Tag: Literary Fiction

Review: Weepers

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Title: Weepers
Author: Peter Mendelsund
Pages: 320
Release: June 17, 2025

A melancholy and surreal neo-Western about a band of professional mourners who offer their tear-laden eyes to a desiccated world. It evokes Station Eleven, with its troupe of performers bringing their artistry and gifts to a world now bereft of them.

Our narrator, Ed, has a very distinct worldview and his colorful oratory style held me in thrall throughout. For instance, he describes a perky character as having, “…all that vim just soda-popping through her veins,” and someone who is even-keeled as, “…sticking to his fucking row, sure as shooting, regular as rust.” 

The vibes in this book are just off the charts, and I really dug how it all played out. Mendelsund has crafted a unique tale that will surely stick in my craw. It’s sad and mournful and centered around death, yet it pulses with life in Ed’s eyes and through his narration.

★★★★

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Ours

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Title: Ours
Author: Phillip B. Williams
Pages: 592
Release: February 20, 2024

An absolute masterclass in storytelling. Ours is a tour de force and one of the best novels I’ve read in ages.

I cannot say enough good things about Ours, an epic historical fantasy set in an enchanted town named Ours that serves as a safe haven for freed slaves. Told over four decades, Phillip B. Williams charts the plight of Ours and its inhabitants as they experience the challenges and triumphs of being free and safe amidst a still-hostile world. It’s epic in scope, dense and demanding, but it’s extremely rewarding. 

Williams is a poet and that becomes abundantly clear the more time you spend immersed in the book. Each sentence and paragraph is so beautifully crafted and it was a pleasure to luxuriate in his words. Please do not be scared away by the high page count as each and every page is infused with magic, wonder, and heart.

★★★★★
✪ SPECULATIVE SHELF STARRED BOOK

My thanks to the public library for providing me with a post-release copy in exchange for a promise that I’ll return it within 14 days. (I did).

Review: Beautyland

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Title: Beautyland 
Author: Marie-Helene Bertino
Pages: 336 
Release: January 16, 2024 

Bertino skillfully dissects the alien nature of growing up and the complexities of human existence with dry wit, deadpan observational comedy, and incisive insights into life’s little absurdities.

This is a rare book where the concept and execution are both pitch perfect. Even if you dropped the fact that the main character is (oh by the way) an alien, this would still be a wonderful coming of age story. The alien angle is just gravy that Bertino plays with to great (tragi)comedic effect. Her writing is heartfelt, deeply funny, and without a whiff of cynicism about it. I loved this and can’t recommend it highly enough. 

★★★★★
✪ SPECULATIVE SHELF STARRED BOOK

My thanks to the public library for providing me with a post-release copy in exchange for a pinky promise that I’ll give it back within 14 days. (I did).

Review: Sea of Tranquility

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Title: Sea of Tranquility (April 5, 2022)
Author: Emily St. John Mandel
Pages: 272

It’s easy to get swept away to Emily St. John Mandel’s far flung settings as the story briskly moves from moment to moment, character to character, and timeline to timeline. St. John Mandel’s writing is clean and the plot never lingers long enough for inertia to set in. And while that makes for a quick read, there’s a certain slightness to the story that’s hard to shake. St. John Mandel raises interesting questions and ideas, but doesn’t really explore them in any deep, meaningful way. 

I was lukewarm on Station Eleven, even though I loved the vibe and world St. John Mandel had crafted. I felt similarly about this book. I wanted to be more invested than I was and the major moments did not hit me as hard as I hoped they would.

HBO’s adaptation of Station Eleven is one of the best shows I’ve watched in years, so perhaps I just need to wait for Sea of Tranquility to get the same treatment someday.

★★★¼

My thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: How High We Go in the Dark

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Title: How High We Go in the Dark (January 18, 2022)
Author: Sequoia Nagamatsu
Pages: 304

A euthanasia theme park, a talking pig named Snortorious P.I.G., and a funerary hotel. There is no shortage of dark humor to be found among the increasingly macabre story beats of How High We Go in the Dark. Even so, some sections are just incredibly devastating to read and that’s a credit to Nagamatsu’s excellent writing. 

Not every vignette worked for me, but the ones that did were awfully affecting. My investment in each small story waned as we moved farther away from the “present day,” but the ever-evolving interconnectedness of the narratives was intriguing to track throughout.

If you’re looking for an escape from our current pandemic-ridden world, this is not the right book for you. If you can put that aside, there’s some really effective storytelling at work here. 

★★★¾

My thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.