Scan barcode
peripetia's reviews
535 reviews
Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova
2.0
This was a massive disappointment. I was really expecting to love this, which probably makes my reaction to it even more negative. I waited literally months for this book from the library, and for what?
This book does not explore grief except in a very superficial way. We know the characters are grieving because their son died, but how does their grief show in the book? We see something in the beginning, with the mother (Magos) just being weird and annoying and the father (Joseph) crying.
And yes, I think it's fair to call a supposedly grieving mother annoying because grieving does not give you the right to be this kind of a selfish asshole (see, for example, how she treats her friend who she KNOWS has been in love with her like forever).
The characters are flat, the writing is flat, the POVs are strange. What does the best friend's perspective give to the story? How do her kinks and difficult past contribute? If we saw Magos grieving, it would make sense, but all we see are her and Monstrilio growing without the characters reacting to it/him with any emotion.
Supposedly they are showing their grief by acting strangely and for sure, grief can make you do that, but acting strangely is not immediately grief, if you get what I mean.
I don't understand why Monstrilio's POV suddenly didn't include quotation marks. His POV was the most interesting but his part was also short.
I found the plot to be quite ridiculous. Things just kind of work out. Magos, a person who has not worked seemingly ever and has no skills, decides to become a performance artist out of all things and lo and behold! she is now an incredibly successful performance artist living in Berlin with her Monstrilio, who she is calling Santiago after her dead son. This, using the dead son's name, finally gave SOME depth to the superficial grieving.
If this book was described as an exploration of queerness I would be much less negative, because that is the main theme of the book. All of the characters show this in some way.
Ignoring the problems with the writing and the plot, I was just plain bored. This book just lost its point very fast. I did not care about any of the characters and it was hard to since they remained so distant. I don't understand what people are raving about. In general I think people are reading weird books as automatically good, so maybe it's that.
This book does not explore grief except in a very superficial way. We know the characters are grieving because their son died, but how does their grief show in the book? We see something in the beginning, with the mother (Magos) just being weird and annoying and the father (Joseph) crying.
And yes, I think it's fair to call a supposedly grieving mother annoying because grieving does not give you the right to be this kind of a selfish asshole (see, for example, how she treats her friend who she KNOWS has been in love with her like forever).
The characters are flat, the writing is flat, the POVs are strange. What does the best friend's perspective give to the story? How do her kinks and difficult past contribute? If we saw Magos grieving, it would make sense, but all we see are her and Monstrilio growing without the characters reacting to it/him with any emotion.
Supposedly they are showing their grief by acting strangely and for sure, grief can make you do that, but acting strangely is not immediately grief, if you get what I mean.
I don't understand why Monstrilio's POV suddenly didn't include quotation marks. His POV was the most interesting but his part was also short.
I found the plot to be quite ridiculous. Things just kind of work out. Magos, a person who has not worked seemingly ever and has no skills, decides to become a performance artist out of all things and lo and behold! she is now an incredibly successful performance artist living in Berlin with her Monstrilio, who she is calling Santiago after her dead son. This, using the dead son's name, finally gave SOME depth to the superficial grieving.
If this book was described as an exploration of queerness I would be much less negative, because that is the main theme of the book. All of the characters show this in some way.
Ignoring the problems with the writing and the plot, I was just plain bored. This book just lost its point very fast. I did not care about any of the characters and it was hard to since they remained so distant. I don't understand what people are raving about. In general I think people are reading weird books as automatically good, so maybe it's that.
Maeve Fly by CJ Leede
2.0
My GOD do I want to give this a single little star, but the start wasn't bad, I'll give you that. I started the book while running on a treadmill, and I hate running, but this kept me entertained enough in the beginning.
The first maybe 50 pages or so were still interesting. And then, nothing happened until 50%, except a romance, which I was not expecting and didn't really enjoy.
The prose was fine mostly but it had such clichés and dumb lines that I couldn't get over.
He knows instinctively that I know. The ones who know always do. asfhggjj what the fuck.
We have also a he's too good for me. There's also a stupid passage about how Halloween is some kind of a deep release for people, for them to release their darkness or something. It's too long to put here.
Also I'm pretty sure she put in twice the same speech about how female villains need some kind of tragic backstory, unlike male villains (good point and I agree).
