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kahell's reviews
106 reviews
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Did not finish book. Stopped at 19%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 19%.
I couldn't see the beauty in Humbert Humbert's prose. To me, his flowery language sounded like he was trying so hard to overcompensate for the foulness of his being. I wasn't moved, it was too pretentious to elicit any sympathy from me.
Complete French Grammar by Annie Heminway
Did not finish book. Stopped at 9%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 9%.
Might get back to this when my French is better.
A Room With a View by E.M. Forster
Did not finish book. Stopped at 28%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 28%.
The book is not bad, I am just not in the right headspace for it right now 😔 Maybe I will revisit it in the future.
The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon
4.0
Awe-inspiring things — The first leaf appearing from a seed planted weeks ago.
Sunset from the mountain you've spent the whole day scaling.
The realization that no matter how many years, miles, or walls separate us, humans are essentially the same. The specific objects of our preoccupations may differ, but intrinsically we are all looking for an answer to the same question – why keep living?
Sei Shōnagon delightfully demonstrates the Heian period's answer to that: an acute appreciation of beauty and harmony, the development of a keen sense of poetic sensibility. I almost can't believe that I related as much as I did to someone who lived a whole millennium ago, but I did and it was an amazing experience.
I find myself going back to her quirky lists again and again, imagining the sensation evoked by every little scene. I've written some of my own and enjoyed the process of categorizing the trivial occurrences of everyday. It's singular in its purpose and it's refreshing, especially living in an age where everything seems to need to be all-encompassing solutions in themselves to be considered good.
Sometimes you just want to lay under the sun and attempt to put in words the way the sunlight reflecting on a particular leaf is making you feel, and that's okay. As we work to make things better, we should also appreciate the things that already are.
Sunset from the mountain you've spent the whole day scaling.
The realization that no matter how many years, miles, or walls separate us, humans are essentially the same. The specific objects of our preoccupations may differ, but intrinsically we are all looking for an answer to the same question – why keep living?
Sei Shōnagon delightfully demonstrates the Heian period's answer to that: an acute appreciation of beauty and harmony, the development of a keen sense of poetic sensibility. I almost can't believe that I related as much as I did to someone who lived a whole millennium ago, but I did and it was an amazing experience.
I find myself going back to her quirky lists again and again, imagining the sensation evoked by every little scene. I've written some of my own and enjoyed the process of categorizing the trivial occurrences of everyday. It's singular in its purpose and it's refreshing, especially living in an age where everything seems to need to be all-encompassing solutions in themselves to be considered good.
Sometimes you just want to lay under the sun and attempt to put in words the way the sunlight reflecting on a particular leaf is making you feel, and that's okay. As we work to make things better, we should also appreciate the things that already are.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
2.0
Charles Dickens attempts a great feat here: trying to make a first-person narrative work in the voice of a character who should really shut up. Unfortunately, I don't think he succeeded. The catharsis brought by the third volume, where everyone gets what they deserve, more or less, could have been good in any other novel, but it fails to compensate for the total bore and disappointment that is the second volume. I suppose that's an effect of the book originating as a serial – Dickens had to keep the audience hooked for as long as possible, so the story is filled with arcs that have no bearing to the whole. I did like the undertones of class commentary, especially in Magwitch's characterization. I don't regret reading this, but I'm also not thrilled to have read it.
Largo pétalo de mar by Isabel Allende
3.0
(English version below)
Isabel Allende dijo en los agradecimientos que ella investigó mucho para escribir este libro, y se nota. Largo pétalo de mar se mantiene fiel a la historia, de hecho, se siente como leer una biografía en vez de una novela, un hecho que no me importaba mucho mientras yo leía, pero me molestó un poco ahora que he terminado. Supongo que esto no sería un problema para los lectores que ya están familiarizados con los acontecimientos y las figuras históricas mencionadas. Aún así, me pregunto cuánto de los Neruda y Allende del libro eran reales, y cuánto era la imaginación de Isabel Allende. (También quiero saber si fue extraño para ella escribir sobre su padrino).
La historia en sí es ordinaria, notable por el telón de fondo histórico. Los personajes no tenían nada de especial, sino que sólo eran interesantes por sus circunstancias. La mayor parte del libro fue contado usando resúmenes con poco diálogo y sin escenas que se destaquen. Un crítico describió el estilo como una narración de «eso sucedió, entonces esto sucedió» y creo que es cierto. Aparte de estar lleno de pequeños detalles historicos, esta es también una razón por la que el libro se sentía como no ficción.
Veredicto final: Uso económico del escenario, pero un cuento necesita personajes con las que puede identificarse tanto como (si no más) una atmósfera interesante.
