tone and meaning. In case you are new to the party, this is a Frankenstein-inspired novel in which an eccentric doctor, Godwin Baxter, creates a young woman by transplanting the brain of her unborn child into the woman and reanimating her. The subsequent scenes of the novel follow her coming of age and her discovery of all that is pleasurable and horrifying about the world into which she was thrust. Like Frankenstein’s creature, she learns at an intensely rapid rate and possesses great intelligence. Unlike Frankenstein’s creature, she has a lot of sex.
I listened to this one, and I can safely say I don’t recommend that format. Firstly, there are illustrations. That should speak for itself. Secondly, there’s so much going on here with the format of the text, it makes things a bit confusing. We get the analyzation and historical notes by Gray, a fictionalized version of himself that the author uses to introduce the source materials. We also get a book written by Archibald McCandless which he presents as his autobiography before subsequently getting a response to this book from Bella who sheds serious doubts on the truths supposedly in the text. Then it becomes sort of a choose your own adventure book because you basically have to decide whose account you want to believe.
Whatever the truth to Bella’s origin, there are some intense truths in this. Bella’s coming of age, or her awakening, could be true whether she possesses the brain of an infant or the fully developed brain of a woman. In such a time, women were designed to be ignorant to the realities of the world to protect their “delicate sensibilities.” Over time, Bella discovers her passions for social justice, sex, and the creation of her own identity. How many women during the Victorian period were basically grown women with the minds of children having been stunted by society’s dictates? In that respect, this novel is amazingly profound.
There were some quite dull moments that had me zoning out from time to time, especially parts surrounding conversations about politics during the 19th century. These were, of course, important for Bella in crafting her identity, but for me they were a bit painful and I wished they’d be over. The most miserable portion was Alasdair Gray’s historical notes at the very end. I didn’t feel I needed most of them and, in some cases, couldn’t even recall if the people discussed had been present in the actual story. I assume I zoned out during their first introduction, so it was boring in both places.
As any and all narrators are utterly unreliable, I was constantly on my toes wondering what exactly was going on. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, Gray throws in one final line that turns everything upside down again. So if you like novels in which reader interpretation is required, this is the book for you. At times it does read like a Victorian era classic with some modern twists. I can’t say I necessarily enjoyed reading this, but I do believe it has a lot of meaning and lot of literary merit. The writing is brilliant, and Bella is an utterly fascinating character. Overall, I give this one 4 stars out of respect for the sheer uniqueness of this novel.
First published January 1, 1992. This version published December 1, 2023 by Clipper Audiobooks. ISBN 9781004146277. Runtime 9 hrs 16 mins. Narrated by Russ Bain and Kathryn Drysdale.
The world of publishing can be a fickle place. One minute vampires are trending to be replaced by witches or werewolves the next cycle. Things usually cycle back again, but it’s a bit like the tide going in and out. You know what doesn’t go out of style, however? Creepy old houses. Why? Because they are awesome. 
In 1941, 100 copies of a memoir by Alice Edna Bush Berry were published privately by a small press. The book was called “The Bushes and the Berrys” and recounted the family histories of the Bush and Berry families and their subsequent adventures into the Klondike where they would strike it rich, as well as their later foray into the oil business. 
Eighty-two years later, Ariel Djanikian, a descendant of the Bush and Berry families, would release this novel that delves much more deeply into the impact the Gold Rush not only had on this one family, but also on the landscape and the groups of Natives displaced by the rush of white Americans hell-bent on claiming the “free” land that would make them rich.
This is my favorite question and often the most difficult one to answer. My only planned read is The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng. I actually started this audiobook a while back and got distracted by something else almost immediately, so I will go back to it and start over again when I finish Poor Things. From there, the possibilities are endless! That’s it for me. What are you reading lately?
This positively delightful cover is the first in a new series by Benedict Jacka, who is otherwise known for his Alex Verus series. I haven’t read it, but it’s quite popular with readers of urban fantasy. As a reader, I’m not particularly dedicated to any one genre, which gives me a lot of variety, but I’m far from a fantasy aficionado. I enjoy a good fantasy title from time to time. This one I mostly chose because of the cover art. Translation: presence of cat on cover. No really, the cover is gorgeous. And … cat. Ok, in all seriousness this one is my reading challenge pick for a book about or including cats in some capacity, so score one for me. 
There’s a lot of potential for Jacka to knock it out of the park in the subsequent books. He’s got a great setup, and he left us with a pretty major teaser in the final words, so time will tell if he can capture that full potential in execution. He’s good at crafting action sequences that are fast-moving and suspenseful, and I anticipate there will be a major uptick in these from this point forward. Also, on Jacka’s blog he JUST announced the cover reveal for the 2nd in the series, and it’s also a beauty. It’s planned for release on October 15, 2024, so that’s something to anticipate.
I guess you could say I’m reviewing the entire Midlife Trilogy in one review, because I read the first two during my slight unplanned hiatus from blogging and their reviews wound up being really quick goodreads reviews. I didn’t do them justice, and that isn’t fair because this is a really wonderful series. All three books follow three friends: Helen, Caro and Kay. Each woman is unique to her own experiences, but they have a bond forged by almost a lifetime of shared history. The Midlife Trilogy begins with 
I have quite literally been stuck on this review for weeks. I decided today to just dive in and give it a go and maybe I can talk myself through the conflicting feelings. I’m sure many of you have at least heard something about this book. It was voted as the Goodreads Choice awards pick for best fiction, and it won by a lot. While I haven’t read all the other choices, I definitely wouldn’t have voted for this one. It follows the story of June Hayward, a white woman whose closest friend (loose term), Athena, dies in an almost comically freak accident right in front of June. Athena Liu was a star in the publishing world. She was adored and lauded as a literary genius. June? Not so much. June, knowing that Athena has not shared any information regarding her new novel with anyone, steals the manuscript and releases it under the racially ambiguous name Juniper Song, and as the success starts rolling in she grapples with guilt and issues of racial identity and public controversy.
It is Valentine’s Day, my darlings, and what better way to celebrate than with a nice horror novel? That’s right, life sucks and then you die, and some people die in horrible, awful ways. How nice that Stephen King is always here to tell us in graphic detail the myriad of ways in which those poor unfortunate souls are oofed. Happy Valentine’s Day!
This novel is the first work of historical fiction written by author, Annie Lyons. Prior to this dive into history, she had released several titles in the genre of Uplit, and I think this is important to understanding the reason for some of the qualms I had with The Air Raid Book Club, which I will get into later. First of all, what is Uplit? Essentially, as suggested by the title, it’s uplifting literature that’s packed with emotion, life lessons, and has an intense focus on human relationships. There’s often a quirky every-man/woman character who starts off a bit curmudgeonly and softens a bit over the course of the story. Think A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman or Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, two of my personal faves. There’s a major element of self discovery no matter the age of the protagonist. So, with this little intro to the genre, let’s keep that in mind as we explore this book a bit further. 
I had absolutely no expectations when I picked up this novel. The cover was quite intriguing, but I’d never read any books by Phillips despite her having quite a few titles under her belt. This book was, in fact, a National Book Award Nominee for fiction in 2023. The concept of a book set at a late-1800’s asylum led me to believe it would be insanely dark and ridiculously disturbing in a very fascinating way. That was not, actually, what I found upon reading this novel. 
A Librarian and Her Books 