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nuala_koala's reviews
109 reviews
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
5.0
At the moment, I am on a Narnia readathon. I am rereading all the Narnia books that are so dear to me, and that I read many times as a young child.
Prince Caspian did not disappoint. C.S. Lewis’s delightful writing style and engaging plots still hooked me in and allowed me to love this book.
I highly recommend!
Prince Caspian did not disappoint. C.S. Lewis’s delightful writing style and engaging plots still hooked me in and allowed me to love this book.
I highly recommend!
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
5.0
C.S Lewis does it again!
This book was just as good as it was when I read it as a young child. I loved the craziness of the different islands and different adventures the children experience, and I love the simple beauty of the descriptions.
I especially love how C.S. Lewis describes feasts and foods! So cosy and delicious!
I recommend - highly!
This book was just as good as it was when I read it as a young child. I loved the craziness of the different islands and different adventures the children experience, and I love the simple beauty of the descriptions.
I especially love how C.S. Lewis describes feasts and foods! So cosy and delicious!
I recommend - highly!
The Little Prince & Letter to a Hostage by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
5.0
What an extraordinary books.
Antoine de Saint-Exubery had a gift - through the simple yet beautiful writing, he conveys a myriad of meanings and wisdom-filled statements that can be enjoyed and appreciated by children and adults.
I was so attached to the little prince - I loved his laugh, his personality, his wisdom.
The Little Prince helps us to understand the importance of cherishing our childness. I highly recommend for readers of all ages.
Antoine de Saint-Exubery had a gift - through the simple yet beautiful writing, he conveys a myriad of meanings and wisdom-filled statements that can be enjoyed and appreciated by children and adults.
I was so attached to the little prince - I loved his laugh, his personality, his wisdom.
The Little Prince helps us to understand the importance of cherishing our childness. I highly recommend for readers of all ages.
The Collector by John Fowles
4.0
The Collector was really interesting and enjoyable to read.
I really liked that the reader was given two points of views (Miranda and Frederick's) to truly understand what was going on in their heads, and how they were faring psychologically.
I found some of the 'rants' (politically, about art, etc.) that Miranda wrote a bit confusing, wordy and dull - but other than that it was all very interesting.
I loved the ending.
I really liked that the reader was given two points of views (Miranda and Frederick's) to truly understand what was going on in their heads, and how they were faring psychologically.
I found some of the 'rants' (politically, about art, etc.) that Miranda wrote a bit confusing, wordy and dull - but other than that it was all very interesting.
I loved the ending.
1984 by George Orwell
This is one of the hardest reviews I will ever have to make.
Because, honestly, I don't know how I feel about 1984 and I'm not going to give it a rating.
I thought that it took a very long time to warm up, and then there was the section where he was reading the 'book' - I nearly put down MY book then.
But then the scenes picked up at the end, and I think the ending, the finishing, took me by surprise. You see, I never expected Winston to turn but I was very happy that George Orwell made him do so. I think that that is what would've happened and it shows the immense power of THE PARTY.
In terms of the meaning of the book, I think it was very progressive for its time. However (and I guess this is because we are in the modern century) it just didn't seem that radical?
I definitely liked Animal Farm a lot better.
I still don't know how to feel about 1984, but I think you should give it a try because I think there will be many different opinions.
Because, honestly, I don't know how I feel about 1984 and I'm not going to give it a rating.
I thought that it took a very long time to warm up, and then there was the section where he was reading the 'book' - I nearly put down MY book then.
But then the scenes picked up at the end, and I think the ending, the finishing, took me by surprise. You see, I never expected Winston to turn but I was very happy that George Orwell made him do so. I think that that is what would've happened and it shows the immense power of THE PARTY.
In terms of the meaning of the book, I think it was very progressive for its time. However (and I guess this is because we are in the modern century) it just didn't seem that radical?
I definitely liked Animal Farm a lot better.
I still don't know how to feel about 1984, but I think you should give it a try because I think there will be many different opinions.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
5.0
Oh my goodness. When I picked up this book, ready to read it during my holidays, little did I know that it would become my absolute FAVOURITE book of all time!
There are so so so many things I loved about this book.
First of all, the writing was absolutely stunning. Charlotte Bronte did such an amazing job both at describing scenery and nature but also feelings - the human emotion. The depth of emotion that Charlotte managed to portray is absolutely fantastically stunning. I really empathised with all of Jane's sorrows and troubles.
The character development was spectacular - Charlotte Bronte created such a complex character that really felt REAL. I grew so invested in Jane's life, empathised with her, felt every trouble. I cried quite a bit during her hardest moments.
I also think that Charlotte Bronte was really courageous to write this book - it had so many controversial themes and criticisms of society (especially for the 1800's). Some of these included:
- Criticising the class system in England. The book criticised the excessive belongings of the rich and how society treated the poor. It almost scorned the class system, imploring society to have a lesser divide between rich and poor.
- Criticising the misogyny and sexism that occurred during that time. One of my favourite passages involved Charlotte imploring society to realise that women had the same likes and feelings as men: they should not be confined to housework.
- Criticising religion. While Jane Eyre definitely showed the pros and good things religion brought, the plot of St John River really made you think about the negative impacts that religion can have.
- Criticising society's treatment of the disabled. I won't go further into this as I don't want to spoil anything, but this, was very powerful.
Overall, I thought that Jane Eyre was a courageous, powerful, beautiful, spectacular story. It is my favourite book of all time, and spoke to me in so many different ways.
