ARC Review: Devil is Fine by John Vercher

Title: Devil is Fine

Author: John Vercher

Source: Celadon Books

Format: Paperback ARC

Publisher: Celadon Books

Release date (expected): June 18 2024

Goodreads     Celadon (Book Page) 

Synopsis From Celadon:

Reeling from the sudden death of his teenage son, our narrator receives a letter from an attorney: he has just inherited a plot of land from his estranged grandfather. He travels to a beach town several hours south of his home with the intention of immediately selling the land. But upon inspection, what lies beneath the dirt is much more than he can process in the throes of grief. As a biracial Black man struggling with the many facets of his identity, he’s now the owner of a former plantation passed down by the men on his white mother’s side of the family.

Vercher deftly blurs the lines between real and imagined, past and present, tragedy and humor, and fathers and sons in this story of discovery—and a fight for reclamation—of a painful past. With the wit of Paul Beatty’s The Sellout and the nuance of Zadie Smith’s On Beauty, Devil Is Fine is a darkly funny and brilliantly crafted dissection of the legacies we leave behind and those we inherit.

What I thought:

When I finished reading Devil is Fine by John Vercher, I had so many initial thoughts that it made it difficult to summarize what I felt about it. And I didn't even know where to start.

So I guess I'll start with the story. It revolves around the unnamed narrator's identity and the throes of that. While it mostly seemed to pertain to his professional life and having to deal with owning a plantation, it was also carefully woven into a story about a man dealing with grief and somehow coming to terms with where he is in life. Of course it was not a smooth road since there were odd and disconcerting experiences along the way. He was aided by the occasional words of wisdom from the more frequent characters, Freddy and Clarence. A bar owner and frequent bar customer respectively, their own life and experiences tended to add a different angle to what the narrator was going through. On the flip side, there were a lot of times where I wondered just why he was doing what he was, but some of that was answered much later on. 

Another thing I noticed was the writing. It's in first person and begins shortly before the burial of the narrator's  son, Malcolm. From the beginning to the end, the main character often thinks of and addresses him while chronicling his ongoing life. Sometimes he would wonder what Malcolm would say if he was there during a conversation, for example. Along with the main character's musings, it is mainly through occasional chapters in between that showed who Malcolm was growing up. I honestly wasn't sure how I felt about these chapters at first. But, about half way through, I felt it both added to and left breathing room from the tension that was building throughout the book. Some of that was also probably from the general back and forth of the current time and various past memories from the narrator's own life and experiences. 

Speaking of that tension, I was constantly on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. Some of the story was predictable for me. But there were parts that weren't at all. The conclusion and ending are an examples of both of these feelings. Based on a few pages of conversations beforehand, I had thought that a particular scene was going to go a certain way. But I was wrong. Instead it was rather mundane (for the lack of more spoiler-y but probably better words I could use). It is at this point the character growth is fully realized with many truths coming to light. Even being a little sad and grim, overall it definitely felt more in line and satisfactory with the way the bulk of the story was written.  So I was somewhat happy to be wrong.  As for the last pages, the end? Well, it was a tear jerker.

As a whole, I truly liked Devil is Fine. The surreal nature of it, dialogue, complicated relationships, and even the tougher, more serious tones mixed with some lighter ones. All that to say, it became a page turner and I really enjoyed reading it.

I received an ARC copy of this book from Celadon Books for this review.

Thanks for reading!

ARC Review: The Manicurist's Daughter by Susan Lieu

Title: The Manicurist's Daughter

Author: Susan Lieu

Source: Celadon

Format: Paperback ARC

Publisher: Celadon

Release date: March 12 2024

Goodreads    Celadon (Book Page)

Synopsis From Celadon

An emotionally raw memoir about the crumbling of the American Dream and a daughter of refugees who searches for answers after her mother dies during plastic surgery.

