May Reading Review
Slowly moving through my TBR
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I actually cannot believe how fast May went by. I am trying to average at least five books a month and feel short here, but c’est la vie. I had ample time to breeze through Yesteryear during jury duty. When not reading, I spent my month enjoying the heat and doing some clay crafts; I would love to hear how your month went! June will bring beach reading (or pool reading) which I am elated for.
Medium Rare - A. Natasha Joukovsky
The myth of Icarus told through a March Madness bracket tournament.
This was so fun! The writing is precise; I can tell every word was meticulously picked and every sentence edited down to exact meaning. I thought this was a great critique about overnight fame and inauthenticity. I loved the choice to have the story told through a narrator, Cassandra, and the choice to connect her to the Greek Cassandra as a “unreliable narrator.” All of the basketball games portrayed in the novel are also exact play-by-plays of real March Madness games which shows just how much love and effort went into this work.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Portrait of a Mirror - A. Natasha Joukovsky
Because I loved the writing style of Medium Rare, I went straight for Joukovsky’s first novel. This is another retelling, now about the myth of Narcissus.
“Of all the dangers in life, there is perhaps none more treacherous than getting precisely what you want. As it has been said, the mistakes we male and female mortals make when we have our own way persist in raising wonder at our fondness of it. For unbought dresses can never be stained. Uneaten food doesn’t make you fat, and unconsumed alcohol won’t give you a hangover. Only unwritten novels are perfect.”
― A. Natasha Joukovsky, The Portrait of a Mirror
The story follows two couples as their lives weave and bob through each other’s. I found this to drag in the middle as it explores character dynamics and internal worlds of the couples. There is cheating involved which I personally hate reading. I found the characters to lack personality and would often confuse them. I still enjoyed this read but doubt I would pick it up again.
⭐⭐⭐
Yesteryear - Caro Claire Burke
Yesteryear follows a trad wife influencer as she is transported back to 1855 to actually live the way she promotes.
Let me start by saying: I liked this book! I found it engaging and easy to fly through in a few days. But it does have its problems and goes completely off the rails in the latter half of the book. I’ve seen a few people defend its issues by saying “it’s satire!”, to which I say, “satire can still be done poorly.” This post really sums up all of my thoughts in depth, especially because I try to keep these reviews spoiler free:
⭐⭐⭐.5
Paradise Logic - Sophie Kemp
Reality Kahn is on a quest, one given at birth, to become the perfect girlfriend.
“Remember when I bought you that hat from Lids?” I did. It was a disturbing memory.”
― Sophie Kemp, Paradise Logic
This was wild! It’s surrealism at its finest. Some parts can be sexually vulgar, but overall, there is so much to unpack. Reality’s character made me question how we relate to trauma and how we find meaning when all else feels pointless. I really loved how it satirized/criticized the NY artist and pretentious grad student caricatures. Paradise Logic is really a trip and will likely fall flat to a general audience, but if you like weird and outlandish, I recommend this!
Yesteryear has been on my tbr for the longest. Is this my sign?👀