Larsas
4 stars
I found the main character of J.D. Salinger???s Catcher in the Rye, Holden, relatable without much difficulty. The book is a story about a day in the life of a 16-year-old guy, who cusses a lot and makes even more questionable choices, but does so without coming off as stupid, instead just quite directionless and lost. Holden Caulfield is not a bad guy in a sense of the word, he is afflicted by a malaise that most of come in contact with at least in passing ??? he is unsure, anxious and often depressed, he can???t seem to fit in.
I recommend that you read it if you often feel similar to Holden and you would like to have someone to relate to.
4 stars
Although I dislike murder mystery stories overall, I initially thought that a murder mystery set in a monastery would be an atmospheric and comfortable read. It fulfilled that expectation, more or less, but I couldn???t get into the theological debates much, on account of me not being a god-loving Christian and all. Overall, the plot is engaging, the prose is very descriptive and even humorous, for instance, when a group of monks did not agree about whether Christ espoused poverty or not, and started pulling each other???s beards.
I recommend you read it if you enjoy theological discussion on sin and virtue, or you would like a mystery in a non-standard setting.
P.S. The untranslated parts were novel, but a little pretentious and quite annoying to follow, as I had to read translations on a website every time they came up.
5 stars
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is one of the best books I???ve read in a while, because of the setting, the plot, and most importantly the ideas that it contemplates. Only about halfway in the book, I realized that the film Apocalypse Now was adapted from this book. It follows Charlie Marlow, who has used his connections to get a steamboat to transport ivory downriver, finds out about Kurtz, who has established himself as a god amongst the local populace. Marlow takes a growing interest in the man and undertakes to meet him. The book considers how hollow civilization can really be, the consuming power of greed, civilization???s fa??ade of enlightenment, among others.
I recommend it to you if the setting and ideas of the book. This is a book that I will be buying a physical copy for my library.
4,75 stars
Short, sweet, and absurd is Albert Camus ???The Stranger???. A nonplussed man performs a horrible crime all because of the sun. I found it quite easy to relate to this book, although I would not want to make myself seem like a nihilistic edge lord. The book lays out Camus absurd philosophy quite well and it becomes easy to understand that some of the most significant actions of our lives may be without purpose or rational motivation.
I would recommend it to you if you would like to find out more about Camus's philosophical ideas or are looking for an introduction to Camus overall.
4,75 stars
???The Count of Monte Cristo??? is a truly epic and lengthy tale of imprisonment, personal growth, liberation and most importantly ??? revenge. A young man, named Edmond Dantes with a perspective career and happy marriage ahead of him is incarcerated in the Ch??teau d'If for 14(!) years, where he vows not to rest until he has his revenge on the plotters who arranged his wrongful incarceration.
Alexandre Dumas explores motifs of justice and revenge, gratitude and love. It could be said that Edmond is guided by the hand of god, for he, although plotting and vengeful, is a truly good person who is justified in his vengeance.
Besides these motifs, this story examines what is filial and romantic love, how strong it can be and how it can last for decades.
I would recommend it if you are a naturally vengeful person, if you love drawn out dramatic stories of love, intrigue, plots and the very cornerstone of this book ??? revenge.
4,5 stars
???If on a Winter???s Night a Traveler??? makes for a great story, or rather, many stories. It was honestly devilish of Calvino to write so many good hooks for stories only for them to never be further explored. Although, perhaps they are so good precisely because they are never finished. The overarching narrative is quite whimsical and mystical at the same time while pulling you into it.
Although I had temporarily lost interest in the book for a time and would have rated it less, the final chapter of ???If on a Winter???s Night a Traveler??? tied it up too well for me to rate it any less.
???Do you believe that every story must have a beginning and an end? [...] The ultimate meaning to which all stories refer has two faces: the continuity of life, the inevitability of death.???
I would recommend it for anyone wanting to read something fresh and experimental, especially if you like unfinished cliffhangers.
4,75 stars
Part of the dystopian future cannon, Fahrenheit 451 is full of interesting insights into what a world where reading, discourse, and thought are replaced by the non-stop babble of television screens. The protagonist of the book, Guy Montag has an esteemed profession ??? he is a fireman. He burns books and other literature in order to keep society happy. Montag has his understanding of the world slowly melted away, primarily because of the actions of three women: his wife, Mildred, who can hardly recall what she has done half an hour ago, a young neighbor, Clarisse, who seems to be able to enjoy the little things in life with her family and on her own, and one woman who valued books above all else. After all turmoil, Guy goes on a chase-turned-pilgrimage, to finally free himself from the shackles of censorship, brainwashing, and to find new purpose.
