Isaac
”You revolting creature. I was a daisy-fresh girl, and look what you’ve done to me. I ought to call the police and tell them you raped me. Oh, you dirty, dirty old man.”
Lolita is one of most devastating books I have ever read, very unique where it’s written so beautifully while portraying a monster. At first, I was confused why anyone would ever misinterpret Lolita. But, by the last 50 pages, I understood the possibility of misinterpreting it, but those readers are really getting manipulated by Hubert’s poeticness, and thinking the author, who is an SA victim, endorses his actions. There are so many lines that had me in awe. Most definitely one of the best books I have ever read.
Man. I just love autobiographies. David Lynch is one of my favorite directors, probably second behind Paul Thomas Anderson. And I'm so glad he dove so deep into his life with this autobiography it is also half biography, which is very interesting. It starts from his early life and goes through everything that has happened in his career. Some autobiographies forget what we are reading for. And David doesn't forget that. Even though I could listen to him rambling on about meditation or whatever, he knows we want to hear about his films! And although I have read a lot about Lynch, I learned a lot that I didn't know. I thought it was hilarious that Anthony Hopkins hated him, how making Eraserhead literally drove him to divorce, and so much more. I hope he gets to make Ronnie Rocket someday.
The first book of the series I really don't remember anything about other than it being about a labyrinth. And man. This is easily the best of the series yet, so many great moments that just scream adventure, maybe the most variety we've had, and although it is for 14 year olds, some pretty graphic moments, like Daedalus being a prisoner and being inferred to getting tortured, and also Daedalus almost bleeding to his death. Not much came back to refresh my memory though, other than Pan, and the ending where Poseidon shows up in a reign of jealousy. I cannot wait to read The Last Olympian, which I cannot even remember anything at all that happens.
A lot of the reviews say “It's good but don't expect any insights about his acting career”. And... this couldn't be more untrue? Yes, the book isn't entirely about his career, but the majority of it is. I don't think he's had the most interesting acting career so where this shines is when Matthew tells stories in his life. I did like the brief insight into the McConaisance” though.
Not quite as good as I was expecting, after the first book of the heroes of Olympus series not having Percy, and then this one just being about him regaining his memory back, seems a little repetitive. Just a reason to have another book. But, despite that, this is still great. But I'm really excited for the plot to get going in Mark of Athena.
Has the common trope of ending an epic fantasy/sci-fi series with a very long and epic battle. This probably started with Lord of The Rings, and has continued with Harry Potter, and dived into film, like Avengers: Endgame. This trope can get pretty stale. Endgame being an example of that. But this series, miraculously, could never get stale. This book really defines the word “epic” from the start. It never wastes time, but still manages to have time for some great character moments. I don't remember much at all about this book from reading it as a kid, and there were so many emotionally powerful moments. Like Percy turning down being a God, and the many moments with Hermes talking about Luke. Incredible stuff and not something you would expect to see for a book for kids. I thought the mythology would be less fun with the titans taking a front seat but it really wasn't. Prometheus was one of my favorite characters of the entire series. I am very ready to read the “Heroes of Olympus”.
Maybe I had too high expectations, but this was just a good book. It was nothing mind blowing, the writing was pretty average, it was just entertaining enough. Feels like if a teenager wrote the book Blonde. The “subplot” of the journalist was also very disinteresteding, would be cooler if they committed to being a fictional biography. But, I don't regret reading it as it was still an enjoyable time.
The first book since I've came back to reading consistently since I was a kid that I can confidently call a masterpiece. There's a lot to unpack, but I can basically summarize it by saying Murakami's writing is wonderful, and surreal, in a way I haven't felt by most things. It felt like going into the psyche of someone's mind. I also couldn't have imagined a better ending, when so far, endings of books I've read have been underwhelming. I'll definitely read more Murakami very soon.
Merged review:
The first book since I've came back to reading consistently since I was a kid that I can confidently call a masterpiece. There's a lot to unpack, but I can basically summarize it by saying Murakami's writing is wonderful, and surreal, in a way I haven't felt by most things. It felt like going into the psyche of someone's mind. I also couldn't have imagined a better ending, when so far, endings of books I've read have been underwhelming. I'll definitely read more Murakami very soon.