A must read!!!!!!!!
There are so so so many things I loved about this book.
First of all, the writing was absolutely stunning. Charlotte Bronte did such an amazing job both at describing scenery and nature but also feelings - the human emotion. The depth of emotion that Charlotte managed to portray is absolutely fantastically stunning. I really empathised with all of Jane's sorrows and troubles.
The character development was spectacular - Charlotte Bronte created such a complex character that really felt REAL. I grew so invested in Jane's life, empathised with her, felt every trouble. I cried quite a bit during her hardest moments.
I also think that Charlotte Bronte was really courageous to write this book - it had so many controversial themes and criticisms of society (especially for the 1800's). Some of these included:
- Criticising the class system in England. The book criticised the excessive belongings of the rich and how society treated the poor. It almost scorned the class system, imploring society to have a lesser divide between rich and poor.
- Criticising the misogyny and sexism that occurred during that time. One of my favourite passages involved Charlotte imploring society to realise that women had the same likes and feelings as men: they should not be confined to housework.
- Criticising religion. While Jane Eyre definitely showed the pros and good things religion brought, the plot of St John River really made you think about the negative impacts that religion can have.
- Criticising society's treatment of the disabled. I won't go further into this as I don't want to spoil anything, but this, was very powerful.
Overall, I thought that Jane Eyre was a courageous, powerful, beautiful, spectacular story. It is my favourite book of all time, and spoke to me in so many different ways.
A must read!!!!!!!!
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
5.0
I absolutely loved this book.
The writing was just exquisite, and made my heart sing in joy and sometimes sadness.
The is evident by even the first passage of the book:
Chapter 1, Page 1. The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn.
From the corner of the divan of Persian saddle-bags on which he was lying, smoking, as was his custom, innumerable cigarettes, Lord Henry Wotton could just catch the gleam of the honey sweet and honey-coloured blossoms of a laburnum, whose tremulous branches seemed hardly able to bear the burden of a beauty so flame-like as theirs; and now and then the fantastic shadows of birds in flight flitted across the long tussore-silk curtains that were stretched in front of the huge window, producing a kind of momentary Japanese effect, and making him think of those pallid jade-faced painters of Tokio who, through the medium of an art that is necessarily immobile, seek to convey the sense of swiftness and motion. The sullen murmur of the bees shouldering their way through the long unmown grass, or circling with monotonous insistence round the dusty gilt horns of the straggling woodbine, seemed to make the stillness more oppressive. The dim roar of London was like the bourdon note of a distant organ.
Not only this, but the story line was heartwrenching and so so relevant. It serves an important and controversial lesson about the obsession with youth and beauty that we so often see today.
This book was deeply sad, yet so beautiful.
I highly reccomend.
The writing was just exquisite, and made my heart sing in joy and sometimes sadness.
The is evident by even the first passage of the book:
Chapter 1, Page 1. The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn.
From the corner of the divan of Persian saddle-bags on which he was lying, smoking, as was his custom, innumerable cigarettes, Lord Henry Wotton could just catch the gleam of the honey sweet and honey-coloured blossoms of a laburnum, whose tremulous branches seemed hardly able to bear the burden of a beauty so flame-like as theirs; and now and then the fantastic shadows of birds in flight flitted across the long tussore-silk curtains that were stretched in front of the huge window, producing a kind of momentary Japanese effect, and making him think of those pallid jade-faced painters of Tokio who, through the medium of an art that is necessarily immobile, seek to convey the sense of swiftness and motion. The sullen murmur of the bees shouldering their way through the long unmown grass, or circling with monotonous insistence round the dusty gilt horns of the straggling woodbine, seemed to make the stillness more oppressive. The dim roar of London was like the bourdon note of a distant organ.
Not only this, but the story line was heartwrenching and so so relevant. It serves an important and controversial lesson about the obsession with youth and beauty that we so often see today.
This book was deeply sad, yet so beautiful.
I highly reccomend.
The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter
4.0
I really enjoyed this book.
The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories is a collection of short stories that take inspiration from traditional fairy tales.
Something that I found interesting was that the stories weren't traditional retellings at all. Often, quotes, or items within the stories would be used and a new, darker plotline would be created. I really liked the plots of the stories, and loved that they focused more on showing the darker side of men (and not just the traditional damsel in distress, hero comes and saves her story).
The descriptions were absolutely beautiful - I loved Angela Carter's use of personification.
The only reason I give this a 4 star rather than a 5 star is because I think that sometimes the stories got a bit confusing, with Carter changing the points of views (who it was told from) and also adding a random character in the mix, through the use of first person.
Overall, however, I really recommend - the stories were enjoyable to read and I whizzed through this book. A great read!
The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories is a collection of short stories that take inspiration from traditional fairy tales.
Something that I found interesting was that the stories weren't traditional retellings at all. Often, quotes, or items within the stories would be used and a new, darker plotline would be created. I really liked the plots of the stories, and loved that they focused more on showing the darker side of men (and not just the traditional damsel in distress, hero comes and saves her story).
The descriptions were absolutely beautiful - I loved Angela Carter's use of personification.
The only reason I give this a 4 star rather than a 5 star is because I think that sometimes the stories got a bit confusing, with Carter changing the points of views (who it was told from) and also adding a random character in the mix, through the use of first person.
Overall, however, I really recommend - the stories were enjoyable to read and I whizzed through this book. A great read!