~
A well-researched piece of historical fiction. So faithful to history, in fact, that it feels like I read a biography instead of a novel — a fact that didn't mind too much while reading but seems bothering now that I've finished. I suppose this wouldn't be a problem for people who are already familiar with the historical events and figures mentioned. Still, I wonder how much of the Neruda and Allende in the book was real, and how much was Isabel Allende's imagination. (I want to know if it was weird for her to write about her godfather.)
The story itself is ordinary, made notable because of the historical backdrop. The characters were unremarkable, made interesting only because of their circumstances. Most of the book was told using summaries with little dialogue and no scenes that stand out. A reviewer described it as a "that happened, then this happened" style of narration and it checks out. Aside from being full of factoids, this is also one reason why the book felt like a nonfiction.
Final verdict: Economic use of setting, but a story needs relatable characters as much as (if not more than) an interesting atmosphere
Isabel Allende dijo en los agradecimientos que ella investigó mucho para escribir este libro, y se nota. Largo pétalo de mar se mantiene fiel a la historia, de hecho, se siente como leer una biografía en vez de una novela, un hecho que no me importaba mucho mientras yo leía, pero me molestó un poco ahora que he terminado. Supongo que esto no sería un problema para los lectores que ya están familiarizados con los acontecimientos y las figuras históricas mencionadas. Aún así, me pregunto cuánto de los Neruda y Allende del libro eran reales, y cuánto era la imaginación de Isabel Allende. (También quiero saber si fue extraño para ella escribir sobre su padrino).
La historia en sí es ordinaria, notable por el telón de fondo histórico. Los personajes no tenían nada de especial, sino que sólo eran interesantes por sus circunstancias. La mayor parte del libro fue contado usando resúmenes con poco diálogo y sin escenas que se destaquen. Un crítico describió el estilo como una narración de «eso sucedió, entonces esto sucedió» y creo que es cierto. Aparte de estar lleno de pequeños detalles historicos, esta es también una razón por la que el libro se sentía como no ficción.
Veredicto final: Uso económico del escenario, pero un cuento necesita personajes con las que puede identificarse tanto como (si no más) una atmósfera interesante.
~
A well-researched piece of historical fiction. So faithful to history, in fact, that it feels like I read a biography instead of a novel — a fact that didn't mind too much while reading but seems bothering now that I've finished. I suppose this wouldn't be a problem for people who are already familiar with the historical events and figures mentioned. Still, I wonder how much of the Neruda and Allende in the book was real, and how much was Isabel Allende's imagination. (I want to know if it was weird for her to write about her godfather.)
The story itself is ordinary, made notable because of the historical backdrop. The characters were unremarkable, made interesting only because of their circumstances. Most of the book was told using summaries with little dialogue and no scenes that stand out. A reviewer described it as a "that happened, then this happened" style of narration and it checks out. Aside from being full of factoids, this is also one reason why the book felt like a nonfiction.
Final verdict: Economic use of setting, but a story needs relatable characters as much as (if not more than) an interesting atmosphere
Bloodchild by Octavia E. Butler
2.0
Regular pregnancy is parasitic enough without all that added jazz of aliens implanting their eggs in humans! And it's time to face facts: I just don't have the capacity to stomach body horror. The description of the alien offspring reminds me of one of the babies from Eraserhead and, well, let's just say I hope I am able to sleep tonight.
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
4.0
The first few chapters were confusing af but it makes sense eventually and the payoff is worth it. The lesson I got? The mistakes of the dead don't disappear when they die, and it's worse when those same mistakes are compounded by the living. Admittedly, at first I was confused why the townspeople seemed to despise Anse but nevertheless helped him out of a sense of forced pity, but as the story progressed I understood. Here's a man who's so obsessed with never owing anything to anybody that he manipulates everyone to give their help free of charge, meanwhile thinking he deserves it as an honest man. It's a naive kind of selfishness where the person itself doesn't even realize they're being selfish, or if they do they mask it by boasting the sacrifice they have endured all their lives. And yet until the end, he never gets his due. In the end, it's still his children who suffer same as they have suffered before. Of them all, it's only Darl who was able to escape.
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
3.0
I'm not very fond of this book in particular, though I love the series as a whole. Some of my favorite parts about the trilogy are absent from this so maybe that's why. Still, a significant amount of worldbuilding and context-setting takes place here.
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
2.5
The last third was good, but the first two-thirds was boring and cheesy. My brother (who recommended it to me) said I found it cringy only because I'm "not a father" and I'm like... i guess. It just seemed wasteful to use the multiverse for some basic love story idk. Anyway, I liked this quote:
"If there is an endless possibility of doors, then from a statistical perspective, the choice itself means everything and nothing. Every choice is right. Every choice is wrong."
"If there is an endless possibility of doors, then from a statistical perspective, the choice itself means everything and nothing. Every choice is right. Every choice is wrong."