I got tired of her angst and her "I'm not like other girls" and "there's a wolf inside me". Additionally, I do not give a single fuck about Los Angeles and I don't get the references and I don't care.
As the story progressed, I got more and more bored. I did not care for the story. When the "extreme horror" finally started, I was rolling my eyes. I honestly didn't care for it and I don't think extreme horror is for me, but this was just such a stupid book. I've only seen the movie version of American Psycho but yeah, even I can see how much she copied from it.
All the characters are flat, but I liked her relationship with her grandmother and her friend. In the end, all these threads were just tied up suddenly (also the one with the love interest). The protagonist also finally goes off the rails in like the last 20 pages.
By the way, I hated the ending so much I would have slammed the book shut if I hadn't been reading an e-book.
Whatever this book tried to be, it wasn't. I think I actually straight up hate this book.
The first maybe 50 pages or so were still interesting. And then, nothing happened until 50%, except a romance, which I was not expecting and didn't really enjoy.
The prose was fine mostly but it had such clichés and dumb lines that I couldn't get over.
He knows instinctively that I know. The ones who know always do. asfhggjj what the fuck.
We have also a he's too good for me. There's also a stupid passage about how Halloween is some kind of a deep release for people, for them to release their darkness or something. It's too long to put here.
Also I'm pretty sure she put in twice the same speech about how female villains need some kind of tragic backstory, unlike male villains (good point and I agree).
I got tired of her angst and her "I'm not like other girls" and "there's a wolf inside me". Additionally, I do not give a single fuck about Los Angeles and I don't get the references and I don't care.
As the story progressed, I got more and more bored. I did not care for the story. When the "extreme horror" finally started, I was rolling my eyes. I honestly didn't care for it and I don't think extreme horror is for me, but this was just such a stupid book. I've only seen the movie version of American Psycho but yeah, even I can see how much she copied from it.
All the characters are flat, but I liked her relationship with her grandmother and her friend. In the end, all these threads were just tied up suddenly (also the one with the love interest). The protagonist also finally goes off the rails in like the last 20 pages.
By the way, I hated the ending so much I would have slammed the book shut if I hadn't been reading an e-book.
Whatever this book tried to be, it wasn't. I think I actually straight up hate this book.
De polyglotta älskarna by Lina Wolff
4.0
This was a fascinating intersection of intellectualism and critique of it. The author focuses specifically on the hypocricy of so-called intellectuals. This is also specifically about male intellectuals who bask in their superiority but really have such fragile egos.
In my opinion the prose changed when the POV switched, which I found impressive. Maybe I noticed it simply because Swedish is not my strongest language and sometimes understood and sometimes the language got more complex. Maybe I'm imagining it.
In any case, easy 4 stars, evem though I'm not really sure what I think about it. I like that.
In my opinion the prose changed when the POV switched, which I found impressive. Maybe I noticed it simply because Swedish is not my strongest language and sometimes understood and sometimes the language got more complex. Maybe I'm imagining it.
In any case, easy 4 stars, evem though I'm not really sure what I think about it. I like that.
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
4.0
I read this as an audiobook with Jeremy Irons as the narrator - he was absolutely disgusting and therefore perfect for this book. (Although I have to say that his American accent is terrible, but we can let that slide since this story is told by a person who does not speak that accent)
I thought this was brilliant in many ways. The endless lists and meanderings did honestly just bore me.
I feel like many people have not read this very carefully and are, to be frank, missing the point. You're in the perspective of the abuser, but you do understand from his subtle remarks that he is sick and that "Dolly" is not enjoying or actively participating in this "relationship" as she is a child that has been persistently groomed.
I might re-read this at some point to take in the writing better, but for now I need a break. This book will, however, stay with me, probably forever.
I thought this was brilliant in many ways. The endless lists and meanderings did honestly just bore me.
I feel like many people have not read this very carefully and are, to be frank, missing the point. You're in the perspective of the abuser, but you do understand from his subtle remarks that he is sick and that "Dolly" is not enjoying or actively participating in this "relationship" as she is a child that has been persistently groomed.
I might re-read this at some point to take in the writing better, but for now I need a break. This book will, however, stay with me, probably forever.
Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
I'm dnf'ing this mostly for a stupid reason - I was reading this in Everand and it made the book inaccesible and then lost where I was and I don't want to search where I left off.
Also this just wasn't as interesting as I was hoping and I'm in the process of trying to find a great 5 star book.
Also this just wasn't as interesting as I was hoping and I'm in the process of trying to find a great 5 star book.
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee
4.0
This was my "listen when nothing else is available" audiobook for months. I have always been interested in the history of medicine, but this book is quite heavy, so I listened to it in bits and pieces.
The topic was not easy and I probably missed many important parts, but even with my incomplete understanding, I thought this was a pretty phenomenal undertaking - and I'm obviously not the only one. It's remarkable how accessible Mukherjee managed to make this book.
What I liked was that this book didn't just recite the same stories you hear all the time, but also challenged some notions we have (for example, is radical surgery really a good idea, how much does early detection actually help). The writing was a little bit flowery for my taste sometimes, taking into account the topic, but it did make the book more accessible, which is great.
The topic was not easy and I probably missed many important parts, but even with my incomplete understanding, I thought this was a pretty phenomenal undertaking - and I'm obviously not the only one. It's remarkable how accessible Mukherjee managed to make this book.
What I liked was that this book didn't just recite the same stories you hear all the time, but also challenged some notions we have (for example, is radical surgery really a good idea, how much does early detection actually help). The writing was a little bit flowery for my taste sometimes, taking into account the topic, but it did make the book more accessible, which is great.
A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome by Emma Southon
4.0
The Roman empire is not my Roman empire, in fact I'm quite bored of it, so I'm a bit surprised I picked this up. I do enjoy microhistories (I would never read a complete history of the Roman empire) and this was a good book in this genre.
This is a very approachable and accessible book, even if it is impossible to remember people's names. The author writes in a very colloquial way, and maybe a little less would have done the trick. I don't mind swearing at all but not all the fucks seemed necessary.
Still, easily 4 stars.
This is a very approachable and accessible book, even if it is impossible to remember people's names. The author writes in a very colloquial way, and maybe a little less would have done the trick. I don't mind swearing at all but not all the fucks seemed necessary.
Still, easily 4 stars.
Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness by William Styron
4.25
This was short and well-written book on living with depression. I found the prose beautiful. In the end this was more of just a personal account on depression and not really a full memoir, more like a long essay that kind of ended abruptly. Very good nonetheless.
Palm Beach, Finland by Antti Tuomainen
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
This may not be the greatest work of literature to ever grace humanity, but damn if I didn't whole-heartedly enjoy it.
I'm usually not a detective or crime novel kind of person, but this book was 50% that and 50% about the characters, which was a great balance for me.
The plot is kind of easily wrapped up in the end, but the journey there was uniquely fun.
So if you're looking for simple fun and this kind of (Finnish) humor resonates with you, go for it.
I'm usually not a detective or crime novel kind of person, but this book was 50% that and 50% about the characters, which was a great balance for me.
The plot is kind of easily wrapped up in the end, but the journey there was uniquely fun.
So if you're looking for simple fun and this kind of (Finnish) humor resonates with you, go for it.
Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament by Kay Redfield Jamison
3.5
The topic of the book and the expertise which it was handled with were great. However, I think the book could have been structured better to avoid (a lot of) repetition.
I like Jamison's writing and I think she succeeded in not glorifying a dangerous mental illness for the sake of art while at the same time acknowledging that this illness may have contributed to some great works of art.
Something that bothered me was the theory that the change of seasons and the accompanying change in light and darkness influenced mood changes. This is not the part that bothers me, the phenomenon is well documented - what bothers me is ignoring the areas where the changing of seasons is much more subtle and the times of light and dark are virtually the same all year round. This is kind of a small thing, but I can't let go of it.
I like Jamison's writing and I think she succeeded in not glorifying a dangerous mental illness for the sake of art while at the same time acknowledging that this illness may have contributed to some great works of art.
Something that bothered me was the theory that the change of seasons and the accompanying change in light and darkness influenced mood changes. This is not the part that bothers me, the phenomenon is well documented - what bothers me is ignoring the areas where the changing of seasons is much more subtle and the times of light and dark are virtually the same all year round. This is kind of a small thing, but I can't let go of it.