tsar
This book has absorbing characters, an intresting story
And emotions so raw that will make you cry
spoiler alert*
The way it was revealed that Kya was the killer was mindblowing
I mean I don't think I was the only one who was so irritated by the random poems by A. H. popping up everywhere so when it was revealed that Kya was A.H.
I was blown away.
You Think It, I'll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld is a collection of short stories. The reason why this book is a good read is that even in a short story the writer makes the characters multidimensional. In a span of a couple of pages you see that the characters aren't just plot points but human.
This novel is about the titular character Eleanor Oliphant, a 29 year old women, who lives a lonely life. She is completely fine with that until she isn't and decides to make some significant changes in her life after having a chance encounter with the “love of her life.”
According to Honeyman, through this book she wanted to address the increasing loneliness among young people and that led to inception of Eleanor.
The first half of this book is boring and a bit too long, Eleanor gets a crush and she starts creating a cookie-cutter fantasy with him in her head. But when this fantasy is shattered by the reality of her life, that's when this book gets interesting.
We get to see this character unravel and face their issues. I really liked the fact that the book didn't let the other characters “fix” Eleanor but rather gave her the agency to do it at her pace.
The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul is the second book in the Dirk Gently Dectective series.
In this installment, Dirk tries to find out the cause behind the mysterious explosion at an airport terminal.
I will admit that the book has its moments when it is highlighting the absurdity of many daily life interactions.
Overall the book is drab, because its pacing and narration aren't that sharp and biting as you might expect from a Douglas Adam book.
The concept behind this book is fascinating, receiving calls informing you that you'll die today but being unable to change anything about it.
The author tries to incorporate different actors affected by this tech, the “heralds” informing one about their upcoming death, the ones actually receiving the news and their loved ones. But it is only the story of Rufus and Mateo that does justice, every other character feels incomplete and superficial to actually have an impact.
One Hundred Years of Solitude is unarguably Marquez's most popular and successful book.
After reading this I can see why, his writing has the usual poetic melancholic elements to it and he knows how to conclude a book.
(The ending made this book jump from a 1-star to easily a 2.5-star book.)
Now, after acknowledging the elements I do appreciate, let me point out the ones that made this book tedious and unbearable at times.
The narration meanders a lot, by the time you are actually invested in a character, they are cut out from the book.
While its writing is beautiful, it tends to become overindulgent midway because the subplots are half-baked.
Overall, I prefer Love in the Time of Cholera over this as that book has both beautiful writing and good plot (well, lack of roaming around aimlessly).
Firstly let me get this off my chest in the beginning, I have never read a book on nature but I have read many encyclopaedias. I really tried to keep my mind open about this book, but on many occasions I felt like any average encyclopaedia would be more informative.
The main reason I felt like that was because the author meanders a lot.
Or maybe it is just me, and I'd prefer to read a more technical book.
Overall, not my cup of tea.
A short book on Irish history which could honestly be shorter and I'd possibly like it a bit more.
The author assumes the reader is familiar with a lot of Irish folkore and spends more time on his commentary than on providing some historical context.
This book is quite Eurocentric, so hard to appreciate it from an outsider's perspective.
“A Little Life” is easily one of the most scarring and depressing books I have ever read.
It deserves every trigger warning one can conjure up.
Yet, the writing is beautiful. I ended up devouring this book (only took a break when I had to go to work).
One insignificant issue I have with this book is on its marketing, it is sold as a story about 4 friends (Jude, Willem, Malcolm and JB) and how their friendship has evolved through the decades.
But honestly, it is only about 2 friends (Jude and Willem) and we, as readers, rarely get to experience Malcolm's and JB's pov.
Let me preface this review by mentioning that I am a total beginner when it comes to art history or to be fair art in general, so naturally I was skeptical to pick up this book because I wasn’t sure that I’ll enjoy it as it might get too highbrow for me.
Well, I am glad to say that I was wrong and this has to be one of the best non-fiction books I have read. (The number’s not that huge so not a big deal :p)
Now onto the review, Story of Art was published in 1950 but it is a book that one can still understand because it is a timeless telling of European Art. It is not just understandable but really fun because the author takes you on a journey from the conception of art to how the society around it shaped its evolution, shows you how art can never be understood completely but can be appreciated wholeheartedly and interpreted in different ways.
Also, it is an amazing collection of great art trivia that I lapped up like it was a daily soap opera.
In addition to the historical journey that the author Ernest Gombrich takes you on, there’s a message there about how art is something that we, as humans, will always create. It leaves you with the following beautiful ending quote which is more so relevant now, with the advent of AI generated images and how the art that artists spend their lifetime honing can be regenerated within a span of seconds.
