Ignacy

Książka do ogwiazdkowania ciężka. Rozpływa się w bliskich mi wartościach. Drwi ze złudnych wartości, do których mi daleko. Lecz miejscami jest do bólu nudna. Gdybym nie słuchał audiobooka, mógłbym nie przebrnąć przez najnudniejsze. Cieszę się, że mi się udało. Było warto.

Certainly a pleasant read, well actually a listen, as I chose the audiobook format. I'd recommend the book to everybody solely to experience the superb narration by Stephen Fry. I doubt I would enjoy the book as much without his input. The story itself was fine but slightly frustrating. I've read the book years ago, and I forgot most details, and I'm afraid, those details bothered me quite considerably. At times, I found it extremely hard to compose my suspension of disbelief. A multitude of described events just didn't make any sense after you thought about them for like a second or two. The Forbidden Forest chapter was insane (in a bad way), and the finale was unbelievable (in a bad way too). But to be honest, there was some charm in the childish naivety of the plot. I simply hope, the next books will be a trifle more reasonable, because I might not endure it. All in all a pleasant, but frustrating read.

Krótka i miła lektura. Można się czegoś dowiedzieć o lankijskich zwyczajach i wierzeniach, ale nie za wiele. Zdecydowanie polecam bardziej trzyodcinkową serię podcastów historia Sri Lanki autorstwa Dobra Podróż. Odsłuchanie zajmie może trochę dłużej niż lektura tej książeczki, ale dowiedzieć się można nieporównywalnie więcej ciekawych lankijskich faktów i ciekawostek. Wracając do książki, irytująca jest liczba zapchanych stron, na których nie ma tekstu, tylko całość strony zajmuje bazgrołek podpisany cytatem z sąsiedniej strony. Książka ma 90 stron, lecz 45 stron treści. Gdybym nie wypożyczył książki z biblioteki, czułbym się oszukany.

I really enjoyed it, but I feel I need to reread it and take extensive notes to fully appreciate the book’s content. It can be quite dense in places, but it's rewarding. It's a strong case for the usefulness of philosophy in improving the coherence of one’s thought process.

I quite enjoyed myself during the listen, but now, after the fact, there is a severe feeling of void. The book was written for children, and it's perceivable (mostly in a bad way). There were some charming elements I enjoyed (e.g. chocolate being the cure for dementor fatigue), but the naivety of the story, especially the finale, was more dull than charming. And yes I've known all the plot twist already, but I feel I wouldn't have been impressed even with zero knowledge, because of the way the plot twists were handled. I feel like I need a break from the series for a while. I can't decide between 3 and 3.5 stars.