Thursday, June 18, 2026

Review: The Autobiography of My Mother

The Autobiography of My Mother The Autobiography of My Mother by Jamaica Kincaid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After taking a Caribbean literature class in college I bought this book, then did not read it. So after a couple of decades it was finally time. I went into the book somewhat blindly knowing nothing about the story.

Xuela Claudette Richardson was born without a mother as she died in childbirth. Her father, not knowing what to do with her gave her to his laundress as if she was dirty laundry. This woman did not love her. Her father ruled her life, to some extent, but was distant and one could hardly say he loved her. She was born of mixed race in Dominica. Her father sent her to school, actually more schooling than would be expected of a girl in that country. She did not make any close friends. Zuela instead would find what she needed from her own self. She could only rely in her own mind and body.

For much of the book it is somewhat sexual but the language used is not graphic nor what you may find in most typical books. It is the language that propels this book. It is poetic it is sensual.
Zuela’s world is a harsh one. That she claims herself and knows what she wants is amazing. She makes no apologies, lives fully in the world where she is born into, surprising self-accomplishment.

The book is all Zuela’s words of her mind and very little interaction with others as far as dialogue. Yet it works. This is to be read for language and writing style, not so much for the content. And that is what my rating reflects.


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Review: The Autobiography of My Mother

The Autobiography of My Mother The Autobiography of My Mother by Jamaica Kincaid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Monday, June 15, 2026

Review: The Good Girl

The Good Girl The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Decided to try this audio book which I’ve had for a long while and got for free from audible, who knows why. It could be classified as a thriller, or a police procedural, maybe a mystery. There was a kidnapping. The book reveals the details it in real time and after the fact. This is not my favorite genre, but just having the book propels me to read it, get it off the TBR.

Mia is kidnapped from a bar, where she was to meet her boyfriend, who cancelled again to work late. The before time line is not perfectly linear, but mostly and describes what happened, mostly from Colin’s point of view, but we also get Mia’s mother, Eve and her view of before. One other voice is the police detective trying to solve the case.

The kidnapper, Colin or Own, was to hand her over to another guy who was running the show. The problem is the kidnapper didn't want to see this woman hurt or killed, which would happen if he had handed her over. So he takes her to a remote cabin in the woods to figure out what to do.

The other time line, after, is the current time line. This is when Mia is now back at home recovering. She has memory loss of what happened those months she was missing, she also only responds to a different name. Mia goes to therapy, the mother tries to take care of Mia and the detective is still trying to fully solve this case.

In the audiobook there were multiple narrators, one for each character. I don’t mind this type of narration, and sometimes prefer it. In the end the book was okay, and as seemingly typical there are a few twists that were not that surprising.



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Review: The Good Girl

The Good Girl The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



View all my reviews

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