"The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett
My grade: A
This really is one colossal novel. Taking place in the 12th Century, the action revolves around the building of a cathedral in England, although it isn't necessarily about that. More poignant (at least, for me) were the details of the uncivilized and unstructured ways of life, the mindsets of the people and the peak into a world that is so unfamiliar to our own. Those with an interest in history will really appreciate this book! It is very well-written and is highly recommended.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Book review - "Horns"
"Horns" by Joe Hill
My grade: C-
I'm not much of a tree hugger, but this novel is nothing short of a complete waste of perfectly good paper! The writing is lousy at its best, full of cliches, flat characters and poorly chosen words. The story itself, which initially seemed to have some potential, came completely undone quite early on; and as much as I had hoped, there ultimately came no redemption. Don't waste your time, or your money, on this!
My grade: C-
I'm not much of a tree hugger, but this novel is nothing short of a complete waste of perfectly good paper! The writing is lousy at its best, full of cliches, flat characters and poorly chosen words. The story itself, which initially seemed to have some potential, came completely undone quite early on; and as much as I had hoped, there ultimately came no redemption. Don't waste your time, or your money, on this!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Book review - "The Collector"
"The Collector" by John Fowles
My grade: A-
This is an incredibly disturbing novel! I had to say that straight off the bat. It's disturbing and difficult to read in the same way as "Lolita", and probably, even more so. It is, often, quite sick! But very well-written.
The story is that of a butterfly collector, although that plays no crucial role. Mostly, he is a psychologically ill man, and the story is that of his demise. He convinces himself that he is in love with a girl, someone he barely even knows the name of. And in his obsession with her, he kidnaps her in an effort to make her fall in love with him and live a normal life together with him.
I don't know if Fowles was writing in a time that is much different than ours today; my guess is he was. The relevance that a novel of this nature has to current events is striking; and yet, one thinks that Fowles would have done and said so many things differently had he (in his mind) not been writing about a removed, hard-to-imagine scenario. The scenario is, sadly, imaginable, although entirely not understandable. And Fowles neither sheds light on the psychology of such an individual, nor arouses an ounce of pity for the protagonist. But yet, the novel is a page-turner!
My grade: A-
This is an incredibly disturbing novel! I had to say that straight off the bat. It's disturbing and difficult to read in the same way as "Lolita", and probably, even more so. It is, often, quite sick! But very well-written.
The story is that of a butterfly collector, although that plays no crucial role. Mostly, he is a psychologically ill man, and the story is that of his demise. He convinces himself that he is in love with a girl, someone he barely even knows the name of. And in his obsession with her, he kidnaps her in an effort to make her fall in love with him and live a normal life together with him.
I don't know if Fowles was writing in a time that is much different than ours today; my guess is he was. The relevance that a novel of this nature has to current events is striking; and yet, one thinks that Fowles would have done and said so many things differently had he (in his mind) not been writing about a removed, hard-to-imagine scenario. The scenario is, sadly, imaginable, although entirely not understandable. And Fowles neither sheds light on the psychology of such an individual, nor arouses an ounce of pity for the protagonist. But yet, the novel is a page-turner!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Book Review - "cloud atlas"
"cloud atlas" by David Mitchell
My grade: B+
This is a very interesting book indeed. It is broken up into different pieces of writing - letters, diary entries, traditional narration, etc. - told from the perspective of different people, living in various times, in various parts of the world. The pieces are initially seemingly unconnected, but slowly begin to come together; at least, in theory. In my opinion, it is a mere formality that joins the pieces to one another, and I failed to catch a single meaning or message from the book as a whole, although it was clearly intended as such. It, nonetheless, remains a very interesting and worthwhile read, excellently-written.