I???d recommend it to you if you enjoyed Animal Farm by George Orwell, since it has many similar beats, but is very different on the whole.
4,5 stars
Inspiring and uplifting while being depressing at the same time. In Flowers for Algernon, we see a relatively young man with a severe learning disability, named Charlie Gordon, receive a new chance at life after an experimental operation, first successfully performed on a rat named Algernon, meant to increase his intelligence significantly. As Charlie struggles to get to grips with being on the other end of the spectrum once again, we get to see his journey of trying to understand his sexuality, emotions, thoughts and ever-increasing intellect. As Algernon starts deteriorating and acting erratically, Charlie begins to hurry, for he fears the same may happen to him.
I???d recommend this to anyone who is interesting in seeing the world from a mentally disabled person???s perspective, whose perception of the world is radically different than that of a genius.
???Its easy to make frends if you let pepul laff at you.???
For someone unfamiliar with life in a small southern town, I loved this book. I somehow had assumed that it would portray the lives of the children passing into adulthood, but by avoiding that, Harper used the innocence of children to juxtapose and highlight the “corruption” of adults.
I understand why this is a classic, and honestly, it's still as significant and important today, as it was then.
4 stars
Slightly overstayed its welcome in the final chapters, but overall it was great body horror, especially since you never knew what to expect, besides the spirals. The art is great and now I know where a lot of manga shock images on the Internet are from, hah. Even though I said that it dragged a bit at the end, it's still worth finishing, because the ending is very satisfying.
I would recommend it to you if you love seeing body horror or are looking for some fairly light-hearted horror.
5 stars
Kurt Vonnegut???s Slaughterhouse-Five is a non-linear story, following a private in World War II, Billy Pilgrim, on his path through the war, the bombing of Dresden, the rest of his life, and even his brief stay on an alien planet. It is a fantastically horrifying dissection of the human psyche in war. This book was great from start to finish. No matter what, humans will find ways to maim and kill each other, atomic bombs or not.
So it goes.
I recommend it to absolutely everyone. It???s not hard to be anti-war in the 21st century, but it is a very interesting perspective on how the human mind ???breaks??? during times of great stress, trying to preserve a kind of sanity.
4,5 stars
???Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind??? is a simply explained, but somewhat broad history of the human race. In it, you will find possible explanations for our dominance of the globe, anthropology, politics, and many other facets.
It allowed me to realize, that most of the technical and farming advancements we have made have granted us more stability and safety, but may not have made us any happier and likely even brought down our contentedness with life from what it was when were hunter-gatherers.
I would recommend it to anyone who would like to know more about human anthropology, technological advancements, made over the years, and so on.
Immensely sad and touching, a story about love, the kind of love few of us know, the brotherly love that is born rather than formed and grown. It also speaks about the importance of art versus mind, how neither is rather superior than the other, but that they are equal and even complement each other.
5 stars
Absolutely incredible, start to finish. About man???s indomitable will to persevere and succeed, beautifully captured by the quote “a man can be destroyed but not defeated.” The prose is poetic and enrapturing throughout, made me put the book down several times, just to admire some passages and go back and reread many others.
I recommend it to you if you do not really know where to begin with Hemingway and would like to start strong. It???s very short, an evening???s reading too.
4 stars
???Gully Foyle is my name
And Terra is my nation.
Deep space is my dwelling place,
The stars my destination.???
A ???rags to riches??? book, set in the far future with an interesting mechanic ??? jaunting, basically thought teleportation. While criminally underused, it was something somewhat fresh in sci-fi, besides other novel concepts in the book, related to it. Also, it could be mentioned that it???s a sort of truncated retelling of The Count of Monte Crist by Alexandre Dumas, in my opinion.
You should read it if you???re a fan of sci-fi since it is a classic for obvious reasons.
I initially enjoyed this book, but further I listened the more realized that only small tidbits of the proposed “laws” can really be applied by the average person. No, it didn't make me “evil” or “immoral” or any other edgy term that others proclaim the book allowed them to be, maybe if I was more business savvy, but even then it's unlikely. The vignettes are very interesting, but by law 40 I found that the book had dragged on, overstayed its welcome with vaguely similar laws, without much of a concise point.
If you do ever listen to it, like I did, listen to the High Bridge version, since the narrator is perfect for the contents of the book.
