Pratik

Gilbert covers a lot of ground exploring incidences of women exploitation in music, entertainment, reality TV, and the even porn. The more things get better, the worse things are for women. Even the ones with power aren’t spared. Some of the things mentioned in the book are truly revolting and disgusting.

A provocative but deliberative read by one of the professors I know at UT Austin. If you thought the nature-nurture debate was settled, be ready to re-engage because, like everything that life throws at you, it's not that simple. Even among idential twins that share the same DNA. The author is a lapsed Christian but knows enough about the Bible and her evangelical upbringing to hold forth on biblical interpretation (hence the title) and how it shapes our behavior as well.

Gory and action-packed. The book is steeped in an alterative fantasy Europe with hints of its own sordid history of Crusades and barbarians. Abercrombie picks a few characters from his First Law trilogy and gives them a new quest. More than the plot, it's the characters journey and the relationships they build amongst themselves through witty and insightful conversations. Some of the chapters are simply two-way conversations between Vigga and Alex, Alex and Sunny, Brother Diaz and Vigga, Balthazar and everyone else. One conversation is simply enroute to the river to fetch water but is memorable. Baptise and Jakob are the warriors but in each battle; someone else steps up to save the day. I'm sure Abercrombie was pitching his book for a very gory but entertaining movie.

I don't watch reality shows, but this book, based on one, reads like one. Consumerism, late-stage capitalism, and the need to escape your own reality are center stage in this tale that tests the limits of being a better human. However, the ending is anticlimactic; otherwise, it would've been a solid 5.

Wacky and infuriating, but it keeps you reading. Told from the perspective of four characters, it gives you an insight into the crazy suburbia-ness of America, where resentment and trauma live side by side. But wait for it...