sullenreads's reviews
38 reviews

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

nothing could’ve prepared for this book.

without much knowledge about one hundred years of solitude nor the writer, i ventured into an unknown world of magical realism and latin american literature. i didn’t have high hopes for this book despite being a widely praised one. to be honest, i took me twice read of the first chapter to fully get myself interested and after the second read everything went smooth.

i don’t think i’ve read a book full of unlikable characters like this one. everyone’s own flaws clung onto them till the day they die and are even passed down to their successors named after them. the little choices they make in life become a huge part in their endless cycle of distress and sufferings yet it seemed that not a single one of them learned from that. caught up in their own dramas and dilemmas in life, they get stuck in isolation and solitude countless of times. it’s written in such a beautiful and tender manner that despite of the revolting and heinous actions of the characters, you’ll find yourself turning to the next page.

Content Warnings

Fair Play by Tove Jansson

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funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

People From My Neighbourhood by Hiromi Kawakami

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lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

the book consisted of short chapters exploring the quirky and odd lives of the people from the narrator’s neighborhood. there’s also a magical and fantasy-ish aspect of the book, though not to much, just the right amount to not be classified as a fantasy novel.

Para Kay B (o kung paano dinevastate ng pag-ibig ang 4 out of 5 sa atin) by Ricky Lee

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

it’s a great book and i didn’t really have high expectations of it but it’s still decent. the chapters are hit or miss.

chapter 1 (4*) - it was a great way to start a book and i loved irene. i despise jordan for lying and making empty promises to irene. his character was so MEH and he just gave me the ick when they had their reunion. like seriously? pretending to forget her then proceeding to fuck her the same day? YUCK

chapter 2 (2*) - i had to take a break for this chapter because who would’ve expected an incest love story in this book? not me. i can’t sympathize with the characters except for ruben and belinda (ugly name btw), poor child has to live a life with complications because of sandra and lupe’s actions. plus it was kinda flat because if you’re gonna make an incest story, i want to be utterly disgusted by the end that i wouldn’t be able to eat for days. or just blow my mind idk.

chapter 3 (3*) - might be the most boring one out of all the short stories. it’s about erica who grew up in this place called maldiaga where love didn’t exist. she flee from that place and ended up in the care of mrs. baylon, jake’s mother. so, jake is a playboy who gets girls drunk to sleep with him, already a red flag. YUCK. their love progresses and then a falling out, she leaves, he searches for maldiaga and injures him while doing it, leaving him paralyzed. erica now has a successful career but leaves it to be his caregiver (BOOO) and learns the meaning of love a little too late i guess?

chapter 4 (4.5*) - my favorite out of all. it’s a sapphic story between ester and sara. it’s angsty and tender with a great comedic relief because of aj, ester’s gay son. sara worked for ester and they first did it when ester’s husband died. i loved this so much because however tragic their story may be because of sara’s kontrabida husband, it shows that love will always find a way through things other than sex and intimacy. and, considering this was published in 2008, it’s a pretty good queer representation.

chapter 5 (3*) - one of my least favorite stories in the book. i know it’s meant to have insufferable and flawed characters but the pairing in this one got on my nerve the most. bessie, a nymphomaniac who’s the epitome of a female character written by a man, she sleeps with numerous men, is smart and witty, looks sexy in any piece of clothing, and is an aspiring actress. she uses lucas to do things for her and make her feel good about herself. lucas on the other hand is a wimp and a writer, that’s really all i can say. i have a love-hate relationship with them.

chapter 6 - shockingly, this was a fun and interesting way of ending things. it explains the things that happened in the stories like the last sentence of erica’s story. there are also parts of the book where the narration would switch to english for a mere second which annoyed me but there’s actually a reason for that. it would’ve been better if it wasn’t so clustered because it felt like some pages were fillers. i did like lucas’ ending though, not so much for the others. irene should let go of jordan and live in the present, erica and jake (well, i don’t care for them), and bessie, poor bessie, but it goes without saying that you can’t save people who don’t want to be saved.

overall, the book wasn’t a standout for me, i’m certain some people loved this much more than i did but that’s them! this is my first ricky lee novel and i like how smooth and easy to read his writing is. the pacing was alright until the 6th chapter. some of the short stories still feel incomplete and lackluster compared to the others. also, it’s kinda sad that he writes women in a somewhat objectifying way but oh well :-)

Content Warnings