Scan barcode
am333lia's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is the fourth book by Gaarder I’ve read, and I have not been disappointed. This book is probably not for everyone, but I adored it. It’s an amazing story with multiple outlooks on the meaning of life, and it’s filled with both meaning, comedy, romance and thoughtfulness. I have to say that I wasn’t entirely convinced while I started reading, but the way that it progressed left me wanting to continue to read, and I absolutely loved the end. Again, I can see why it probably isn’t a favorite amongst everybody because of its use of symbolism instead of storytelling (at least that’s how I felt reading), but I found it remarkable, and it has definitely left me with many afterthoughts.
thereadingsparrow's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
laluna's review against another edition
2.0
- "ألا يمكن التوقف عن التفكير؟ أعني .. ألا تستطيع إغلاق صنبور عقلك؟"
- "لا، ليس الأمر سهلاً. لقد حُكِمَ على الكائن البشري أن يفكر بشيء ما طوال حياته. قد يمكننا، في حدود ضيقة، السيطرة على أفكارنا، لكننا لا نستطيع لجم عملية التفكير ذاتها. نحن لا نجد السكينة حتى في الليل، إننا خاضعون لكل ما قد يأتي في الأحلام."
- "لا، ليس الأمر سهلاً. لقد حُكِمَ على الكائن البشري أن يفكر بشيء ما طوال حياته. قد يمكننا، في حدود ضيقة، السيطرة على أفكارنا، لكننا لا نستطيع لجم عملية التفكير ذاتها. نحن لا نجد السكينة حتى في الليل، إننا خاضعون لكل ما قد يأتي في الأحلام."
shmacademics's review against another edition
2.0
Is this sad? No.
Did I learn something? Barely.
Did I like it? Kinda.
Did I enjoy it? Sometimes.
Do I recommend it? No.
Did I learn something? Barely.
Did I like it? Kinda.
Did I enjoy it? Sometimes.
Do I recommend it? No.
octavia_cade's review against another edition
2.0
The book to which this is a sequel, The Solitaire Mystery, is one of my favourites. This, sad to say, is not. There are some interesting bits here - I particularly love the idea of a woman who looks exactly like the subject of two Goya paintings - but they are buried very deep down. Maya starts to gather momentum about 200 pages in, when the protagonist goes to visit the Prado, but it's a slog to get that far. The Fijian "summit" meeting is just plain dull. (Pompous and pontificating may be a better description.) I remember reading Sophie's World and being amazed at the ingenious ways in which Gaarder wrote about philosophy. He does not have the same gift for writing about science, and this book, though it gets an extra point for intelligence, is woefully self-indulgent and flabby about the edges.
iraboklover's review against another edition
3.0
Membaca karya-karya Jostein Gaarder selalu memberikan kejutan dan pengetahuan baru.
san_dra's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
nitzah's review against another edition
3.0
I have two comments about the book:
1) Reading Maya as a philosophy book is a mistake.
It is a romance that brings important philosophical reflections, and leads you deeper into questioning why we are here and whether or not there is a purpose for everything that exists. But it is a love story, a story of many 'loves', that includes philosophy throughout as it would be expected of Gaarder. If you are looking for a philosophy book, I would recommend something else.
2) It was, for me, a very good book, but the timing was wrong.
I believe books speak to us differently depending on which context we are in and how life is at that very moment. My moment in life now was certainly not right for Maya. I needed more closure, and the book brings the opposite. At the end, reality and fiction are mixed and cannot be separated. But for this moment in my life I would have preferred to be told which one was 'true', even if Gaarder would argue that the fictional part was true, no matter how fantastic and absurd it may seem. When I got to the end of the book, I was prepared for that. But I was not prepared to have such a tangled ending.
It is important to say that this does not make it a bad book. It is certainly a very interesting read and I will try to return to it when the time is right.
1) Reading Maya as a philosophy book is a mistake.
It is a romance that brings important philosophical reflections, and leads you deeper into questioning why we are here and whether or not there is a purpose for everything that exists. But it is a love story, a story of many 'loves', that includes philosophy throughout as it would be expected of Gaarder. If you are looking for a philosophy book, I would recommend something else.
2) It was, for me, a very good book, but the timing was wrong.
I believe books speak to us differently depending on which context we are in and how life is at that very moment. My moment in life now was certainly not right for Maya. I needed more closure, and the book brings the opposite. At the end, reality and fiction are mixed and cannot be separated. But for this moment in my life I would have preferred to be told which one was 'true', even if Gaarder would argue that the fictional part was true, no matter how fantastic and absurd it may seem. When I got to the end of the book, I was prepared for that. But I was not prepared to have such a tangled ending.
It is important to say that this does not make it a bad book. It is certainly a very interesting read and I will try to return to it when the time is right.
matschiko's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death
sdiaz's review against another edition
2.0
It was an okay read, but I simply did not enjoy the conceit of the book. Attempting to marry the fantastical with the scientific, intertwining the book with the writing of the book, simply did not work for me as a literary device. The characters are well written and really pop from the page, but as I said I found the bookends of the story ill advised.
More...