The Victorian Chaise-Longue

The Victorian Chaise-Longue

by Marghanita Laski

Blurb:

A young married woman lies down on a chaise-longue and wakes to find herself imprisoned in the body of her alter ego ninety years before.

My Reaction:

I've had this one on my list for years, but now that I've finally read it, I never want to read it again—and that's not because it's so horrifying that I couldn't bear to revisit it.  Though this work of psychological horror certainly is unsettling—and it also happens to feature the type of horror that probably bothers me most, body horror, health horror, medical horror—it's not calculated to leave me sleepless or anxious.  

Sadly, I wouldn't care to read it again because I didn't find it a satisfying reading experience.  Though it's already short, as a novella, it felt in need of yet more pruning.  It could easily have been cut even shorter, and I believe it would have been more effective if it had been.  As it was, it felt repetitive in a way that numbed and stupefied rather than heightening the tension.  (On the other hand, it could have been fleshed out into a more engaging full-length novel, but the repetitiveness still would have needed to be addressed.)

There were some interesting ideas to explore here, especially the way that a culture's standards of morality and acceptable behavior shift over time.  What would be an unpardonable sin during one period of time might be almost a mere foible a hundred years later.  When (not to mention where) we are born can be the difference between life and death, joy and misery.  

As for the ending, maybe it's just a matter of taste... I know some people like open-ended stories, but I'm not one of them.  A little ambiguity can be okay, but this felt disappointing.  At least it was short!

The Writing Retreat

The Writing Retreat

by Julia Bartz

Blurb:

Alex has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. Even the knowledge that Wren, her former best friend and current rival, is attending doesn’t dampen her excitement.

But when the attendees arrive, Roza drops a bombshell—they must all complete an entire novel from scratch during the next month, and the author of the best one will receive a life-changing seven-figure publishing deal. Determined to win this seemingly impossible contest, Alex buckles down and tries to ignore the strange happenings at the estate, including Roza’s erratic behavior, Wren’s cruel mind games, and the alleged haunting of the mansion itself. But when one of the writers vanishes during a snowstorm, Alex realizes that something very sinister is afoot. With the clock running out, she’s desperate to discover the truth and save herself.

My Reaction:

Hm... Not what I was expecting.  This wasn't quite my cup of tea.  (I wasn't expecting it to verge into erotica, for one thing!)

A few thoughts:

—This would have been better without the "book-within-a-book" snippets.  They didn't add much, in my opinion, and ended up being a distraction from the real story.  

—When you have characters speaking about how well-written the "book-within-the-book" is and then include some of said fictional book, there's always the danger of readers thinking, "Eh, this isn't quite the work of genius we've been led to expect."  That's certainly what happened here for me.  Didn't care for it!

—Actually, the entire secondary story about the tragic and/or creepy history of the house feels completely unnecessary.  You may think it's going to be important, but no, it could easily have been left out.  It's supposed to be relevant to the conclusion, helping Alex make realizations and breakthroughs, but... I'm not buying it.  There were other ways to develop the character without dragging in paranormal red herrings and making us read Alex's boring book. 

—I listened to the audiobook, and it took a while for me to get used to the narrator for this one. 

—Had to roll my eyes at a few things, including the scene where the women share their pronouns.  Yes, that felt completely natural and unforced.  No agendas on display here!

—There are a few plot points that may leave you scratching your head, such as a character who looks much younger than she actually is and Alex's mother's bizarre timeline.  (How old is she?!)

—The ending was strange and unsatisfying.  All this build-up to how horrific and crazy a certain character is, then it all just ends with a puff a smoke.  Yes, there are "stakes".  Yes, there are bad things happening, but... 

Ok, I can't write about this without going into spoilers, so...

SPOILER

 ALERT

After all the build-up of danger, even though some characters do die, it feels like the ones you're supposed to really care about are all okay.  And the Bad Guy just agrees to... leave.  It's abrupt, odd, and anticlimactic.  And then when it turns out that Roza is alive (obviously), Alex's reaction is strange and difficult to understand.  She has this bizarre crush on Roza, even after all she's done.  It's gross.  

Since I've already put up the spoiler warning, did Roza really think she'd get away with murder and stealing yet more books?  I mean, I guess it's nothing she hasn't already done, but this feels more visible—more likely to draw the scrutiny of the authorities and possibly raise some eyebrows.  And why?  She's apparently very wealthy, already, and she's established her legacy as a famous literary author, so again, why?  

Artemis

Artemis

by Andy Weir

Blurb:

Jazz Bashara is a criminal.

Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.

Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she's stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.

