**spoiler alert** Finally made it through this. You can tell this was written by a dude in the 80s. When Bourne was manhandling Marie in the beginning**spoiler alert** Finally made it through this. You can tell this was written by a dude in the 80s. When Bourne was manhandling Marie in the beginning, I was thinking, “she better not fall in love with him.” Ten minutes later they’re in love and acting like they’ve been married for ten years. Absolutely nobody should say “my love” as much as Marie says “my love”.
I honestly don’t even know if the plot was good because I could barely follow it. I would get so bored of the writing I would either zone out or drift off to sleep. Half the book is dialogue, and the other half is Bourne being sneaky sneak in various random set pieces.
Bad dialogue, vague writing, repetitive phrases. Could not wait for it to be over....more
I just didn't really buy into any of the decisions the main character made, and living in his head for 288 pages was super annoying.I just didn't really buy into any of the decisions the main character made, and living in his head for 288 pages was super annoying....more
Ok, I need to sit with this ending for a bit and see how I feel about it. However, regardless of where I land on the ending, I can say I thoroughly loOk, I need to sit with this ending for a bit and see how I feel about it. However, regardless of where I land on the ending, I can say I thoroughly loved this book.
The Casual Vacancy is about a small town in Britain and what happens to that town when one of its town councilors dies suddenly. The entire novel is basically a fallout of that single event, and it demonstrates the different ways a death can impact different people. All of the characters had some sort of tie to the councilor, and the single event leads them all down different paths.
To me, it was basically Parks & Recreation meets Shameless meets Pulp Fiction. Parks & Rec in that the sort of over-arching plot is about local politics. Shameless in that it's about real people with real problems, and there's nothing glamorous at all about any of their lives. And Pulp Fiction in that it's very character-driven, and yet none of the characters are necessarily the "main character". You jump around from perspective to perspective, which was a little confusing sometimes, but I loved it. It's also slightly Shakespearian.
What I really loved was how believable everybody's characters were, and how believable their actions were, even when I didn't like the choices they were making. It made for genuine conflicts and character interactions, rather than some forced conflict because some character acted unreasonably.
This could make an awesome TV series, and I now really want that to happen....more
This is obviously an incredibly pioneering and influential work, but it's also pretty boring. The ideas and themes in it kept me generally interested,This is obviously an incredibly pioneering and influential work, but it's also pretty boring. The ideas and themes in it kept me generally interested, but nothing really happened plotwise. Which I get is part of the point, but it doesn't make for a terribly exciting read. A lot of it reads more like a Wikipedia recital of events than a novel.
I recently read Brave New World, and they're both similar in that the worlds are really interesting, but the plots are kind of boring....more
4.5. It was feeling like a 4 throughout Book One, then at the beginning of Book Two it shot up to a 5 because it was such a unique and creative way to4.5. It was feeling like a 4 throughout Book One, then at the beginning of Book Two it shot up to a 5 because it was such a unique and creative way to tell a story, but then it dropped back down to 4 because the ending felt a little rushed and I got confused. Then, in hindsight, I was tempted to call it a 5. For now, I'm settling on a 4-star review.
I really liked Till We Have Faces. There is such insight into human nature and emotions. I (perhaps mistakenly) chose to read this book before knowing anything about the myth of Cupid and Psyche, so I went in blind, as it were. But this book isn't about Psyche or Cupid. It's about Orual, Psyche's older sister, who loved her almost to the point of hating her.
I found Orual very believable and very relatable, at least in some ways. And, as I said, the way the book is organized is very creative. Book One is a complaint against the gods, and Book Two is their answer, but the way that actually plays out is super interesting. I loved this line: "The complaint is the answer." Hearing herself voice her true feelings allowed Orual to recognize them as being misguided. And reading Orual's account allows the reader to consider his or her own relationships and actions.
This is the kind of book where I feel I would have benefited from a Book Club. I'm still not quite sure what to think of everything, and talking it over with others and hearing their perspectives would have helped. Perhaps that is evident in this review.
I recommend this for any fan of Lewis or Greek mythology. However, despite the apparent consensus, I feel like this is more accessible than most of Lewis' works. If anyone is interested in his philosophy but doesn't want to read a full-on religious text, I think this is a great place to start. ...more
This is one of my favourite plays, but I realized recently I hadn't actually read the book! Charles Dickens is one of my favourite authors, and this cThis is one of my favourite plays, but I realized recently I hadn't actually read the book! Charles Dickens is one of my favourite authors, and this classic is no exception to his brilliance. The fact that the story of Ebenezer Scrooge has been told and continues to be told in so many different ways shows the influence this book has. A beautiful story, beautifully written; it makes you want to feel the spirit of Christmas, even in the middle of May. ...more
I somehow blast through Susanne Young novels in periods of less than 48 hours. I think it's a coincidence, but it's also a testament to her good writiI somehow blast through Susanne Young novels in periods of less than 48 hours. I think it's a coincidence, but it's also a testament to her good writing.
