Bronwyn Knox

One of the best horror books I've read in awhile. The real-life fears of bullying, alcoholism, pedophilia, loneliness, and poverty juxtaposed with the supernatural terror of vampirism.

It is genuinely chilling and emotionally moving.

I was invested in all of the characters, including feeling empathy for the “villains.”

The ending was amazing, a little bit open-ended but also satisfying.

Kazuo Ishiguro's book's never leave you with an upbeat feeling, do they? Of course I certainly won't ever forget about any of them either.

Reading this was similar to reading Never Let Me Go—I couldn't put it down because I was dying to discover what was really going on. Patience is required since Ishiguro's books are mostly focused on the internal experiences of those characters, not the plot.

When We Were Orphans is set up as a thriller or detective novel. Charles Banks, the narrator and protagonist of the story, has chosen detective as his profession. This is an interesting contradiction since his blind spot is the traumatic incident around the disappearance of his parents when he was a child in the British colony in Shanghai.

Banks went back to England, an orphan for all purposes, finished school and quietly decided detective was the future for him. He lived most of his life in a childlike haze or delusion, a lot of it admittedly created by trusted adults who lied and kept things from him as a child. He met another orphaned adult named Sarah, with whom he had in common a need to be part of some great work, to help out the world in some significant way but found out how difficult it was to overcome their own needs.

You would think that as a detective he would have prioritized going back to Shanghai to find his parents. Instead he spent time building a name for himself in London. Once he finally decided to go to Shanghai, he doesn't see things realistically, trusts the wrong people and misidentifies a random Japanese soldier as his childhood friend. In other words, he didn't act as the clever and objective detective he's supposed to be. In the climactic scene, he rushed through the streets of Shanghai in the middle of fighting between the Japanese and Chinese, but he never let go of his personal goal of finding the house he believed his parents were held in, ignoring the chaos and violence all around him.

Like many, Banks' life of relative comfort came at the cost of others who suffered, but he wasn't aware until it was spelled out. The background of Banks' story includes the history of China/British relations and Imperialism leading up to WWII. I appreciate that Ishiguro doesn't take a one-sided approach to these larger issues.

This is my fourth Ishiguro novel, and I've come to the conclusion that all are unique and well written but all leave me with the same empty feeling that comes from identifying with a character's missed opportunities and misunderstandings that get resolved too late to change anything.

Sweet and cute kinda-sorta sci fi. I'd group this in a category with Remarkably Bright Creatures where it is mostly a character/family drama story and using in this case alien invasion as the hook.

This is a pleasant and fun read. Nothing terribly challenging. There's some humor at times but I would have appreciated sharper edges. There isn't much conflict or depth. It's sort of a celebration of humans and America in particular with our bacon, cheese, plastics, and television.

I'd say if you are feeling down and in need of a light, cheery, and slightly oddball book to read, this is a good pick. Also, it helps if you love cats. There's a lot of words thrown at the reader about enjoying life and being human. Probably good advice.

Cute, “family movie” vibe with the added gimmick of an octopus and his internal monologue. It's in the same vein as A Man Called Ove, featuring an older person who has been through some tragedy and gets the chance to connect with new people. (Hey, octopuses are people too!)

I wish she had pushed the light comedy a bit further and made it funnier. There was potential, but most of the characters were humorless. Van Pelt kept very specific characterizations. Cameron: resentful, Tova: practical, Ethan: generous, Knit-Wits: meddlesome, Avery: spirited. There wasn't much complexity.

Other reviewers mentioned disliking Cameron, and I get it. He's insufferable to the point where I didn't want to see things work out for him. The author must have thought readers would be on his side if she kept serving him bad luck. Sometimes it's more about how the character handles setbacks than the setbacks themselves.

Despite all the backstory of death, child abandonment, and other heartbreak, it's uncomplicated and light-hearted if you're in that type of mood. It was entertaining for the time I spent reading it.

I'm generally interested in variations on fantasy more so than the traditional High Fantasy. I tend to categorize all of High Fantasy as the same story over and over about chosen ones, quests, rings, swords, good vs. evil, and so on.

The Blade Itself is an adult version of fantasy, though it does take place in a world of Kings, Princes, and wizards. The story focuses on three jaded characters (as opposed to heroic young adults) trying to survive a brutal world where different kingdoms are constantly at war, struggling for power, not to mention internal politics that can get someone killed easily should they cross the wrong people.

The three characters whose POVs we see are not the power players but rather those who must survive in a dystopian world. They may not be likable, heroic guys, yet their struggles make them relatable. Even the spoiled rich kid gains a little depth as he figures out there may be something he wants from life besides drinking and gambling.

I prefer series where each book has a resolution; the plot of The Blade Itself isn't resolved by the end. But I enjoyed this so much that I will continue with the other two books.