Susan Lieu has long been searching for answers. About her family’s past and about her own future. Refugees from the Vietnam War, Susan’s family escaped to California in the 1980s after five failed attempts. Upon arrival, Susan’s mother was their savvy, charismatic North Star, setting up two successful nail salons and orchestrating every success—until Susan was eleven. That year, her mother died from a botched tummy tuck. After the funeral, no one was ever allowed to talk about her or what had happened.

For the next twenty years, Susan navigated a series of cascading questions alone—why did the most perfect person in her life want to change her body? Why would no one tell her about her mother’s life in Vietnam? And how did this surgeon, who preyed on Vietnamese immigrants, go on operating after her mother’s death? Sifting through depositions, tracking down the surgeon’s family, and enlisting the help of spirit channelers, Susan uncovers the painful truth of her mother, herself, and the impossible ideal of beauty.

The Manicurist’s Daughter is much more than a memoir about grief, trauma, and body image. It is a story of fierce determination, strength in shared culture, and finding your place in the world.

What I thought:

I tend to like memoirs anyway, but I really liked The Manicurists Daughter by Susan Lieu. From the prologue (which I later realized was an excellent summary), to the writing that drew me in, I found this memoir to be an enjoyable read.

It's essentially Lieu's journey to get answers about her mother. And I want emphasize journey. For every vague lead, there seemed to be even more questions that needed to be addressed. Intertwined with this was also her process of eventually creating performances inspired by her quest. When she finally did get some answers, and things began falling in place, I could see how and where each chapter's contents connected. This not only led up to her performance of 140 LBS: How Beauty Killed My Mother, but also the memoir's end. Which I might add, ends on a confident, understanding, and hopeful note.  There's probably a lot more I could mention but I think the synopsis does a well enough job showing what The Manicurist's Daughter is all about.

As for the writing, I found myself on the typical rollercoaster of emotions. There were times that were heart wrenching and sad, to happy and joyful. Along with the inclusion of Vietnamese, the descriptions were lively and vivid. Overall, it was a rather nice pace. 

Like I said, I found my read enjoyable and I really liked it. I don't have much to say unfortunately. But that's only because, for me, The Manicurist's Daughter is of those memoirs that you just have to start reading, get into it, and see for yourself.

I received an ARC copy of this book from Celadon for this review.

Thanks for reading!

2023 Candy Corn Finds

Happy Halloween! It’s actually been a few years since I tried to find some of Brach’s candy corn flavors. So I did just that! This year’s flavors include the ones I typically see like Original, Mellowcreme Pumpkins, Autumn Mix, etc. But I wanted (what I assume to be) the special ones: Fall Festival and Mellowcreme Caramel Apples.

The first one I had was Fall Festival. I was excited to try it, but I was side-eying Kettle Corn. Overall, the bag was just okay.

As figured, my least favorite was Kettle Corn. On one hand, it tasted like oil/butter with a hint of salt. On the other hand, it was like soggy popcorn. I tried so many times to like it, but I couldn’t. The first taste brought back memories of a butter jelly bean I disliked. I did wonder if I would have liked this now if liked that jelly bean then.

Anyway, next are the flavors that I found just okay. Strawberry Funnel Cake tasted just like the name. I’d even say, oddly, fried. Caramel Apple was nice, but I liked the caramel and apple separate. 

Then there’s Cotton Candy, which was another memory jogger. At first, I didn’t like them as much as my co-blogger did. Initially I thought it was more like mild cough syrup, but I gave it a few more tries. Then I thought it tasted like mild dum-dums lollipops (of the same flavor) than actual cotton candy. After that it wasn’t so bad. 

Last are my favorites from this mix: Lemonade Shake-Up and Lemon-Lime Snowcone. Lemonade Shake-Up was lemony, mellow, and enjoyable. But honestly, I don’t have much to say about it. Lemon-Lime Snowcone had a really nice flavor, and was another one that kind of tasted like its name. I thought this was the best flavor in the entire bag.

 

Since I was a little disappointed, I went searching for Mellowcreme Caramel Apples. When I found it, I also picked up a bag of original while I was at it.

