beaneater

I enjoyed the narrative from three perspectives, we saw different thought processes in each of the characters and also their personal shift due to even the smallest event. If they were giving out awards for the greatest characteristic shift in literary creation, Walter Tevis would definitely win it for Bentley. His phrase: “My God, the world can be beautiful sometimes.” resonated with me, and even after finishing the book, the character left me with a strange feeling. Perhaps my biggest regret was that a world automated by robots-with humanity slowly sinking into extinction because it relies on technology of its own creation-didn't feel complete, and I would have loved to read more about such a dystopia. It was still missing something. The plot idea is certainly interesting, topical...? I see that more on 1984 than Mockingbird.

It was natural to assume that BNW would be as much to my liking as the notorious classic 1984. Mr. Huxley did build a very interesting idea of an anti-utopian world that might not be that far from the one we have today, but somehow his ideas didn't fully transcribe to paper.
If I were to rate the work purely from a philosophical point of view, I would certainly have to give it one star more.

“But that's the price we have to pay for stability. You've got to choose between happiness and what people used to call high art. We've sacrificed the high art.”

Nathaniel as the main young protagonist is stubborn and at times indecisive. But his stubbornness and indiscretion often pays off. He crosses paths with the (not so) powerful genie Bartimaeus - a demon with a narcissistic nature that doesn't irritate the reader with its hubris, but instead greatly amuses and makes us adore him even more.
So we have two characters with completely different characteristics, but who complement each other so beautifully and go hand in hand. Although they would sometimes prefer to strangle each other, there is a strong bond between them and we as readers witness some bromance moments.

The trilogy had me laughing so many times that I was clapping at some passages for a week. It's been a while since I've read the series, but I remember it with a smile, and maybe I'll read it again sometime to remind myself of Bartimaeus' colossal drama.

To tell you the truth, I was never a big fan of the film adaptation and it may have distorted my perception of the book a bit. But I'll try to be objective and see this first installment of the trilogy in all its glory, which everyone is rightfully praising.
The story is definitely out of its time, for which the author deserves a bow and a standing ovation. The first volume is so enriched with the history of a non-existent world that it feels almost real in places. History described in such depth that it may bore some readers to death, but extremely important to understanding the storyline.
I'm not rushing into the second volume, but it would be a shame to walk away from such a fantasy at the outset.

I was really looking forward to getting into this piece. I was partly disappointed and partly “learning for life”.
I don't like very detailed descriptions, and fishing doesn't really do anything for me, but I found Hemingway's detailed descriptions quite entertaining as well. I did have a little trouble getting through the beginning, though. Being a thin book of a few pages, I spent perhaps more time reading it than I needed to.

I don't think I've ever read something so terrible in my life before. Pointless narrative, flat characters and unnecessarily long. Even though I've read this book way back in my teens I can still remember how horrible it actually was. I felt like the whole plot was lifeless and unimaginably naive with zero logic... just like our main protagonist.
I take this book as a kind of satire on Twilight saga. I guess there's no other way to put it, unfortunately. I think there was a stab at it but I think it missed me.
If it would be possible my rating would be zero for sure.