babro_soya's reviews
407 reviews
Concerning My Daughter by Kim Hye-Jin
3.75
A quick read that at first confused me, because I could not identify the characters' relationship (due to my language skills? The writing style? The translation? Or just inattentiveness? Who knows.). I liked the premise of a narrator one definitely does not want to sympathise with, but still does in the end. At least a bit.
The Mad Women's Ball by Victoria Mas
3.75
This was an easy, quite enjoyable read. Still I feel it would have been more impactful if the main protagonist had not been a medium able to talk to the dead, but instead a woman who was incarcerated because of her political views and opinions, for example. I feel that would have been more true to the spirit of the book as women being mistreated by men throughout history. As it is, I wonder why spiritualism was revealed as the truer form of religion in the book, aside from the fact that this was en vogue at the time.
Heaven by Mieko Kawakami
3.75
It was really difficult to read and process the in-depth descriptions of the most brutal of bullying. The polar positions of Kojima and Momose towards suffering (Kojima: It purifies the essence of people and makes them inherently special if they withstand it without resistance or hesitation vs. Momose: It is meaningless; bullies bully just because they can, there are no morals and no morale) were both repulsive, but ultimately thought-provoking. The ending was hopeful, but that came too late for me.
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
4.0
This was exciting to read, even on the train, where my concentration usually isn't the best. I most enjoyed the middle part and was saddened and disturbed by the third and final one.
Eine sehr kleine Frau by Peter Henisch
4.0
Ein angenehmes und interessantes Leseerlebnis. Aber obwohl die beiden Erzählebenen wirklich sehr gekonnt miteinander verwoben sind, kann ich doch keine fünf Sterne vergeben. Dazu hat mich die Geschichte und insbesondere ihr Ende- so vermute ich - doch zu wenig berührt. Ich hätte eigentlich noch gerne mehr über den Protagonisten, sein Leben und das sein Großmutter erfahren und dass ich das sage, kommt doch sehr selten vor und zeichnet diesen Roman wohl auch aus.
All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks
I don't know how to rate this book. I had high hopes, but found it very elusive at times. Defining love as a practise rather than a feeling was a good start, but how this can turn into a lived practised is described in terms of a cognitive act, an attitude. How ever intentional, this did not satisfy my need for practical examples. The spiritual aspect also did not resonate with me, but that is a personal preference instead of a general critique.
Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan
3.5
This was a somewhat exhausting read, but I don't know if that's the book or just this period of life.