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mikaela_basile's review against another edition
4.0
This was definitely the most mind-f*cking book I've ever read!
konsectatrix's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Outstanding book. Complex, rich, immersive, and dreamlike, it does really capture the unreal feeling of being in a long form magic rite.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
a_chickletz's review against another edition
3.0
This book is not only confusing, I have never read another book like it and that is a good thing.
I am unsure if it is the translation or the authors have a strange way of writing but whatever the case is, the translation/how the book 'was' textual was a bit of a throw off. There was sentences that did not make sense, they looked as though they were a literal translation. Think of it this way, it read as if the book was being read back after going through a google translator from english to russian to English again.
Another problem I had is that the book spent SO MUCH TIME doing the same thing over and over (the learning) that when you finally touch upon what might be happening, it comes out of left field and you were given no hints or explanation.
So: a girl meets a hunchback man while walking home one day, he tells her that she needs to apply for this academy. She starts coughing up gold coins. The coins pay for her tutelage at the said academy and she then is being schooled by a couple teachers who make her read various books that start off like stereo instructions but morph bit by bit into something glorious and awe inspiring. but this is the beginning. The more she reads, the more she understands, the more she begins to change.
It's a very interesting thing, but the catch is that you have to continue on this path of reading from the books and maturing with the reading or else you will be incomplete.
The end of the book started to hint at something: a big bad that they'll have to go up against. What is this big bad? Think of Saruon and Cuthlu having a baby. It's this thing in the other dimension. You glimpse it once or twice, and the main character asks about it but they are reluctant to tell her about what it is because she is not ready yet.
I think this book is really unique and it really deserves to be read. But it is missing something, and you feel a bit cheated. It's like someone giving you the instructions to bake something delicious, and when finished, you take that bite and realize it is lacking a flavor. Maybe after a few more tries with the directions you will finally find what is lacking. Same goes with this book. I am willing to go on with the series, but the characters need to be more developed as does the main goal of this school, and, the translation.
I am unsure if it is the translation or the authors have a strange way of writing but whatever the case is, the translation/how the book 'was' textual was a bit of a throw off. There was sentences that did not make sense, they looked as though they were a literal translation. Think of it this way, it read as if the book was being read back after going through a google translator from english to russian to English again.
Another problem I had is that the book spent SO MUCH TIME doing the same thing over and over (the learning) that when you finally touch upon what might be happening, it comes out of left field and you were given no hints or explanation.
So: a girl meets a hunchback man while walking home one day, he tells her that she needs to apply for this academy. She starts coughing up gold coins. The coins pay for her tutelage at the said academy and she then is being schooled by a couple teachers who make her read various books that start off like stereo instructions but morph bit by bit into something glorious and awe inspiring. but this is the beginning. The more she reads, the more she understands, the more she begins to change.
Spoiler
Basically, one of her teachers summed it up by saying that her 'form' is no longer 'holding her together', that the words are unlocking something inside her that is making her adapt to a word or certain types of 'things'. At one point she can 'meld' with people (her infant brother, her friend, people on the street). Also while she is melding, she can change into various forms or creatures that can be scaled, feathered or, look like machinery.It's a very interesting thing, but the catch is that you have to continue on this path of reading from the books and maturing with the reading or else you will be incomplete.
The end of the book started to hint at something: a big bad that they'll have to go up against. What is this big bad? Think of Saruon and Cuthlu having a baby. It's this thing in the other dimension. You glimpse it once or twice, and the main character asks about it but they are reluctant to tell her about what it is because she is not ready yet.
I think this book is really unique and it really deserves to be read. But it is missing something, and you feel a bit cheated. It's like someone giving you the instructions to bake something delicious, and when finished, you take that bite and realize it is lacking a flavor. Maybe after a few more tries with the directions you will finally find what is lacking. Same goes with this book. I am willing to go on with the series, but the characters need to be more developed as does the main goal of this school, and, the translation.
averagehuman85's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
seaweed's review against another edition
Первая половина книги была интересна прежде всего потому, что очень красиво перекликалась с только что прочитанной Terror, Love and Brainwashing про секты, где подробно расписан процесс индоктринации: как, манипулируя физическим и эмоциональным стрессом, можно изолировать человека от привычного окружения и довести до состояния диссоциации, в котором он будет делать все, что угодно.
