Nithou
Ok I really liked this one and I can feel the interest for the serie at this point (hence why I think the omnibus collecting the first 3 stories is perhaps the best way to start instead of having them separately). The murderbot psychology becomes really interesting, dealing with its boredom and willingness to protect humans even while it is released from its shackles. Still think the humor and anti-hero trope can be better, some parts made me smile but I was still expecting more on this side.
Was advised this one by a friend from Singapore after some discussion after World War II and after I realized that I knew almost nothing about what happened on the Asian front and what Japanese did to this area.
This tale was deeply moving, I was taken aback several times by the pure horrendous actions led by Japanese troops in the area while keeping the appearances and unwillingness to face the atrocities committed. I also learn a lot about this part of the world, the culture and the impact of the war that is still felt decades after.
The writing was really great, alternating stories and point of views, crossing decades before intertwining and I was surprised at every step. Wang Di character was beautifully written, showing the depths of her character as she went through so many things, but also the evolution of her relationships throughout this period.
I would totally recommend this book if you want to get to know more about what happened in this area during WW2.
Mon premier Baptiste Beaulieu, et je l'ai trouvé chargé d'une poésie magnifique et d'une humanité bouleversante. Une gallerie de rencontres, de parcours de vie extrêmement durs, envie de prendre tous ces gens dans les bras pour tenter d'apporter ne serait-ce que quelques secondes de réconfort. J'ai été profondément ému et remué par ces quelques pages.
"Les larmes, c'est un truc inutile contre la mort, mais qu'on n'a jamais cessé d'essayer quand même. "
Conseillé par mon thérapeute, je pense que le titre n'est peut être pas le plus adapté au contenu. Malgré le ton très "ergothérapeute bienveillant" le sujet était assez intéressant, principalement sur comment gérer la manière dont notre esprit "critiquant" fonctionne et sur notre relation avec nos pensées. Ce livre enseigne pas mal de méthodes pour gérer les pensées invasives, en apprenant à faire la différence entre notre observation des faits et leur réalité, permettant de créer un espace de respiration. J'ai trouvé les exercices assez intéressant, que ce soit dans la manière de gérer nos pensées invasives que dans la manière de structurer une vie autour des valeurs qui nous importent le plus (à la différence d'objectifs).
Liked it a bit more than the first one, I think the pairing with the ship navigator works well. The murderbot character is also growing a bit more depth, which makes it interesting, and there's a sense of mystery and "something bigger is happening" that is slowly taking on through the short novella, making me willing to go further down the road. Still was expecting way more in terms of narrator due to all the public discussions around those books, but it's interesting nevertheless.
So they made us smarter. The anxiety and depression were side effects
I was curious about this one, based on the name and the amount of people talking about it. I found a nice science-fiction novella told through the eyes of a "murderbot" with quite an apathetic view on its life and work and some nice jokes. I wasn't really captivated by the story but it made me want to read the next novellas and see what becomes of it, so we'll see how it goes!
Ce livre aurait pu être intéressant si la fin n'avait pas été si prématurée et laissée ouverte totalement à l'interprétation après toute la construction du récit. L'intrigue était pourtant potentiellement intéressante, entre troubles politiques et fanatisme religieux, le tout dans un décor bruxellois, un petit roman noir belge. Cependant j'ai été déçu par plusieurs points:
- la fin que j'ai trouvée bâclée et inachevée,
- l'étalement parfois inutile de vocabulaire (l'auteur a un très beau vocabulaire, certains passages tiennent cependant trop d'une volonté de le montrer plutôt que de servir le récit)
- les descriptions des personnages féminins. Est-on obligé de commencer toute description d'une femme par "sa poitrine voluptueuse" et autres ? Est-il nécessaire de souvent ne mentionner des femmes dans le récit qu'en tant que "porte-seins" n'apportant absolument rien ? Triste quand les deux personnages féminins sont pourtant des femmes fortes qui apportent un côté intéressant au récit.
Difficile donc de recommender ce livre au final.
J'ai vraiment bien aimé cet ensemble de quatre récits filés et ces fragments de vie qui donnent une fenêtre sur l'homosexualité en Corée de quelqu'un ayant grandit en même temps que moi. Il y a des moments très touchants, d'autres montrant une espèce de cynisme homosexuel qui semble exister un peu partout, des moments un peu difficiles, mais où le charactère principal démontre une force de caractère assez unique. J'ai beaucoup aimé l'humour dont fait preuve l'auteur à travers tout le récit, démontrant un don pour l'autodérision assez poussé, le menant parfois à faire des choix en s'oubliant totalement. Un beau récit dont je suis assez curieux de découvrir l'adaptation cinématographique.
