Ash > Recent Status Updates

read the prologue and wanted to run a marathon. i’m genuinely stupid for waiting this long to start this

I’m too jackieshauna pilled for this

NEWLYWED

the liminality of trains is something I deeply adore

It’s very amusing. Reminds me a lot of pygmalion and an interesting companion to Dorian Gray

Deeply fascinating that the poems build on each other

i am so deeply inspired today and i just wanted to say that

sooo thematically rich and well written. also, I can already tell I’m going to enjoy my post-colonial lit module very much. and also constantly feel extremely called out by it.

I’m so rusty, this is taking so much longer than I expected 💀

this is so very good

it’s been a little slow so far ngl

huge side eye to the person on the blurb who said this book was sexy. genuinely, in what world. I am deeply concerned.

I need to find a balance of not being caught up with the details whilst still remembering the names and roles of the characters

I think my favourite thing thus far is the differing styles of writing depending on the person and the medium. The foreshadowing has been a bit too blatant for my liking but I guess the supernatural quality is secondary to the suspense surrounding Jonathan’s escape. also it’s probably obvious because so many of these tropes are so common everywhere now - it may not have been back then. Also the women 💀

following along with Dracula Daily this year 🫡

‘All the Best of Dark and Bright’

odd. murakami-esque

‘How to Swallow the Moon’

This one really stood out as truly great. Loved the subtext and the themes and commentary and relationships. Looooved the prose in this one. It had such beautiful and painful words about love

‘Hurricane Heels (we go dancing)’
- anime inspired superhero girlband. interesting conflicts. very with-great-power etc. core, except they’re sick of all this shit, and I think that should be more common in superhero media. 6/10

‘Unclench Your Hand’
- liked the conflict of privilege and the relationships. thought the twist could’ve had more buildup. It was a bit on the nose. 6.5/10

extremely engaging and deeply sad. surprisingly funny. I’m imagining all this like a crime documentary with cool transitions. looking forward to the true crime discourse surrounding the novel

‘Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez?’

There is a framing device that was cool and then became a little overdone. This one more than any other thus far felt like a high school horror story essay. Conceptually too - very goosebumps or mr midnight.

‘Syringe’

Loved this one. Interesting nuanced robot character.

‘Asphalt, River, Mother, Child’

another fav. Acab and found family <3

‘A spell for foolish hearts’

cute. the integration of magic with San Francisco was cool and I liked how it was so natural. The magic was pretty much a 1-1 queer allegory and it worked well

Milagroso

liked the easing into the world. seems normal and then it’s like ohhhh this is fuuucked as you keep reading in a way that builds on itself naturally

Shape of Water (2017)

This book is incredible and I cannot *begin* to unpack the layers. Mr Rochester is an absolute asshole, I’m sorry.

Excellent writing