Метафора образования в целом как тоталитарной системы, оттуда же вытекающая, тоже понравилась. Вырисовалась фигура Сашки как идеального субъекта храма познания, на алтарь которого приносят себя дети.
Вторая половина тоже понравилась, потому что абстрактная магия на основе небесной геометрии и музыки сфер абсолютно моя тема. Но там метафора ослабевает и на первый план выходят фэнтези и персонажи, а они слабоваты. Для притчи о тотальных группах хватило бы и этих эскизов, но для истории о разрушении систем (чем книга становится на последних двух страницах) нужно немного больше.
Метафора образования в целом как тоталитарной системы, оттуда же вытекающая, тоже понравилась. Вырисовалась фигура Сашки как идеального субъекта храма познания, на алтарь которого приносят себя дети.
Вторая половина тоже понравилась, потому что абстрактная магия на основе небесной геометрии и музыки сфер абсолютно моя тема. Но там метафора ослабевает и на первый план выходят фэнтези и персонажи, а они слабоваты. Для притчи о тотальных группах хватило бы и этих эскизов, но для истории о разрушении систем (чем книга становится на последних двух страницах) нужно немного больше.
stephaniecbusch's review against another edition
5.0
I really liked this book but I could not explain what happened
aotales's review against another edition
4.0
Vita Nostra is a particular read for a particular reader. Defying genre categorization this story is part fantasy, part lyrical fiction, part psychological thriller … part science fiction entities?? It really swings among many literary branches, never settling or allowing definition. Most notably, it most certainly is not your typical “magical school setting” story.
This is a cerebral read. It is dense. It is heavy. Being a translated from Russian piece, the names of the many characters are confusing and sound similar and a lot of time is spent on “out there” concepts like existential existence and corporeal reality. It can be a lot of work to chew through this beast of a book that even lacks chapters for the reader to hang their hat and catch their breath. Vita Nostra definitely could’ve benefited from more grounding in reality, more story spent on some familiar territory with the students, their lives, their feelings. Rather we stumble and stagger along with the characters just hoping some enlightenment will come at the end … but much like what has come before it, the ending is just as head scratching.
If this sounds like a negative review, it isn’t, not really. Because, as I said, for the particular reader this is going to be an unparalleled read. Something about Vita Nostra is compulsively readable - or in my case I couldn’t stop listening to the audiobook, which I highly recommend to cut down on some confusion. The book beats with a pulse of urgency and peril, building and building in atmospheric tension. Definitely bring your thinking cap and block out a good chunk of time, this book demands your attention it its intimidatingly confusing way. You’ll be frustrated and perplexed, but you’ll never read anything quite like it again.
Book Blog: https://aotales.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a.o.tales/
This is a cerebral read. It is dense. It is heavy. Being a translated from Russian piece, the names of the many characters are confusing and sound similar and a lot of time is spent on “out there” concepts like existential existence and corporeal reality. It can be a lot of work to chew through this beast of a book that even lacks chapters for the reader to hang their hat and catch their breath. Vita Nostra definitely could’ve benefited from more grounding in reality, more story spent on some familiar territory with the students, their lives, their feelings. Rather we stumble and stagger along with the characters just hoping some enlightenment will come at the end … but much like what has come before it, the ending is just as head scratching.
If this sounds like a negative review, it isn’t, not really. Because, as I said, for the particular reader this is going to be an unparalleled read. Something about Vita Nostra is compulsively readable - or in my case I couldn’t stop listening to the audiobook, which I highly recommend to cut down on some confusion. The book beats with a pulse of urgency and peril, building and building in atmospheric tension. Definitely bring your thinking cap and block out a good chunk of time, this book demands your attention it its intimidatingly confusing way. You’ll be frustrated and perplexed, but you’ll never read anything quite like it again.
Book Blog: https://aotales.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a.o.tales/
bookburningsheep's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0