ahnny
This was interesting story that reads as a comedy novella to me
Oscar Wilde's ability to hold your attention with the shortest conversations is very intriguing to me. Jack “Ernest'while a simple character is also quite compelling and I must admit his willingness to cook up a lie in order to marry Gwen though while a bit naive for a man of twenty nine was telling on the values of the upper class in England at the time
Blackwell was truly interesting character and I did not expect her to make me chuckle at different intervals. Her younger nephew was interesting as well ( forgive me for I do not remember his name at this time) . The lesson of being truthful in your dealings with others and how it can have devastating consequences if not done right was well expressed in this and I especially loved the comedic tones in this especially from the female characters
Its always a beautiful thing when someone loves you exactly for who you are
Doesn't try to change you and simply becomes your better half or soulmate in life with promise of wanting to face every 24 hours with you come what may
Love truly is a beautiful thing ...to me this was the best book in the series
R.F kuang truly is an incredible writer ..for the first 25% of this book I was impressed with her meticulous world building more than the language they thought at babel and the emphasis on silver workings ...naturally as the book progressed my mind was thoroughly occupied with how the matched pairs of those silver bars worked to create something beautiful or in the latter stages of the book something absolutely disastrous
Moving on to character work
Kuang writes about Robin Swift as though he were the the closest friend you've had at college or any point of your education. His development was so authentic and his response to sheer violence at each point of the book was so real I had to take breaks in between .. especially when Robin found himself being okay with taking a stance against violent oppressors who would ruin his motherland without a second thought
I would like to elaborate on the characters Letty and Victorie and how much their dynamic as friends and probably enemies ( in my mind after the book ends) ...that was also fantastic work showing how much you never truly know someone even if you've lived, laughed and cried with them for three whole years ... “ did she hate us all this time” I'm sure was the question they kept asking towards her betrayal against friends she had thought of as her home especially after everything that happened with Lincoln and her family
Furthermore , Ramiz, my Ramy ...I have no doubt in my mind that he would've been with Robin at the end ..facing the unknown knowing it was better to leave your mark no matter how little than stay under the thumb of the white man till you fade into obscurity
Lastly, Kuang really tackles the issues on colonialism and racism in such a brutal way that I had to take breaks in between to think about how much of this fictional work can still be in play in the modern world and I'm sad to say so much of it still relates
I feel like I have dragged this on too long but this quote will stay with me forever ...“Robbery, butchery, and theft – they call these things empire, and where they create a desert, they call it peace.”..5
Dark academia through and through
I've gone through like five different ways I wanted to write this review in my head but I'm going to summarize it as this
This felt more like a Julis Caesar twisted version more than anything else ....tragic hero and all
I loved every single one of them like they made up the perfect , slightly twisted tree ...Oliver and James you have my eternal dedication....highly recommended...
