a retelling
A reflection on the nature of retellings of memory and Greek mythology, mixed with brief reviews of Hades (2016) and Ariadne.
Review of The Batman
There’s a dull sound approaching you. It’s slow, measured, deliberate. You recognize it as metal against concrete, but the distinct thud, thud, thud betrays a hulking weight behind it…
Review of Hyper Light Drifter
I’ve been itching for an 8-bit style action-adventure RPG that I could finish in one weekend, and Hyper Light Drifter definitely delivered. Gloriously rendered pixel art, haunting landscapes, with a sublime and somber OST by Disasterpeace.
INT. CHINATOWN
A review/reflection of how Shang-Chi, Interior Chinatown, and Houston Chinatown reflect the Asian-American identity - tied together with usual rambling Christina Ji flair
Review of The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See
As someone who loves tea, narratives centered on the experiences of womxn, and learning more about Chinese culture, this book was a mix of elements that I knew I’d enjoy.
Review of The Secret Talker by Geling Yan
There's a sort of allure that comes from the unknown, from the dark, and Hongmei's struggle between complacency and a hunger for novelty taps into that seduction. However, as much as I loved the idea of this book, I was still felt feeling as though it was left largely unfinished, as though we were reading the outline or a draft.
Review of The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
I have to preface this review by saying that The Garden of Evening Mists is by far one of the “slowest” books I’ve ever read. As many reviews have mentioned, Tan attempts to “capture stillness on paper” in the same manner as Aritomo, and I would honestly consider his endeavor a success. The novel is practically a carefully pruned garden itself, with lovely, meditative prose and poignant themes that meld into one another, almost an act of “borrowed scenery” amongst the end-of-empire narrative.
Review of Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson
Carson possesses an incredible dexterity when it comes to the written word along with the creative chops to substantiate the narrative itself, suffusing this work with clear appreciation and love for the tale and how it can be adapted and interpreted anew.
Review of If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha
I appreciated a lot of the themes that Cha brings up, and she peels back a layer when examining Korean culture, making what would otherwise appear “exotic” something familiar and accessible—a testament to the importance of reading books by Own Voices.
Review of “Before the Coffee Gets Cold” by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Short and sweet story, so here’s a short and sweet review. Before the Coffee Gets Cold gave me the general feeling I wanted out of a book today—something heartfelt and warm
Review of “The Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Barcelona breathes in this story. She exists as the setting, seeps through the characters, whistles as the shadow of the wind itself. Zafón has crafted an incredible ode to storytelling, one that revolves around a mystery infused with the smell of sulfur, and he does so with incredible prose and style.
Review of “Beach Read” by Emily Henry
3 Stars, but this review goes into why I think stars are rather meaningless…This was my first real foray into contemporary adult romance. I'm neither disappointed nor surprised, rather relatively lukewarm towards this book, but I find it difficult to say if it's just my unfamiliarity with the hallmarks of the genre.
Review of “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” by James Joyce
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is an autobiographical novel based on James Joyce's own life, the protagonist renamed as Stephen Daedalus. The mention of the myth to which Stephen's surname references is often called upon in this novel, an ode to both Icarus and the inventor himself, artist as creator and the consumed.
Review of “Americanah” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
4/5 Stars. I finished reading Americanah on a rainy morning, just before dawn. The world outside was still blue and shadowed, and the shape of buildings slowly emerged from the dark, brick by brick, pane by pane, as the sky lightened. The sound of toads and birds rose up from the twilight silence, their throats defrosted and open with warbling calls upon waking…
Review of “If We Were Villains” by M.L. Rio
To be honest, as I was reading this book, I was prepared to give it, at most, 3.5-4 stars. I wasn't too familiar with the intricacies of the Shakespearean references, and I was slightly put off by how the characters talked - sometimes with the true crudeness of college students, other times pretentious and caricatural. At the same time, the Shakespeare references were perfect, doing exactly what Rio intended: imbuing the actors and readers with the words and feelings of his work in parallel to the novel's events…
Review of “Memory Police” by Yoko Ogawa
As someone who has never been a fan of Orwellian-like tales, this one really wowed me. The translation is very clean; the language is beautiful in its quiet simplicity, lending the novel a sort of empty melancholy in its tone. Overall, I loved what this book represented, and it was the only oasis in this dry spell of books I've been reading…