My grade: B+
This is a very interesting book indeed. It is broken up into different pieces of writing - letters, diary entries, traditional narration, etc. - told from the perspective of different people, living in various times, in various parts of the world. The pieces are initially seemingly unconnected, but slowly begin to come together; at least, in theory. In my opinion, it is a mere formality that joins the pieces to one another, and I failed to catch a single meaning or message from the book as a whole, although it was clearly intended as such. It, nonetheless, remains a very interesting and worthwhile read, excellently-written.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Book Review - "Water for Elephants"
"Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
My grade: A-
For those of you who don't know what this book, or the movie that's based on this book, is about, here's a quick synopsis: the times are the 1930s, in middle America, and everything that comes with it - Depression, Prohibition, etc. The setting: a train-traveling circus. The plot: a kind of love story.
Gruen does a great job of capturing the time and place, and mentality of the people. She really took me there. The story, generally, is very well-written, but not altogether important. The ending, unfortunately, is rushed and unrealistic; it just seems like a wrap-up only for the sake of wrapping up. It's likewise a bit too idealistic and romantic for my taste, considering also that the tone through most of the book was everything but.
My grade: A-
For those of you who don't know what this book, or the movie that's based on this book, is about, here's a quick synopsis: the times are the 1930s, in middle America, and everything that comes with it - Depression, Prohibition, etc. The setting: a train-traveling circus. The plot: a kind of love story.
Gruen does a great job of capturing the time and place, and mentality of the people. She really took me there. The story, generally, is very well-written, but not altogether important. The ending, unfortunately, is rushed and unrealistic; it just seems like a wrap-up only for the sake of wrapping up. It's likewise a bit too idealistic and romantic for my taste, considering also that the tone through most of the book was everything but.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Book Review - "Wives and Daughters"
"Wives and Daughters" by Elizabeth Gaskell
My grade: A
As the name suggests, this is definitely women's literature. The genre is that of "The Forsyte Saga", although in my opinion, this novel is even better. It is a classic English family saga, taking place in the early 1800s. The unfortunate part of this novel is that the author died prior to finishing the last chapter. Her editor included a note at the end, describing how the novel should have ended based on what had been known from the author herself. It is very unfortunate, nonetheless, that the author was unable to finish the novel herself, with her beautiful style of writing. Despite that, it is still worth a read.
My grade: A
As the name suggests, this is definitely women's literature. The genre is that of "The Forsyte Saga", although in my opinion, this novel is even better. It is a classic English family saga, taking place in the early 1800s. The unfortunate part of this novel is that the author died prior to finishing the last chapter. Her editor included a note at the end, describing how the novel should have ended based on what had been known from the author herself. It is very unfortunate, nonetheless, that the author was unable to finish the novel herself, with her beautiful style of writing. Despite that, it is still worth a read.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Book Review - "The Ask"
"The Ask" by Sam Lipsyte
My grade: C+
Hmmm... I'm not sure what to say about this book. I finished reading it two days ago, and have already forgotten the character names and most of the plot. I think it's because there wasn't much to either. It's a mediocre book, in a genre full of such tales; corporate America, average Joe, pointless life, etc. I often come back to this subject, but it's only because I find it crucial to any successful novel: the protagonist has to either be loved by the reader or hated, or at the very least, be an incredibly interesting persona. If he is just an average Joe, and not very likable at that, you're going to have a tough time winning the reader over. Lipsyte, in my opinion, failed at that. There is no message here, no interesting insight, no wonderful plot; by and large, there's nothing outstanding about this novel, it's simply incredibly mediocre.
My grade: C+
Hmmm... I'm not sure what to say about this book. I finished reading it two days ago, and have already forgotten the character names and most of the plot. I think it's because there wasn't much to either. It's a mediocre book, in a genre full of such tales; corporate America, average Joe, pointless life, etc. I often come back to this subject, but it's only because I find it crucial to any successful novel: the protagonist has to either be loved by the reader or hated, or at the very least, be an incredibly interesting persona. If he is just an average Joe, and not very likable at that, you're going to have a tough time winning the reader over. Lipsyte, in my opinion, failed at that. There is no message here, no interesting insight, no wonderful plot; by and large, there's nothing outstanding about this novel, it's simply incredibly mediocre.
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