I got Freaks and Geeks crossed with Shameless vibes from this book, with a hint of Mean Girls. I didn't like everything about it, but where the plot lost some points, the writing earns them back. It really takes you back to high school; the feelings, the memories, the friendships. I felt like the characters and their dialogues were very believable.
I think I was just hoping this book would be more about the social issues and less about the relationship. The story deals with the heavy topics of poverty, violence, family dissolution, and even, I think, anxiety, and while I thought they were all handled fairly well, sometimes they took a backseat to what, for me, was the less-interesting topic of love. I was satisfied with the ending, but it's not exactly the ending I was hoping for.
This was also the first time I've read a book with a character named Sutton, which was a little disconcerting at first. ...more
I loved it! I realized after reading Cobra Clutch that A.J. used to be a screenwriter, and it doesn't surprise me at all. The quick scenes and fast-paI loved it! I realized after reading Cobra Clutch that A.J. used to be a screenwriter, and it doesn't surprise me at all. The quick scenes and fast-paced action make the story feel very movie-like. Both funny and entertaining, Cobra Clutch is a great mystery for any reader, not just those interested in wrestling (I, for one, couldn't care less about the sport)....more
This book is sweet! It's got a ton of 90s and early 2000s references, and it features a compelling Ocarina-of-Time-style "7 years" time dynamic, whereThis book is sweet! It's got a ton of 90s and early 2000s references, and it features a compelling Ocarina-of-Time-style "7 years" time dynamic, where half the book takes place in 1994 and the other half 2004. Every chapter jumps back and forth between the two timelines, and there are subtle references and allusions between the two. There will be a mention of a piece of graffiti in 2004, and then later on in the book we'll read about how it came to be in 1994. All of that was brilliantly done.
The story follows the life of a Thunder Bay resident in his senior year of high school and his first year as a teacher at the same high school yen years later. Instead of having an inciting incident that kicks off the plot and introduces some great problem that needs to be solved, Pete's main antagonist in this book is really just life itself and the monotony of it. He's trying to figure out what he's doing with his life while reconciling with the fact that he could have been a rock star. While at first I was wondering when the plot was going to kick in, it was actually a nice change, and by no means did the pacing suffer because of it. Rhyno's writing is enthralling enough that you want to keep reading anyway. As a music lover myself, I also loved music theme and all the references to band life.
Thoroughly loved the book, and I'd definitely read more from Greg Rhyno. ...more
Ok, that's a bit of an overstatement, but I couldn't help but think that over and over again at several poiThis was the stupidest book I've ever read.
Ok, that's a bit of an overstatement, but I couldn't help but think that over and over again at several points in the back 9. It went from a 4-star book at the beginning to a 3-star book near the middle to 2-star book at the end. It petered back to a 3 briefly, but overall I just think it was dumb.
Which is unfortunate, because it had a lot going for it. It was actually written quite well, and the general storyline was way promising. But the actual events and the character's choices and the clichés (why do journalists always find more useful information in two days than detectives do in ten years?) all piled up until I just wanted to find out how it ended and move on. I'll give it this: I didn't see the ending coming. But I also didn't like the ending once it came. It was just another stupid twist that didn't need to happen, providing some semblance of justification for another stupid event that happened about 75 pages earlier.
It's tough to describe exactly what I disliked about the book without giving away spoilers, but I'll say this: about halfway through the book, the story tags a turn for the boring, and almost every decision after that is like, what are you doing?
This is the kind of book that probably wouldn’t have been given a chance were it the author’s first book, I thought as I sat on the train.
After readinThis is the kind of book that probably wouldn’t have been given a chance were it the author’s first book, I thought as I sat on the train.
