"Demian: The Story of a Youth" by Hermann Hesse
My grade: A+
An excellent novel! I am a big fan of Hesse, so this comes as no surprise to me. A deeply philosophical work, this is the kind of novel that needs to be read several times in order to be fully understood. But the writing itself is superb, with a wonderful foreword by Thomas Mann. A highly recommended book!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Book review - "A Streetcar Named Desire"
"A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams
My grade: B+
It's amazing how much Williams accomplished in such little space! This play is very short, but nonetheless extremely loaded. Williams does an excellent job of portraying both time and place, as well as creating characters that are alive and recognizable. Definitely worth the short read!
My grade: B+
It's amazing how much Williams accomplished in such little space! This play is very short, but nonetheless extremely loaded. Williams does an excellent job of portraying both time and place, as well as creating characters that are alive and recognizable. Definitely worth the short read!
Book review - "Anna Karenina"
"Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy
My grade: A-
It seemed immoral to me to give Tolstoy anything less than an A, but my expectations were not necessarily met. I have previously read this book in the original Russian, many years ago, but wanted to reread in English as I felt I had missed many of the nuances. Firstly, I must say that I was not impressed with Joel Carmichael's translation. On a few occasions, the writing itself seemed flat and, dare I say it, bad. Having gotten that out of the way, the work itself is blindingly outdated; a fact that's sad but true. It's difficult to relate to any aspect of it and to understand the lives or purposes of the characters involved.
Perhaps the most tragic aspect of this novel is that I found Anna Karenina herself, the heroine, entirely unsympathetic. There wasn't a single moment in time when I felt sorry for her or her fate, which was by all means Tolstoy's objective. I found her deserving of her grief and pathetic not in the way the author intended.
Another aspect of Tolstoy's writing that simply drove me crazy (and something that has not previously affected me in such a way in his works) is his propensity to digress and focus on his personal philosophies. Many chapters of the book were exceptionally boring and bore no relevance to the main story, arousing questions of why here and now. It gives the impression of a rambling old man, who may have a lot to say, but can't organize his thoughts or ideas properly.
My grade: A-
It seemed immoral to me to give Tolstoy anything less than an A, but my expectations were not necessarily met. I have previously read this book in the original Russian, many years ago, but wanted to reread in English as I felt I had missed many of the nuances. Firstly, I must say that I was not impressed with Joel Carmichael's translation. On a few occasions, the writing itself seemed flat and, dare I say it, bad. Having gotten that out of the way, the work itself is blindingly outdated; a fact that's sad but true. It's difficult to relate to any aspect of it and to understand the lives or purposes of the characters involved.
Perhaps the most tragic aspect of this novel is that I found Anna Karenina herself, the heroine, entirely unsympathetic. There wasn't a single moment in time when I felt sorry for her or her fate, which was by all means Tolstoy's objective. I found her deserving of her grief and pathetic not in the way the author intended.
Another aspect of Tolstoy's writing that simply drove me crazy (and something that has not previously affected me in such a way in his works) is his propensity to digress and focus on his personal philosophies. Many chapters of the book were exceptionally boring and bore no relevance to the main story, arousing questions of why here and now. It gives the impression of a rambling old man, who may have a lot to say, but can't organize his thoughts or ideas properly.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Book review - "Up in the Air"
"Up in the Air" by Walter Kirn
My grade: B
I presume many will already know what this book is about as it was made into a movie. For those of you who don't, here's a brief synopsis: the hero fires people for a living and his main objective (and in many ways only) is to earn 1 million miles as a frequent flyer. It becomes a sick obsession of his, even though he has no idea what he will do with the miles. But he desperately needs a goal to cling onto, because his world (and life) is otherwise empty.
It is a sarcastic take on a certain class of business professionals and America, painting a rather glum and pathetic picture. Aside from the sometime overdone jargon, the book is mostly entertaining and largely depressive. Worth the read, though.
My grade: B
I presume many will already know what this book is about as it was made into a movie. For those of you who don't, here's a brief synopsis: the hero fires people for a living and his main objective (and in many ways only) is to earn 1 million miles as a frequent flyer. It becomes a sick obsession of his, even though he has no idea what he will do with the miles. But he desperately needs a goal to cling onto, because his world (and life) is otherwise empty.
It is a sarcastic take on a certain class of business professionals and America, painting a rather glum and pathetic picture. Aside from the sometime overdone jargon, the book is mostly entertaining and largely depressive. Worth the read, though.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Book Review - "The Pillars of the Earth"
"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.
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.
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!
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