Sooo I read this one before the second one, but it didn't spoil me anything in the story, that's nice :'D Really love this serie, it makes me feel calm and cozy and paints beautiful pictures of those legends in my mind. I really like how the author weaves the characters and the legends together and I'm always happily surprised at the end.
Really loved this one, there was a real tension troughout the story that left me breathless. Nghi Vo has a storyteller skill absolutely unique, every one of those books feels like an evening around the fire telling stories while the night grows darker. The stories, universe and characters are really unique, painting beautiful pictures in your mind in an unique way. I think this has become my feel good serie when I want something to warm my heart and provide shelter.
This was a perfect ending for this trilogy. While I had my doubt on the first volume, I've been totally captivated by the second and this last one. The characters evolution was absolutely wonderful (even if I wanted to smack some of them in the head especially the main one sometimes) and the way their friendships grew stronger with every step wonderful. I shouted in happiness when **that kiss** happened of course, and the romance was perfectly written in respect to the two characters history. I didn't think I'd like a story centered around a sport (albeit fictional) but I was taken by surprise and really happy with it!
The cliffhanger at the end of the first volume made me want to tackle this one immediately and I wasn't deceived! Things escalated at a quick pace now that the characters were set and the story took me to new heights. The relationships between the Foxes was great with their bonds tightening and the rivalry with the Ravens was suffocating. The end of this second book made me shed a tear for Neil and I just can't wait to read the final tome
Had some troubles getting into it because there's a lot of characters and it took me some time to get to know everyone and not mix them, but once this was set up the story was really captivating. This first book is hard, by its introduction of all the characters but also by how Neil comes to be included in the Foxes team (really not pleasant). However, by the end you start to grow fond of all of them and really curious about what will happen next, so I'm really looking forward to discover more about this story in the next volumes!
Absolutely stunning, akin to the Empire Trilogy written by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurts, but make it gay! The amount of intrigues, court plays, war tactics and table turning was absolutely fantastic. And I adored the relationship between Laurent and Damen and never knowing exactly what Laurent was thinking or what he'll do. This is a great ending for this trilogy and an excellent trilogy overall!
Liked the first one but this second part was absolutely stunning, the intrigues went ten notch higher and the power plays were just crazy. Absolutely love how the story takes its depth and how the character evolve. And my god this ending was absolutely stunning and kept me on my nerves for the last 10% of the book.
What I needed to read to change my mind from the news. Totally gay, with a lot of intrigues and court play and an interesting universe. This first book starts quite slow and there's a lot of tension building up between the two characters but it mainly sets the world, so I'm really looking forward to things moving up more faster due to everything happening in the last part of this book!
Started this book because it appeared on banned book lists, and what better award? I was totally surprised by the rawness of it, its description of the turmoil and cruelty of adolescence and the sadistic part of some school as well as teacher-student relationships. It reminded me a lot of the Dead Poets Society, by its settings and characters, but by including a raw violence that is mostly rampant in the Dead Poets Society. This is a great book with quite an array of character that demonstrates a brutal but quite true view of adolescence and harassment.
A nice anthology of queer Arab writers talking about their experience, their culture, encounters with white saviors, ... Most of them were really interesting, giving great cultural insights on Arab queer lives and perceptions. I learned quite a lot and saw several faults I did myself when interacting with queer Arab previously so this will help me be better.
Un des premiers roman à attaquer la dystopie, bien avant 1984 et Le Meilleur des Mondes. "Nous" présente un monde entier modelé sur les principes du Taylorisme poussé à l'extrême, et une critique acerbe du stalinisme naissant de l'époque. L'auteur dilue l'individu dans le groupe, poussant cette idée de s'effacer face au groupe jusqu'à son paroxysme. On y retrouve beaucoup de l'inspiration de 1984 dans la construction du récit et des personnages y intervenant, mais j'ai trouvé que "Nous" offrait finalement une vision mieux construite et très bien écrite, qui résonne parfois tristement juste à notre époque.
Il nous appartient de soumettre au joug bienfaisant de la raison tous les êtres inconnus, habitants d'autres planètes, qui se trouvent peut-être encore à l'état sauvage de la liberté. S'ils ne comprennent pas que nous leur apportons le bonheur mathématique et exact, notre devoir est de les forcer à être heureux.
Wonderfully written dystopia, packed to the brim with action, I'd really like to see it adapted into a movie. The universe in itself is enthralling, very cyberpunk in its essence. The drawings are wonderful, not all to my taste, but there's quite a variety of them, which makes the story even more interesting as the style keeps on changing.
Une très belle histoire d'amour en Palestine, pleine de poésie et tout en justesse, montrant à la fois la beauté du monde et de l'amour et la cruauté gratuite des hommes. Magnifiquement écrit de bout en bout, laissant le lecteur rêveur accablé.
Mange toutes les miettes de moi que je reste toujours avec toi.