“Artists, we trust, will always be born. But whether there will also be that depends to no small extent on ourselves, their public. By our indifference or our interest, by our prejudice or our understanding we may yet decide the issue. It is we who must see to it that the thread of tradition does not break and that there remain opportunities for the artist to add to the precious string of pearls that is our heirloom from the past.”
It left me speechless and astonished.
There are a few shortcomings of the book though like even though it is called Story of Art, mainly European art movements are discussed at length with passing mentions made on the historical context happening in the other parts of the world but the author acknowledges this in his prologue and well the book is published in 1950, they didn’t quite have the extensive resources required for other continents.
Still, it is truly the best primer for someone looking to learn about art.
Everything about this book is confusing and does not make any sense at all.
The characters are not absorbing they are terrible and pathetic and you just can't understand any narrator's point of view.
The author in my opinion wanted to address some major issues but the output is just bad.
SPOILER ALERT
It just seems too convenient to make the husband the villain (and too obvious)
I just can't understand Rachel's motivation for investigating a crime just because it involved the woman she used to stalk (yes it makes no sense)
~2.5 stars
Have you ever wondered how a modern day feminist would survive in 1950s?
Bonnie Garmus certainly has and she believes that as long as the said feminist is resilient, she can single handedly change the system that is actively trying to suppress her.
It is honestly a scientific fairytale, imagine if a Disney princess did chemistry!
How fantastic!
In all seriousness, this book doesn't take any of its characters and their plights seriously but as nothing more than a plot point.
I stopped expecting any sort of story with real, multidimensional characters at around the 50 page mark.
Ngl, that's the best decision I could've made because after that the book became somewhat tolerable.
I liked the book
It had a very powerful start but in my opinion the thing between Amy and Laurie was just pure nonsense and so was the pairing of Jo and the teacher. It would have made much more sense if Jo had remained single and kept her tomboy attitude and defied the norms of the society at that time.
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin is the 4th book of the series Hainish Cycle.
Each book explores a new planet colony started by the Hainish people as an evolutionary experiment.
All books of the series can be read as standalone.
This one explores the planet Gethen, and the experience of the human envoy sent there on a mission.
Honestly, this book is what you'd expect after reading the blurb description.
I am definitely going to add more books by the author in my TBR.
Gone with the wind is a historical fiction glorifying the good old times and slavery.
I understand that it was released in 1936, but even for 1936 it spends an awful lot time discussing how slavery was better for everyone.
Although I'll admit that all the primary characters have very well written arcs but I just couldn't get past the sheer amount of racism to truly appreciate it.
First published in 1947, this book is the first book in the adventures of the English spy Roger Brook. It explores the pre-French Revolution era of Europe.
This book is quite engaging, easy-to-read and explains the context of European politics well.
But this book is a product of its time, so obviously one of its plot points is racist.
“Anna Karenina” is one of the most celebrated classics of Russian literature. It does an excellent job of portraying the society of elites and the impact scandals have on it.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the book, but the second half was a bit depressing.
The novel sheds light on many issues prevalent in high society, particularly how wives often turn a blind eye to their husbands' extramarital affairs. However, when a married woman does the same, she is ostracized by the very same society.
I love how this book exposes so many double standards and highlights internalized misogyny.
There are also various subplots involving other characters, like Levin, who is deeply unhappy with his life but doesn't end up taking the same path as Anna. Instead, he stumbles upon optimistic nihilism, which is honestly a hilarious way to wrap up the book, ngl.
Rushdie's 1981 acclaimed book follows the birth of the Indian Subcontinent through the means of “Midnight's Children”, a title given to kids born on the day of India's independence from the British rule.
The narrator, Saleem Sinai, is one such kid born along with India, at the stroke of midnight on 15th August, 1947. Saleem narrates his infancy, childhood & adulthood drawing parallels to Indian subcontinent.
The first 2 sections are well-paced albeit a bit lengthy but the last section concerning the Indian emergency period feels like a drag.
The Song of Achilles is a retelling of the tale of Achilles from the point of view of his friend and lover, Patroclus.
As with all books that provide a modern interpretation of Greek mythology, this one also shows the gods as the evil ones. Additionally, it also questions whether ambition is good and when does it become destructive.
There's a lot of not subtle foreshadowing in the narrative but that liberty is taken because most people are already aware of the tragic myth.
This is considered as a modern classic and it has interesting ideas about identity but it feels like the plot is meandering.
I finished this book and the first thought I had - this is it?
Don't get me wrong this might be clever, have a lot of symbolism and themes about belonging but it is so so boring.
There wasn't a single moment where I was engaged in the story.
This is clearly not my cup of tea.
Really need to read something more engaging to get interested in reading again.