Hi, friends! Things have been a little hectic as of late, so I haven’t had much time to dedicate to the blog, but through the chaos, I have still been reading! I hope you enjoy this incredibly belated post about what I read in March.
The first book that I read was The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy. This was my first ever Pat Conroy novel and I was initially a little intimidated by Conroy’s writing style, but as I got further into it, I began to enjoy it immensely. I’ve seen people online say it’s too flowery, but I never felt that way. This book follows a troubled family, our narrator being the first born male of two incredibly complicated parents. Our story begins with Tom going to New York because his twin sister has once again attempted suicide and is in a mental health facility. The rest of the book follows Tom as he recounts stories of their shared troubled childhood to his sister’s psychiatrist in hopes of giving her some context and insight into her remarkably troubled psyche. The book goes back and forth between the past and present. I gave this book a 4.5 stars.
I took half a star off because there were time in the sections in the present that I found to be a little bit boring.
This book contains a lot of sensitive topics and I would advise looking into that if you have certain triggers, because there are parts that are quite difficult to read. I don’t want to write them out because it could spoil the book, but I would advise looking into them. 4.5/5. I borrowed this one from my mom, but I would keep it otherwise!
The second book that I read was Beach Music, also by Pat Conroy. After I finished this book, I began to realize that Conroy uses similar themes throughout his works. Complicated families, albino animals, and the Vietnam War, to name a couple.
This book follows another complicated family. After the death of his wife, Jack and his young daughter moved to Rome in hopes of a fresh start, but the past is knocking on his door. Jack must return to his hometown in South Carolina after his mother’s health takes a turn.
Though it’s close, of the two, I preferred this one. It did take me awhile to become invested in the book, around 100 pages or so, but with a book of this length (800 pages) I think it’s overall still worth it. When I was reading reviews online, I found people complaining about the length of it, but I would have been happy if Conroy had made the book even longer, (2,000+ pages) as he had originally planned. I wanted it to go into more detail about their life growing up and the relationship between the siblings. I felt as though the only lens which we learn about the brothers is through the present and as a result, I felt that the brothers were mainly interchangeable. I really would have liked to have many flashback scenes to understand them better and to also understand why Jack hated his father so much. 4.5/5. I borrowed this one from my mom, but I would totally keep it otherwise!
The third book that I read this month was Carrie by Stephen King. I’d been wanting to read this King book for quite some time, and while I really did enjoy it, I was a little surprised at how short a time the book covered. I really would have enjoyed it if the book would have covered more before *the* incident to get a better idea about Carrie, her mother, and her schoolmates. I have no complaints about what was written, I only wish that there had been more. Keeping this one! 4/5
The fourth book that I read was Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake. This is a book that I read as a young teenager and while I couldn’t remember too much about it, I do remember that I had enjoyed it. I’m working on going through all of my books and donating those that I don’t care for or that I don’t plan on rereading, but this is one that I am going to keep. I really enjoyed this book. It could be the nostalgia causing me to enjoy it so much, but the only real complaint I have is that sometimes the narrator felt a little too snarky and was trying a little too hard to be edgy. It made me cringle a little bit occasionally, but I fear that for the genre of book, published at that time, it’s to be expected. I enjoyed reading this so much that I found myself wanting to drop everything and read it. It’s not life-changing but it’s a unique concept executed well, I also learned that there’s a sequel that I never knew existed that I am now so excited to read! 4.5/5
The fifth and final book I read this month was A Song for Ella Grey David Almond. Oh, man. This is a book that I had to buy for a class in college and I’m embarrassed to say that I never finished it back then. I’m here to say that I don’t think that I missed anything. I really did not enjoy this book. From what I’ve read online, this author’s writing style is either a love it or hate it scenario. I understand that it’s a retelling of Orpheus, but I just did not fnd it enjoyable in the slightest. I never found myself caring for any of the characters and though the stakes were of course, very high, it did not feel that way whatsoever. I really don’t have much to say about this book, other than I just did not care for it. It was dreamy in a way that would appeal to some, but it did not appeal to me, unfortunately. 2/5. Donate!
Thank you for reading!
Xoxo,
Mattie Mae
Midwest Mattie 