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mo0ma's reviews
6 reviews
Why Socialism? by Albert Einstein
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
It is a good intro to understanding critiques of capitalism, and lays out some complex concepts very simply. I like how human-centred his analysis is, but there are a few limitations, which might admittedly just be due to it being the 1940s/50s—like lack of environmental analysis and/or mention.
It's Not That Radical: Climate Action to Transform Our World by Mikaela Loach
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
His Dark Materials Trilogy: Northern Lights, Subtle Knife, Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book felt suffocating, like I was enveloped in the narrative, which is contributed to by the setting and various descriptions of the area in which it takes place. The descriptive writing is excellent—I liked how the symbol of the solar system can be interpreted to reflect how the suburb and its people seemed to orbit around the events of the Lisbon’s house and tragedies .
I didn’t like how voyeuristic it felt, but I think voyeurism was in some sense the purpose of the author, and I’ve come to realise that I’ve been just as voyeuristic as the characters by having read the book at all. Still, upon reflection, I realise that I didn’t really have much of a choice in this regard. The voyeurism of the narrating boys was a perspective pushed onto me, and it gave me no opportunity nor many resources to understand and appreciate the characters that I actually wanted to—the Lisbon girls. Even the ending focuses on the reflections the boys have about themselves; the Lisbon girls, although staged in the centre, have been staged artificially, illuminated in the light of the boys’ fantasies, romanticisation, and introspection. The girls become tools for the boys to understand themselves, empty shells for the boys to fill with their own conjecture and wonder, rather than full beings.
Perhaps this irony and/or this dynamic is actually a tool to criticise the boys, and the other characters—neighbours, acquaintances, medical professionals—in the book who are not sympathetic to the Lisbon girls but rather eager to deconstruct and discuss them. If that is the case, then I think it would be a very good narrative, and I have thus given the author the benefit of the doubt in my rating (which would be higher if I could be sure it was what the author intended to do).
I didn’t like how voyeuristic it felt, but I think voyeurism was in some sense the purpose of the author, and I’ve come to realise that I’ve been just as voyeuristic as the characters by having read the book at all. Still, upon reflection, I realise that I didn’t really have much of a choice in this regard. The voyeurism of the narrating boys was a perspective pushed onto me, and it gave me no opportunity nor many resources to understand and appreciate the characters that I actually wanted to—the Lisbon girls. Even the ending focuses on the reflections the boys have about themselves; the Lisbon girls, although staged in the centre, have been staged artificially, illuminated in the light of the boys’ fantasies, romanticisation, and introspection. The girls become tools for the boys to understand themselves, empty shells for the boys to fill with their own conjecture and wonder, rather than full beings.
Perhaps this irony and/or this dynamic is actually a tool to criticise the boys, and the other characters—neighbours, acquaintances, medical professionals—in the book who are not sympathetic to the Lisbon girls but rather eager to deconstruct and discuss them. If that is the case, then I think it would be a very good narrative, and I have thus given the author the benefit of the doubt in my rating (which would be higher if I could be sure it was what the author intended to do).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
The Stationery Shop of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
What a beautiful book! The descriptions of Tehran were stunning, especially all of the food, which was an effectively used motif throughout the novel. I do feel that the author could have made more of these descriptions in order to immerse the reader into the historical drama of the novel as well as its setting, but it was nonetheless a good experience.
The plot itself was complex and captivating, as were the characters, who I really felt a deep care and sorrow for throughout their joys as well as their tragedies.
The plot itself was complex and captivating, as were the characters, who I really felt a deep care and sorrow for throughout their joys as well as their tragedies.
Saturday by Ian McEwan
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
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