If you’ve seen my first Candy Corn post, you probably know that Green apple alone is a favorite of mine. With the addition of caramel it was pretty good too. In comparison with Green Apple, I’d say Red Apple has a more natural (an artificial one, of course) flavor. I found it pleasant. And I liked it more than the one in Fall Festival.

 

This year, obviously, I preferred the Caramel Apples and Original flavors. Although I found Fall Festival to be average, there were some interesting and nice flavors. On the plus side, I loved the packaging art.

Anyway, that’s all for now. Thanks for reading.

Series Review: The Books of Elsewhere #2, #3, #4, and #5

Titles:

Spellbound: Goodreads     Barnes & Noble

Synopsis: The house isn't the only one keeping secrets anymore. You'll never guess what happens next in this thrilling, chilling fantasy series, perfect for fans of Pseudonymous Bosch, Coraline, and Septimus Heap.

Publisher/ Release date: Puffin Books; May 24, 2012

The Second Spy: Goodreads     Barnes & Noble

Synopsis: In Olive's third adventure, what lurks below the house could be as dangerous as what's hidden inside . . .

Publisher/ Release date: Puffin Books; Jul 11, 2013

The Strangers: Goodreads     Barnes & Noble

Synopsis: The stakes grow higher, the secrets more dangerous, and mystery and magic abound as Olive, the boys, and the cats uncover the true nature of the house on Linden Street.

Publisher/ Release date: Puffin Books; May 15, 2014

Still Life Goodreads     Barnes & Noble

Synopsis: In this fifth and final book, Olive must seek the full, complex story of Elsewhere, its magical origins, and its creator, and in so doing, face her own fears and limitations--and possibly the destruction of Elsewhere itself. How far will Olive go to save the people and home she loves? And what will be the final cost?

Publisher/ Release date: Puffin Books; Jun 2, 2015

Series: The Books of Elsewhere (#2-#5)

Author: Jacqueline West

Illustrator: Poly Bernatene

Source/Format: Bought; Paperback

You can read each full synopsis by clicking on the respective Goodreads link.

What I Thought:

This is a series review for the last four books in the Books of Elsewhere series (Spellbound, The Second Spy, The Strangers, and Still Life). You can find my thoughts for The Shadows HERE. Each book deals with Olive discovering yet another mystery about her stone mansion, its paintings, and sometimes the cats. Between Spellbound and The Strangers, she meets some new and exciting characters that usually, inadvertently, join her on her quest.

In general, and something I realize after I finished Still Life, I enjoyed Olive’s relationships. Especially concerning her mathematician parents. On many occasions it was made known she didn’t excel at the subject for her age, yet in the few spaced out scenes that we see the whole family, they were never hard or harsh on her for it. I enjoyed this aspect since the situations and each antagonist Olive would have to deal with became more and more dire as the series went along. And many times she had to face them without her parents. However, outside of her parents and the cats, she had a support system and wasn’t alone. Pretty much throughout the series, it was always a question of how is she going to get out of this? And just when it seemed hopeless, along with her friends, she found a way through the dark, murky paint. Plus, for the last two books, it was a relief when some of her character development finally showed itself. Some of it could have come a book earlier, but it didn’t make much of a difference anyway.

Overall I loved reading the rest of The Books of Elsewhere Series. Still Life wrapped up everything in a nice blanket revealing the truth of Elsewhere and a perfect ending for the characters. Sometimes it got dark, but this depends on the reader. If it sounds interesting to you or a young reader, you may want to check it out.

For the series.

Thanks for reading!

2022 September/October Art Dump

This year my co-blogger Breana got me to do Sha'an d'Anthes' (Furry Little Peach) Peachtober. I only took a few progress photos before finishing them. Some of them I almost forgot to take any at all.

I did have a digital Halloween painting that I started a little late. I'll post it when I'm happy with it. I'm really enjoying the process. Anyway, here are the photos. And you can find Breana's art here.