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nepheloma's reviews
103 reviews
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This is a very interesting book that I personally interpreted as an allegory for the course of life. The main question it focuses on is: why do we do anything if there's no hope, or at least nothing more than this life, in the end? It's basically a reflection on the absurdity that characterizes our existence through the experiences of three very, very human characters. They are all very flawed, sometimes even to an aggravating extent, but I found it kind of comforting how openly their flaws were explored and how they kept being connected, not despite these flaws, but even alongside them. What I personally realized through this book was that we keep on living life because that's the core of our humanity: to create and to exist, no matter how absurd our existence might really be. We're not different from the students at all -our existence is a path straight towards death, just like theirs. But we keep carrying on, because what matters is that we live until we die.
I think that the only thing that I didn't enjoy very much was the writing style of this book. I do understand that it is designed to reflect that the story is told orally, but I found it repetitive. Sometimes, there was foreshadowing that was too obvious or even repeatedly mentioned, which made me feel that the set ups the writer wanted to create were a little not too strongly built. At times, I also found the narration somewhat emotionless, especially in the beginning of the book, but even though this bogged me, I have to admit that it did contribute to the general morose, yet hopeful, atmosphere that the book had.
I think that the only thing that I didn't enjoy very much was the writing style of this book. I do understand that it is designed to reflect that the story is told orally, but I found it repetitive. Sometimes, there was foreshadowing that was too obvious or even repeatedly mentioned, which made me feel that the set ups the writer wanted to create were a little not too strongly built. At times, I also found the narration somewhat emotionless, especially in the beginning of the book, but even though this bogged me, I have to admit that it did contribute to the general morose, yet hopeful, atmosphere that the book had.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, and Medical content
Minor: Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Infertility, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.
While I do recognise the literary value of this book, I also think it's a relic of another time. Many of the attitudes and behaviours depicted would seem problematic today. For someone else, this might not be that big of an issue, and I could have probably bore with it if it wasn't for the general cockiness and fake-deepness of the writing.
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
A book that I think everyone must read at some point in their lives. Especially in the midst of a global pandemic, this book helped me reevaluate the values around which my life revolves and to get a whole new perspective on the human experience.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Antisemitism, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Murder