sorry for my choice of adjectives! i couldn't think of any snappy way to convey what i'm looking for! i'm searching for 'juiciness' (sorry, i generally cannot think of another word that quite conveys what i'm searching for), slice of life, self discovery, vivid imagery, an embodied energy, and literary. can either be adult or coming of age, but not YA. when reading eat pray love years ago, i found some parts of gilbert's writing to be absolutely transporting, and other parts to be absolutely cringeworthy … i'm searching for the high of what she gets right in eat pray love. i like well written descriptions of food, outfits, people, smells, places, sex, nature, but i also can't stand novels that are overly prose-y. films that i've watched with this energy and loved: zola, the favourite, marie antoinette (all of these are more stylized), portrait of a lady on fire (more naturalistic), hustlers (it's so fun and good!). i did not like the barbie movie but i did love lady bird.
to give you an idea of my taste: i've read my year of rest and relaxation, and found parts of it shocking and beautiful, but also found it very flawed. i like sally rooney's writing, but find it a little dry and undeveloped. you make a fool of your death with your beauty was so lush and lovely and i liked it, but i felt it would make a better film, and it did come across as juvenile in its writing. i like mary oliver's poems. i enjoyed Dare Me even though it was very CW. my favourite books ever are til we have faces and anna karenina, but LMM's Emily books are my guilty pleasure. i like style and substance, but have been known to occasionally go for style.
& i don't mind the subversive or even grotesque, but bonus points if the narrative is hopeful and somewhat earnest without being trite. i feel like i'm searching for a unicorn. and i know this is overly specific but i really will read anything once and would be grateful for any book recs that are … well … good! and if you can't tell, i'm a gen z girlie and i'm sure it shows.
by missgirlipop