Scan barcode
dialkforkaty's reviews
44 reviews
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
headcannoning the protagonist as autistic, who's going to stop me
Une saison en enfer & Le bateau ivre: A season in hell & The drunken boat by Arthur Rimbaud
2.0
For some reason I have never been fond of poetry, and unfortunately this did not sway me like I hoped it might. I found everything far too choppy, making it difficult for me to become engrossed. Perhaps I read this too quickly and might benefit from a re-read. On the positive side, I like that this specific edition had the original French and the English translation page by page.
The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum
4.0
Jesus.
Well, I'm not really sure what to say about this. It felt like an insufferable nightmare. Around 3/4 of the way through it properly clicked that this novel was based on a true case. Something about that truly disturbed me and left me remarkably irritated.
One small criticism would be the overuse of short sentences. Obviously, one of the most basic things you learn in English is that shorter sentences rouse the reader, exacerbating the fear. I felt the use of this technique got old very quickly and was not necessary as the bare bones of the story were terrifying enough.
Well, I'm not really sure what to say about this. It felt like an insufferable nightmare. Around 3/4 of the way through it properly clicked that this novel was based on a true case. Something about that truly disturbed me and left me remarkably irritated.
One small criticism would be the overuse of short sentences. Obviously, one of the most basic things you learn in English is that shorter sentences rouse the reader, exacerbating the fear. I felt the use of this technique got old very quickly and was not necessary as the bare bones of the story were terrifying enough.
1Q84: Book One and Book Two by Haruki Murakami
3.0
I'm so unsure what to think of this. It has the typical Murakami, almost magic realism style that I've grown to love, but there's just so much padding around the storyline. It's a a pretty long ass book, and it felt longer due to the sluggish pacing, a problem that I didn't feel one of Murakami's other long novels 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle' had, as there was so much going on in however many pages that was. Also, I read another review on here of someone who commented on the way the two main female characters are presented and fantazied about in the context of the male gaze, which I honestly didn't really notice up until I read that review, but it's almost a manic pixie dream girl-type situation, which I don't really have time for in 2017.
I did enjoy this book on a surface level, but it's defintely not some of my favourite work by Murakami.
I did enjoy this book on a surface level, but it's defintely not some of my favourite work by Murakami.