My Reaction:

First things first:  This was another read-along with Donald and the 372 Pages We'll Never Get Back podcast.  If you're familiar with the premise of the podcast, well, you know how this review will probably go...

I've never read The Martian, and though I saw the movie, I have only vague memories of it.  A science-y tale of survival on Mars, a celebration of the indomitable, can-do human spirit, and... potatoes?  Definitely something about growing potatoes.  Anyway, that's not a lot, but that's about it.  I remember that the protagonist had a distinctive voice that amounted to lots and lots of jokes—the kind of thing that is funny for a while, but would eventually drive you 'round the bend.  

From what little I recall (and a few hastily skimmed reviews), it seems that the attitude that people found charming in The Martian didn't quite land as well in Artemis.  

The main thing I remember about this book is rolling my eyes at what passes for humor and yawning through the boring parts.  Between the juvenile "comedy" and the science info-dump sections, there wasn't much going on (except for tedious descriptions of someone welding).  The protagonist isn't someone you naturally feel the urge to root for, and the whole thing is just blah.  So, yes, this wasn't impressive, but it's far (FAR) from the worst thing we've read with 372-Pages.  

A couple of specific nit-picks:

--Chekhov's reusable condom just peters out (ha ha, see what I did there?) and comes (hee hee) to nothing.  Talk about anti-climactic (hur hur)!  I was expecting some stupid joke at the very end between Jazz and (redacted)... Something supremely clever and witty, like, "Hey, Xxxxx, wanna go give that reusable condom a spin around the ol' block?"  But no, not even that.  It's just a gross idea with no real payoff.

--Jazz's entire ambition and driving force through most of the novel is to get rich.  She doesn't want to go back to Earth; she only wants a nicer home in Artemis—something roomier than her coffin-room with just a bed and a communal bathroom down the hall.  She wants a shower of her own, somewhere to cook, etc.  

Hm.  Sounds like homes in Artemis must be prohibitively expensive!  Except... Did I miss something?  

One of her friends, Svoboda, has a place that sounds an awful lot like what she wants, and while he's intelligent and reasonably successful, I don't think he's supposed to be particularly wealthy.  Also, Jazz's father also has a place of his own, right?  It seems like a lot of people on Artemis do...

So why is Jazz's dream out of reach without some once-in-a-lifetime "big score"?  Why can't she just do a normal job, save a bit, and earn enough for a decent home?  She's supposed to be so amazingly bright that it should be easy for her to find a job that pays well enough for that.  I just don't get it.  (Okay, I just remembered, thanks to the blurb, that she has "debts" to pay, but still.  I don't think it makes much sense that she's struggling this hard.)

Actually, a lot of things (economics, population) don't hold up well to serious scrutiny.  If I were having fun while reading, I might not be tempted to pick holes, but without entertainment value, the mind wanders. 

Overall?  No, not a good read for me.  

Hidden Pictures

Hidden Pictures

by Jason Rekulak

Blurb:

Mallory Quinn is fresh out of rehab when she takes a job as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy.

Mallory immediately loves it. She has her own living space, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body.

Then, Teddy’s artwork becomes increasingly sinister, and his stick figures quickly evolve into lifelike sketches well beyond the ability of any five-year-old. Mallory begins to wonder if these are glimpses of a long-unsolved murder, perhaps relayed by a supernatural force.

Knowing just how crazy it all sounds, Mallory nevertheless sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy before it’s too late.

My Reaction:

I found this an enjoyable paranormal thriller.  It made a change to get a Christian main character.  It's been a long time since I've read anything (written in the recent past) that didn't portray Christians as either boring simpletons or evil hypocrites, so this was a nice surprise.  

Judging by some of the reviews I skimmed after finishing the book, this novel has struck a nerve with some readers, to an amusing degree.  I guess a book has to be 100% "woke af" to pass the smell test.  (Purity spirals are so much fun.)  

I, on the other hand, thought the author did a decent job of not being totally skewed in one direction or the other, politically.  I'm bemused that people read this and thought it was "right-wing propaganda" full of "conservative dog whistles", because that's not at all how it came across to me.  I didn't agree with or like everything in it, but on the other hand, it didn't slap me across the face with so many obnoxious political opinions that it was impossible to enjoy the story.  It walked the line better than many other recently published books I've read.

I wouldn't say this was amazing, unbelievably good, or mind-blowing.  On the contrary, some of the twists are predictable, and at times I found the writing style a bit odd, almost as though it were written for a slightly younger audience—but it was an entertaining read, all the same.  The drawings add an interesting element, too.  

This would probably ordinarily be a 3 or 3.5 for me, but I'll bump it up to 4 just because I appreciate reading about a Christian character presented as a normal person.