Quick Lit: Short and Sweet Reviews April 2026

Some short reviews of books with bite I’ve read over the last month-month and a half. Written as part of Mrs. Darcy’s Quick Lit Short and Sweet Reviews linkup.

Sisters in Yellow by Mieko Kawakami

A young woman without much in the way of family or prospects gets caught up in murky Tokyo nightlife in the 90s, creating her own family along the way. The entrenchment of poverty and life below the line of “acceptability” in Japanese society is intense, and (spoiler) she will not escape. The danger of believing too much in people is revealed as the elders in Hana’s life use and discard her and her other vulnerable teenage friends.

Fav annotation

What was the name of that bar again…it was really long?” “Yes. The Lullaby of the Madonnas. My mom worked there, but I was still in junior high.” “That’s right, ‘The Lullaby of the Madonnas.’ What a mouthful. Junko named it after that song you know, the Hiromi Iwasaki one.

I only highlighted a few passages from this book, it wasn’t the prose that bit, so didn’t post the annotations.

Last Night in Brooklyn by Xotchil Gonzales

This came out on Tuesday and by Wednesday night I had devoured it all. New York in the summer before Obama was elected was in a lot more free fall than what the timeline in this book supposes, but the real, strait from the streets fashion icon La Garza is not, throwing parties, popups in the Hamptons, taking her company public in an IPO while winning back the heart of the uppercrust man who got away and whose mother had told her in no uncertain terms that she was too hood for him. But fake it til you make it with your name on a chrome tower is a precarious position.

Fav annotation

It defied explanation, but my flesh goosepimpled then, upset about something my body hadn’t yet told my mind.

See my annotations from this book here.

The Witch by Marie NDiaye

This short, wild book finds a suburban woman who, minimally gifted with some heriditary powers, is overrun by the true nightmares of modern life, one kapow at a time. Without giving too much away, her husband steals all her early inheritance because of her failure to make him nightly dinners up to his standards, taking up with a new family in another city; while her dad who had gifted her the money stole it himself and needs it back.

Fav annotation

under the discreet makeup, under the fine powder, they seemed to me the faces of girls without hope, disguised as teachers by the miracle of Isabelle’s virtuosity but unable to entirely conceal an irreparable poverty, a clinging jinx now in temporary remission

I only highlighted a few passages from this book, so didn’t post the annotations. The draw here is the super wild places the narrative goes in this book, not so much the prose or particular passages.

Vigil by George Saunders

A great oil baron is on his deathbed in his fancy house outside Dallas, and various spirits who have things to discuss with him are showing up to see how he’ll own up to what he’s done in his life, the lies he’s promoted, the destruction he’s wrought. Will he take responsibility for what he has done? How many boomers do you know will?

Fav annotation

Imagine a fellow in manacles: hungry, thirsty, flea-bitten, tormented by his mind in hideous ways. And you (unmanacled, free, comfortable, sane) walk past.

You cannot free him. But you might comfort him….Comfort. Comfort, for all else is futility.

I mostly listened to this on audiobook so don’t have an annotation collection.

How to Commit A Post-colonial Murder by Nina McConigley

In the 80s in rural Wyoming, half East Indian sisters have their home taken over by relatives from India emigrating to the United States. One of the relatives abuses the girls. They plot to get even, and in so doing, unravel themselves. It’s a sad coming-of-age story that was oversold as having a political, post-colonial bent which was more marketing ploy for sales than an actual plot line.

Fav annotation

A good life in spite of. In spite of bad ancestors. In spite of your skin. In spite of colonialism. In spite of capitalism. In spite of nationalism. In spite of the internet. In spite of war. In spite of the patriarchy. In spite of lists of things you want. In spite of a man who came in the dark and did things that he shouldn’t. In spite. In spite.

See my (few) annotations from this book here.

Down Time by Andrew Martin

Oh the march of time for the smart elder millenial. The no certain career path thanks to the great recession, the disappearance of middle class jobs. The strong women holding everything together, the ticking of the biological clock. The overeducated men children dragged into having children themselves while they still haven’t found real work. The drama. The pandemic. The witticisms.

Fav annotation

Maggie spent her time trying to solve problems; she’d be the person trying to untangle the ropes for the lifeboats as the crew sang plaintive death songs up on deck.

See my annotations from this book here.