It’s not entirely hyperbole when I say that Tana French is magic. When I’m reading her books, more than with any other author I’ve ever read, I feel ensorcelled. Like, I’m being pulled in to the book with ropes that have been tied around my emotions, and it’s entirely not in my control how much I’m allowed to be inside the story. Her books are wrenching. So much humanity in there. Joy and suffering and pain and longing and regret. All at the same time. Plus […]
This book will consume you.
Oh, lordy. This book chewed me up and spat me out. This isn’t going to be one of those reviews where I say a lot. The book was too good, and too overwhelming. I could do it, but it might break me to try. And I’d rather not be broken. So instead, in this review, you will probably get a bunch of nonsense strung together in some stream-of-consciousness excuse for review writing. I DON’T EVEN FEEL BAD ABOUT IT. The Likeness is the second book […]
Teenagers: Not so Mysterious, Not so Interesting
This is the fourth or fifth book by Tana French featuring one or more members of the Dublin Murder Squad. There is a lot to like about her series: she gives us a contemporary and interesting Dublin, the stories are usually imaginiative, and there’s a tiny touch of mysticism here and there. I like the fact that each book is written from the perspective of a different detective, but familiar characters from past books make appearances as well. Like her previous books, I found myself […]
The woods are just trees, the trees are just wood.
This book probably deserves five stars, but for entirely personal reasons, it was very uncomfortable for me to read the last half, and I can’t give a book five stars that my mind bends away from so strongly. It’s like when you try to push two magnets together and all they do is repel each other. They’re so similar they can’t be in close proximity with each other. My hate is so strong for this character’s actions because I understand him completely, intimately. It’s horrible that […]