Bloodorange

I'm a GoodReads user testing new waters after the serious website changes. I mostly read fiction, usually Anglophone classics/ modern classics; I like nonfiction (mostly social and cultural history), good fantasy and graphic novels. For guilty pleasure, I read advice and how-to books. I made at least two reading resolutions recently; 1. read less, live more; 2. read books which give me more pleasure. I have poor filters, and books I find stylistically pleasing tend to be depressing, so I need to do something about that; if you think you know a book that is very well written, but won't make me weep, please drop me a line.

The Kitchen God's Wife

The Kitchen God's Wife - Amy Tan I officially do not want to read anything by Tan again. At least this is how I feel at the moment.

Why the three stars: The Kitchen God's Wife is very well written, but I hated what this book was doing to me. The WWII in China is merely a backdrop for the protagonist's personal drama of epic proportions; suffice to say that when something very bad, but not exactly cruel, happened (one of protagonist's children dies, quite straightforwardly, of plague), I felt relief.

Winnie (the protagonist's new, American name) was married to a psychopath. Throughout the book, she has to cope with humiliation, degradation, and a plethora of personal tragedies : she is repeatedly, regularly raped, humiliated by her husband in private and in front of their friends, loses children because of her husband's violence and cruelty - directly and indirectly. This is, I think, a book about comradeship and despair, loss and strength; but if you do not bear reading about serious abuse too well, consider skipping this one.

Currently reading

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald
Therese Anne Fowler
Zuleika Dobson
Max Beerbohm
How to Be a Victorian
Ruth Goodman