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Parable of the Talents (Paperback, 2019, Grand Central Publishing) 4 stars

Environmental devastation and economic chaos have turned America into a land of depravity. Taking advantage …

a book I won't forget very soon

4 stars

the writing is fantastic. also there is more... story than in parable of the sower, definitely more things happening and also more hope. somebody (I forgot the source) wrote about this "parable of the sower is about problems, while parable of the talents is about solutions" and yeah, this seems true. it is also still about horrible, horrible problems. some of these chapters were really hard to get through.

also everything seems so realistic - the characters and the choices they have to face, but also the USA/world politics.

the earthseed verses feel so much on point by now. they're definitely the thing I will remember most. as religions go, it's a good one.

EDIT: I wanted to add, if you want to read this book, check out the Octavia's Parables podcast by adrienne maree brown and Toshi Reagon. It is worth it for the songs from the opera "parable …

The Bell Jar (Paperback, 2003, HarperLargePrint) 4 stars

The Bell Jar chronicles the breakdown of the brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful Esther …

holy shit this is so depressing I need a break. I can so easily imagine myself in Esther's place. If career paths (or basically any path in life except marrying and having kids) had been as closed for me as it was for women in the 50s, and if treatment of mental health issues would still be as bad, I think I would have ended up like her.

Her Body and Other Parties (Hardcover, 2017, Graywolf Press) 4 stars

In Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado blithely demolishes the arbitrary borders …

Weird Stories

4 stars

I'm not a fan of short stories, but these were so well written that it was enough for me to finish the book. Most of the stories are very dark and scary. As far as I can remember all of them are magical realism from the pov of lesbian women, and mostly they revolve around sexism, sex, physical and mental illnesses. I skipped one of them though ("Especially Heinous" since I don't know the Law&Order series and figured the story would make not much sense to me). I really liked "The Husband Stitch" (omg it made me angry enough to kill), "Inventory" and "The Resident".