After reading the afterword, I actually came to really like Thomas Bernhard, and I enjoyed the uniqueness of this reading experience, but I was never overly captivated by the text. It’s a cool read, but I didn’t love it....more
**spoiler alert** First, a note on the abridgement of this edition. I would give it a two-star review. I did not realize this was an abridged audioboo**spoiler alert** First, a note on the abridgement of this edition. I would give it a two-star review. I did not realize this was an abridged audiobook when I started it; it was just the version that happened to be in my public library. Tantor Media's slogan is "Unforgettable, Unabridged Audiobooks", and the description gave no indication of it being an abridgement. I didn't even realize it was an abridgement until Jean Valjean's ENTIRE RESCUE of Cossette was summed up in a single sentence. I liked this from Syd Young's review on another website:
"Honestly, I was really unhappy with this version, ... I was surprised when huge important chunks were completely. missing. There is really nothing about Fantine, the rescue of Cosette, the students, the build up to the battle, and there's quite a bit of material that didn't seem necessary."
To make it worse, plot points come up later in the book that were cut from earlier, like Monsieur Gillenormand refusing Marius permission to marry Cosette. I only knew that happened because I was following along with a chapter summary. This may be a decent abridgement for those who want to quickly re-listen to the story, but not for someone who hasn't read it before.
Now, onto the book itself. It is somewhat difficult to express how I feel about the story as a whole, seeing as much of it was cut out of the version to which I listened. However, listening to this version made me realize that it's not really the story of Les Miserables that I love; it's the story of Jean Valjean that I love. Because half the book was about Marius, I didn't enjoy the story as much as I thought I would.
Jean Valjean might be my favourite character in literature. After serving 19 years in prison for a petty crime, he is hardened and loathsome of the society that failed him. Even after being shown a great mercy and kindness from a humble priest, he still can't turn from his life of crime. That is, until he sees a young boy who is a victim of his hatred. From that moment on, he completely changes his ways, humbling himself to the point that even after becoming rich, he considers himself nothing, to the extent that at the end of his life, he considers himself unworthy to spend time with his daughter, the wife of a man whose life he saved. He at once breaks my heart and encourages me to be a better man.
And yet, the world never recognizes him for the great man he becomes. As Jean Valjean, he is haunted by his yellow papers that mark him a criminal. As Monsieur Madelaine, he is envied but at times hated despite enriching his city and those around him. He finds some escape in his other disguises, but he is constantly hunted by Javert, who absolutely refuses to see him as anything other than a criminal. This ingrained hatred of criminals is so deeply entrenched that when Valjean saves Javair's life, Javair would rather kill himself than be indebted to one such as he. To me, this is Hugo's commentary on how society sees criminals as irredeemable and the poor as subhuman.
The rest of Hugo's cast are truly The Miserable Ones. Not one of them has a happy ending. Save, perhaps, Cosette and Marius, but they lost their father the same day they realized how great a man he was; hardly a "happy ending". I wish I could have seen more of the rest of the characters, but as previously mentioned, characters like Fantine and Eponine hardly got their time in the limelight in this abridgement. Still, the book helped me see more than the musical how each of them reflected some part of French society to Hugo. I'm not sure that I know enough to comment on it here, but I enjoyed it.
I think one day I'll undertake to read the full book, if not at least listen to an abridgement with more meat. In the coming days I'll rewatch the movie to see how much more it means to me having taken a deeper dive into the characters and knowing some more backstory, and I look forward to doing so....more
This is a fantastic book. The story is told from three different perspectives that represent three different cultures: a Huron warrior, a young HaudenThis is a fantastic book. The story is told from three different perspectives that represent three different cultures: a Huron warrior, a young Haudenasaunee girl who has been captured by the Hurons, and a French priest trying to convert the “sauvages”. I will say that the perspective shifting makes the beginning kind of confusing while you’re trying to figure out who everyone is, but for the rest of the book, it provides a great way of seeing the past through the eyes of the different cultures. Often we will read the same event two or three times, getting each perspective and seeing how it looks different from their own eyes.
The interesting thing about The Orenda, I think, is that it doesn’t necessarily give you a complete picture of the contact between the Natives and the French. We enter the story after they’ve begun relations, and the story ends before the conflict between them is resolved. Instead, we get to see a more personal story of the events going on at that time, and through it we begin to understand some of the motivations that drove each society.
The story itself is intriguing, and the historical aspect made me learn and think a lot. I would recommend The Orenda to anyone interested in the history of Canada pre-Confederation....more
I thought this was going to be a super quick, fluffy read that I could get done before I moved on to my next book, but it was actually better than I tI thought this was going to be a super quick, fluffy read that I could get done before I moved on to my next book, but it was actually better than I thought it would be (though it was still certainly fluffy). It was longer than I expected, which at first turned me off, but that turned out to be because it was a grander story than I initially anticipated. I thought I knew exactly how the story would turn out, but I was wrong, which I like! The ending gave me all the good feels, and it boosted the story from 3 stars to 4. ...more
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