network/reviews

a biologist recounts her experience enduring the 12th expedition into area x. the 12th expedition is sent to this mysterious location for the same reason that all 100... i mean 11 previous attempts were sent: find anything that explains what the fuck this shit could possibly be. beautiful scenery and believable characters. i'm a sucker for biology, horror, and a story that lacks all hope.

translated to english from spanish by andrew gleeson and audrey harris. a collection of short horror stories about unusually mundane, everyday experiences and emotions. it's the novela that got me back into reading, so it will forever be one of my favorites. great book to bring while you're traveling!

translated to english from japanese by e. dale saunders. a drawn-out horror about a detective who find himself in his work. abe is known for surrealism, maybe even abursdism, but i found the surreal elements to be mostly unnecessary. by the end of the book i was skimming it because i stopped giving a fuck. i think this book is a victim of language and culture being lost in translation. no shade to the translator because i think that's common with japanese lit.

dark humor about a lady in a broken marriage who has an affair with a frogman. it's funny. it's tragic. it's short. i enjoyed this one during my work commute, and i implore you do the same.

saphic exploration of body image and impossible love (for oneself and others). it's an easy albeit frustrating read due to the characters being unlikable and annoying to a realistic degree. the scenesetting is easy to vizualise and the erotic scenes are written well.

short story about a time traveler recounting his journey in a "utopian" era. wells is a massive futurist and this story paints his views well. it touches on the potential for social... moreso evolutionary disparity in a post-industrial world.

collection of journals written by various crew members of a spaceship staffed by humans and humanoids. it reads as a bunch of letters you'd pick-up during a horror sci-fi video game that help build the world you've found yourself in. i did not enjoy this one at all because it's predictable and tbh i would've only clicked on those letters to 100% the game's collectibles.

translated to english from spanish by adam morris. a south american writer finds herself in scandinavia to attend and possibly win the prize at an award ceremony. the story follows mona, her trauma, and her romances (platonic or otherwise). i don't think it's supposed to be taken that seriously because the ending... hmm... was unexpected. other reviews call this book funny. although i chuckled to myself a few times, i found the story to be a rather serious journey about struggling and healing.