readingqueerbooks

[readingqueerbooks]

[“there were times when the pressure to achieve happiness felt almost oppressive, as if happiness were something that everyone should and could attain, and that any sort of compromise in its pursuit was somehow your fault.”]

a little life — hanya yanagihara [ 4/5 ★ ]

god where do i start. i have a lot of thoughts after finishing this book — it was loooooong. a little too long, maybe? i feel like it still could have gotten its point across had it been a little shorter. the writing style is also a little unconventional and took me a few chapters to really appreciate, but that being said, it was still arguably very well-written. i have highlights and tabs and annotations on nearly every page.

one thing i will say before i really get into anything else is PLEASE take the trigger warnings seriously. this book is basically just trauma after trauma after trauma and it’s all very graphic (more so than i was expecting even after reading multiple reviews). there are like two happy moments in the whole book lmao.

but the CHARACTERS. oh my god the characters. specifically jude and willem. they were absolutely wonderful. incredibly well-rounded (which i suppose you’d expect with a book of 800+ pages but still) and written so beautifully — you really feel for them. jude’s point of view especially hits hard. his perspective is so sad and extremely traumatic but he is such a beautiful character, you can’t help but love him immediately. not gonna lie, i cried several times reading about jude and his experiences throughout the book (i love him… So much).

however, i don’t know if i would necessarily suggest this book to anyone. it was honestly very hard to read at some points, albeit being a beautifully written book. if you do read it (and if you like audiobooks) i would highly suggest the audiobook. i’m not usually a fan of audiobooks myself, but i grew very attached to the narrator and his way of telling the story and especially his portrayal of the characters. it was probably my favourite audiobook i’ve ever listened to. all in all, this book was undeniably an a piece of literary genius and my kudos go to the author for creating something so heartbreakingly beautiful.

synopsis:

When four classmates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they're broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their center of gravity. Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he'll not only be unable to overcome—but that will define his life forever.

[readingqueerbooks]

[“she smiled. ‘you love me?’ she said. ‘oh my god, what an understatement,’ i told her.”]

the seven husbands of evelyn hugo — taylor jenkins reid [ 5/5 ★ ]

reading this was a long time coming for me and omg why didn't i read it sooner. i just finished it literally 5 minutes ago so i'm still just sitting here processing. goddamn 😭

queer historical fiction is, as always, one of my favourite genres. i just love to hurt apparently. it just makes me so mad and sad and devastatingly impressed with and proud of the queer community. tshoeh did such a good job of putting it all into a personal perspective, too. everything celia, evelyn, and harry go through to protect their relationships is so frustrating and heartbreaking. it was so romantic but so strained. i'm going feral bro it was just so MUCH. plus the way celia and evelyn could be so poetically romantic had me in a chokehold fr i was in a constant state of pining the entire time.

i also just absolutely love the characters. especially harry and evelyn both i just 🫶🏻🫶🏻. they were so dynamic and flawed but charming all the same. i loved their relationship and i loved them as characters individually. the author did such an amazing job. and the PLOT TWIST at the end... goddamn. the whole book was written so fucking well. i even cried a couple times which i was somehow not expecting. shit had me fucked up.

i was really impressed with the bisexual rep too! i think it might be the best bi rep i've read so far. it didn't hesitate to explicitly tear down biphobic stereotypes and explained evelyn's sexuality very succinctly while portraying her character, flaws and all. i was very impressed with the book & loved every second of it. 😌

synopsis:

Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career. Summoned to Evelyn's luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the '80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn's story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique's own in tragic and irreversible ways.

[readingqueerbooks]

[“love him,” said jacques, with vehemence, “love him and let him love you. do you think anything else under heaven really matters?”]

giovanni’s room — james baldwin [ 5/5★ ]

bear with me while i attempt to collect myself after this book. this book made me feel... so many emotions. i was so in love and so angry and so heartbroken. an amazing exploration of the shame homophobia can cause queer folks to feel and the hurt that accompanies it. and it was SO beautifully written. it tackles internalized homophobia in a thorough, horrible, brilliant way - it made me so mad to read on so many occasions, but it was also relieving & strangely cathartic?

having been published in the 50s (and i believe, written well before that), there are a few moments in the book that are politically quite outdated, especially when it comes to the women in the book, but overall the story is a really good depiction of how difficult it is to be queer in a homophobic society & the self loathing that can accompany it.

i've said it before but i absolutely adore queer historical fiction & non-fiction, but even if you don't, i would really recommend this book to any queer person who had a difficult time coming to terms with their identity (or if you just value incredibly beautiful writing, because this book was so. fucking. good.)

synopsis:

In a 1950s Paris swarming with expatriates and characterized by dangerous liaisons and hidden violence, an American finds himself unable to repress his impulses, despite his determination to live the conventional life he envisions for himself. After meeting and proposing to a young woman, he falls into a lengthy affair with an Italian bartender and is confounded and tortured by his sexual identity as he oscillates between the two. Filled with passion, regret and longing, this story of a fated love triangle has become a landmark of gay writing.