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Convenience Store Woman
Keiko is a convenience store worker and, to the people around her, a bit of an oddball. She has worked part time at the same store for her entire adult life with no aspirations to pursue a full-time career, she has no interest in romantic relationships or starting a family, she struggles with every day social interactions, and most of all–she’s satisfied with her life. Keiko often feels out of place, like she has to put on a mask while interacting with others. She has difficulty understanding people’s motivations and feelings, she struggles to hold conversations and to navigate social norms, she has no interest in marriage, and she feels…
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Watersnakes
My this is one of the most magical graphic novels I’ve read perhaps ever. Watersnakes is a dark fantasy about a lonely girl that meets and falls for a mysterious girl named Agnes.The two share in mischief and it isn’t long before Mila finds out that there is something strange about Agnes. She finds herself embroiled in a battle between the Earth and the sea. “I can hear the children of the storm calling for their king.” The story starts slow and I had some difficulty getting into the rhythm at first but it is absolutely worth the patience of getting through the first chapter. The creatures in the novel…
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Parasite Eve
Never in my life have I ever encountered a book that I felt more conflicted by. Parasite Eve is a Japanese techno-thriller that spawned a film adaptation and a massively popular video game series. It is about mitochondria and I have to say that it is admirable for the truly unique concept. It is an incredible example of body horror at it’s best by instilling a fear of utter helplessness to a threat that can control the very cells that make up a person’s body. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was in for when I started this novel. I have to give Sena props for the amount of attention…
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The Road of Lost Innocence: The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine
I didn’t know a thing about Somaly Mam or AEFSIP when I picked up this little memoir at the library. Human trafficking has been a well known issue in Southeast Asia that is still prevalent today despite humanitarian efforts. It is a horrible industry that continues to grow and effects even my home country, the Philippines. This memoir details Somaly’s upbringing as an aboriginal girl in the years following the Khmer Rouge, abandoned and eventually picked up by an abuser that sells her. The book continues on through Somaly’s life of slavery, eventual freedom, meeting her husband, and the founding of AEFSIP. It is an inspirational story not just because…
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The Perfect Nanny
I really struggled to put my thoughts together on this book, partially because The Perfect Nanny was not what I had expected and one of the more unique stories I’ve ever read. I feel that it is mis-marketed as a mystery thriller when it was neither, to me this is a horror novel through and through. I think I would have liked this book better if I had known this beforehand. The plot is slow and very intense as a portrait of Louise is formed from the point of views of other characters and their interactions with her. It occurred to me after a time that the shifting narration was…
