Mini-Reviews: Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman & Self-Portrait With Boy Rachel Lyon

Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman

Del Rey, 2018

367 pages. Hardcover.

Likes:
What drew me to this book was the main premise of a woman with a medical condition that basically puts her into a death-like coma at unpredictable intervals, and this idea did end up being one that was explored thoroughly, both by Carol and her late friend John Bowie. I don't read an abundance of Western books, but I was looking forward to that being the setting for this book, and I think Malerman made that aspect fit really well with the story. Malerman's writing style also really shines in this book, as he does a wonderful job of capturing the mix of emotions that speed through his characters' heads as they move through the story. Unbury Carol is a slow-moving, very character-focused sort of book that builds up to a a clever ending.

Dislikes:
I was honestly just disappointed with this book in general. There wasn't anything overly bad about it, but it was just.. lacking. There wasn't really much of a plot there and I feel like the 'plot' that was there could have all been wrapped up in about a hundred pages or so. There were characters that didn't feel like they needed to be there and I felt that the concept I was so excited for was lost somewhere in the mix. I think a big problem I also had was that there never really seemed to be a strong enough motivation for Dwight to want to kill his wife. There was also a weird sense of urgency that seemed to pop out of nowhere and just didn't quite fit.

Overall, I'm mixed on this one. I enjoyed aspects of this book, but I also consistently wondered why I was reading this and what the point was. I've decided to go with three stars for this one.

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository


Self-Portrait with Boy by Rachel Lyon
Scribner, 2018
376 pages. Hardcover.

Likes:
Self-Portrait with Boy is an unassuming novel that packs a huge punch in ways that were much different than I expected. Briefly, this story tells of Lu Rile, a young aspiring photographer who accidentally captures an image of her upstairs neighbor's young son falling to his death through her window while taking her own photograph. Although this premise is what drew me to this book and does provide an overarching storyline, this is not, surprisingly, the main focus of this book at many times. Lu is such a relatable character in some ways, and although I couldn't connect with her on major lifestyle aspects, there were so many sections that I found myself marking because I just felt like she was reading my own personal thoughts about things. This is an extremely quick read, both because it is written very simply, but also because it is hard to put down. This is one of those literary novels that doesn't use quotation marks, and this seemed to only make the story go quicker and I really liked how it added to the somewhat depressing and fatigued nature of the story.

Dislikes:
The only major dislike I had was that this book was not what I was expecting. The issue of Lu capturing a photograph of her upstairs neighbor's son was indeed a huge part of this book, but there was so much more in this story than just that. This book covers a small chunk of life about living as a rather destitute artist in early '90s Brooklyn, something that I didn't expect--though I did very much enjoy it. There was also a small, recurring storyline about a ghost that just didn't make much sense to me, though it did end up being important at the end of the story.

Overall, I liked this book a lot. As a warning: it's incredibly bleak. I definitely found myself feeling a bit ore depressed than usual while reading this book, so just keep that in mind if you're sensitive to books that seem to bleed into your own life. Otherwise, I would absolutely recommend this book for the variety of topics it delves into. Four stars!

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository

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Tuesday Double Feature: Tell Me Something Tuesday & First Chapter Tuesday

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post hosted by Rainy Day Ramblings where a wide range of topics from books to blogging are discussed. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog.

This week's topic: Are you more inclined/ less inclined to read books that are compared to other popular books or authors?

 To be honest, I'm not entirely sure if this sort of description affects me too much one way or the other. Unless a book's description is just extremely annoying or rubs me the wrong way, then I'm pretty likely to just ignore the comparisons and read the book anyway. Comparisons might occasionally make me interested in a title, but they don't generally turn me off from a book (usually because a majority of the time the comparison is off).

I definitely get annoyed by certain book/author comparisons, namely Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Star Wars, etc. comparisons. Not everything is 'like Harry Potter for adults' or 'Game of Thrones meets [insert random book/movie here]'. How about we just don't do that? If an author was specifically inspired by a certain book or author that has a big franchise, then I'm totally fine with something akin to 'inspired by [whatever book] here,' but I don't think they should actively compare the book for no real reason. I know it's all about marketing and the average buyer is more likely to pick up a book that markets itself as similar to Harry Potter, but I wish we could stop doing that because if all the books that claimed to be like Harry Potter or Game of Thrones actually were, we'd have very little variety.

The most recent example of a time when book/movie comparisons ended up both intriguing me and thenn disappointing me was with Jay Kristoff's latest release, LIFEL1K3. One of LIFEL1K3's main advertising sell is: "It's Romeo & Juliet meets Mad Max meets X-men with a little bit of Bladerunner cheering from the sidelines." Now, I don't hate this. I think it's fun and it did make me pretty intrigued by this book, but it also sort of gave me too  many expectations. It almost spoiled the book in a sense by giving away so much about what it's like and what it's perhaps trying to be. It also really frustrated me because of how disappointed I was in the book because it felt so unoriginal (I'll expand on this in my review for LIFEL1K3, which should be up Thursday). This particular instance of comparing has both pros and cons and although I think it successfully piqued the interest of a lot of readers, it personally left me wanting and slightly annoyed. I will say that I prefer it to the generic Harry Potter type ones, but I still felt a bit disappointed by it.

Minor digression aside, my answer is that these comparisons do not influence me to read or not to read a book, but they will possible affect how I view the book and my enjoyment of it. If I'm expecting one thing going into a book and then I never find that specific thing, then I'm going to be confused and frustrated. What are your thoughts on this subject?

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Vicki @ I'd Rather Be at the Beach. This is meme in which bloggers share the first chapter of a book that they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Vicki's blog, or simply check it out to find more new books to read!

The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V.S. Redick

"Chapter 1: Tarboy

1 Vaqrin (first day of summer (941)
Midnight
It began, as every disaster in his life began, with a calm. The harbor and the village slept. The wind that had roared all night lay quelled by the headland; the bosun grew too sleepy to shout. But fort feet up the ratines, Pazel Pathkendle had never been more awake."

I read Robert V.S. Redick's neweest release Master Assassins earlier this year and completely loved it, so now I'm hoping to get started on some of his other works that I've yet to read. 

Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository

Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman

"Chapter One: At the Funeral of John Bowie

Harrows, situated at the northernmost point of the Trail, savored its distance from the meat of the rabid road. It was easily the most affluent town in both counties; the homes of Harrows were larger, often constructed of stately stone, some with as many as ten bedrooms. The garden yards were as wide as the fabled Trail itself, some roofs as high as the willows. Even better: Harrows enjoyed more sunlight than the other towns, as the shadows cast by the arching of those willows concluded where the wheat fields began, just south of the border. Sunny and secluded, remote and rich, Harrows was a very desirable place to live. 

But that didn’t preclude its citizens from dying. 

John Bowie found this out the bad way."

I loved Malerman's Bird Box and I thought the premise of this book was really intriguing, so I was excited to jump into this one. 

Pre-Order: Amazon | Book Depository

What do you think? Would you keep reading these books? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

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*Excerpts are taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.