I love Korean culture and it’s very rare that you see contemporary literary fiction about Korea. Add to that that it was feminist literature and I was sold. The premise sounded so interesting and it was also a massive plus that Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 was only 176 pages! …
I’d heard everyone and their neighbour talk about this book – about how important it was to be read, about how funny, real and eye-opening it was. Then, as luck would have it, I had to read it for my MA Creative Writing course, so it was the prefect opportunity to buy and it and read it straight away! …
For regular readers of my blog, you will know that when it comes to contemporary poetry, I’m not the biggest of fans. However, a poetry collection that is called Witchcraft and Monsters? I am here for it. When I saw the cover, I requested it immediately. I didn’t even know that it was poetry, I didn’t even read the blurb… I just… well… requested it. And I’m so glad that I did. …
So before you go into reading this review, I just want to point out that there are two sections: the main review, and then at the end, there’s an update. I read this poetry collection for the first time in January 2019 and my feelings about it were ‘so so’. I read it for a second time in November 2020 and found it a little bit more enjoyable to read. The ‘update’ section at the end of the review are my thoughts after reading it for a second time! …
the mermaid’s voice returns in this one is the third and final instalment in this poetry series. The first one being the princess saves herself in this one, and the second was being the witch doesn’t burn in this one. The series is a collection of modern poetry that explores the world of women and the difficulties that they face on a daily basis. Lovelace portrays the feelings of suppression, assault, love, and healing, feelings and experiences that I’m sure many women (and people in general) can relate to.
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The one good thing about studying English at university, is that you have to read books that you never dreamt of reading, books that you didn’t even know existed. And sure, analysing the heck out of them *sometimes* takes the fun out of reading them for pleasure, but hey, at the end of the day, you’ve read a book that is new to you and that’s good! With Dawn, it was like that. I’d never heard of it (even though I HAD heard of Butler’s Kindred), and I hadn’t exactly had the best encounters with the other science fiction books that I had had to read for my course. But you know what? I actually really enjoyed this one. …
The Passion of New Eve was another book that I had to read for my Gender, Sex and Culture class for university. I’m normally a massive fan of Angela Carter’s writing but TPONE was a story that I just couldn’t wrap my head around.
*spoilers ahead* …
I’m kind of getting into the groove of reading poetry lately… Maybe it’s because there’s a lot of it being published that’s aimed at teenagers and young adults, maybe it’s because I fancy something a little bit different. I don’t know. Nevertheless, I was intrigued by this poet that had come by way – R.H Sin. Apparently, he is a very well known poet with many fans saying how his contemporary poetry is magical. I was eager to see if I agreed. …
the witch doesn’t burn in this one is Amanda Lovelace’s second and highly anticipated poetry collection in her ‘women are some kind of magic’ series. Carrying on in true Lovelace fashion, the witch doesn’t burn in this one explores women’s rights, and how they are oppressed within society. …
If you read my review of volume one of this series, you will know that whilst I (kinda) enjoyed it, it was too much of a fast-moving storyline with no character connection. I was hoping that volume two would flesh out the characters a little bit more, and that we would stop in one time for a little bit longer so that I could get used to the world, rather than moving around really quickly so that I get whiplash. …