Mikko Saari
I generally prefer novels to short stories, and collections like this tend to be uneven. So is the case here: there are some real gems, but also some quite plodding works. The second story in the book, The New Atlantis, is a long and, frankly, boring, but if you carry on with it, there's better material in the book. Some of it is humorous, some more serious. Many feature older women in significant roles, which is rare in the books I usually read. A welcome change, really. For the fans of Le Guin. Not quite as even in quality as The Wind's Twelve Quarters, but good nevertheless.
Flicker feels a bit like two books fused together. The one about cinema is interesting; the one with the sinister secret society, not so much. The book was, however, interesting enough to read and not to feel like a waste of time. Curious book, with an interesting concepts, but the execution is somewhat flawed.
I've read this before in English. I was quite surprised to hear there was a Finnish edition in the works, but less surprised when it was delayed. Translating Gravity's Rainbow must be a really heavy task. The job is well done, though, and it was a pleasure to read. Much better than reading the book in English, really.
The story is still confusing at times, but this is not a book to comprehend thoroughly. This is a book to receive – just let it wash over you. The story makes sense at times, is hilarious at times, delightfully paranoid at others.
The Pynchon names. Few authors come up with names like Pynchon. Blodgett Waxwing? Sheer brilliance.
Marvellous book. Not for everyone, since this is such a brick of a book, but definitely worth experiencing, and I'm really glad somebody translated this in Finnish. Hopefully more Pynchon books follow.
Olipa Tuntematon lukematta, joten otin joulupyhiksi appivanhempien kirjahyllystä tämän. Vahva sotatarinahan tämä; ei ihan perinteinen romaani, jossa on päähenkilö, ellei sitten päähenkilöksi lue sitä konekiväärijoukkuetta, sillehän tästä tulee kyllä ihan selkeä draaman kaari hyökkäyssodan rehvakkuudesta asemasodan hivuttavaan odotteluun ja sitten perääntymisen nöyryytyksiin. Henkilöitähän Linna tapattaa George R.R. Martinin tapaan.
Tuntemattomasta siistityt kohdat on tähän merkitty; enimmäkseen ne ovat pieniä, kirosanojen poistoa, mutta on kirjasta siivottu myös katkeraa valitusta sodanjohdon kyvyttömyydestä. Tarpeellisuudesta en tiedä, mutta kyllä kirosanat kieltämättä kielenkäytön luontevuutta lisäävät.
Yhtä kaikki hyvä ja mielenkiintoinen kirja, jonka henkilögalleria tarjoaa koko joukon mielenkiintoisia tyyppejä, ja kuvaa siinä erilaisten ihmisluonteiden kehitystä ja jatkosodan vaiheita.
Just consider the opening of the book:
“My name is Mary Katherine Blackwood. I am eighteen years old, and I live with my sister Constance. I have often thought that with any luck at all I could have been born a werewolf, because the two middle fingers on both my hands are the same length, but I have had to be content with what I had. I dislike washing myself, and dogs, and noise. I like my sister Constance, and Richard Plantagenet, and Amanita phalloides, the death-cup mushroom. Everyone else in my family is dead.”
Tell me you didn't fall in love with Mary Katherine, even a little bit? Mary Katherine is one of the cutest and most charmingly eccentric protagonists I've ever met, and carries the short book splendidly.
Näyttävä, taiten tehty kirja. Aihepiiri ei henkilökohtaisella tasolla hirveästi kosketa, joten sikälikin pitää kehua kirjaa: luin kyllä suurella mielenkiinnolla. Aiheesta ei muita vastaavia kirjoja olekaan, joten tässäkin tapauksessa on helppo todeta teos parhaaksi aiheestaan tehdyksi. (Vastuusta vapautuakseni todettakoon, että tunnen kirjan kirjoittajan.)
I can see something brilliant in this, but also waddling, meandering prose, that gets quite annoying to read. But some of the brief interviews and other short pieces here are very clever and well done. So, I'm a bit torn here. I think I won't be heading to more DFW any time soon, and looks like getting rid of my copy of [b:Infinite Jest 6759 Infinite Jest David Foster Wallace https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405353951s/6759.jpg 3271542] was probably a smart move.
Well I don't know. Clearly I'm no fan of this kind of writing style; I'd prefer more straightforward plot and characters I can relate to. In this book, none of characters meant anything to me. I couldn't really care. The mystery behind everything was interesting enough to get me to the end of this book, and I can see why some people might like this quite a bit.
A gorgeously illustrated book on guns. I'm not sure how reliable source this is for detailed information, but at least you get to see gorgeous photos of many iconic firearms (but where is the Suomi submachine gun?) and learn how firearms have developed from the basic muskets to modern assault weapons. The book also does a good job in explaining the basics of how different kinds of firearms work. And did I already mention the book looks great?
Kelpo Tolkien-elämäkerta, pääpaino teoksilla. Jos on lukenut ulkomaisia Tolkienin elämäkertoja, tämä tuskin tarjoaa mitään uutta ja mullistavaa, mutta jos ei ole mitään Tolkien-elämäkertaa lukenut, tästä saa varsin siivossa ja tiiviissä muodossa perustiedot. Bonuksena jonkun verran huomioita Tolkienin vastaanotosta Suomessa, jollaista ei ulkomaisista teoksista saa, ja kattava Tolkien Suomessa -bibliografia.
I'm not quite sure what to think about this. The art is pretty, and the story has fascinating parts; there are some interesting views to Arabic culture, Qur'an and calligraphy.
Then there's tons of female nudity just for the sake it, quite a bit of sex, most of it rape in some form, slavery and rather unpleasant Orientalism.
I'm not sure what made me ask for a review copy of this book. Probably it sounded at least semi-interesting, and was about Jamaica, which has so far been a blank spot on my country challenge map. This wasn't bad; not terribly interesting, either, but it did cover a historical period I wasn't familiar with, and did so with a suitable amount of color.
A war is always a business opportunity. In this tragedy, some veterans of the war engage in different kinds of treacherous business in the aftermath of World War I. Of course, some have better means than the others, and the criminal activities have different levels of legitimacy. It all ends up in ruins, of course, this being a tragedy, but what an interesting ride it is. This book is a real page-turner that tells an interesting story in a smooth, easy-to-read style.
Comic book journalism. The topic is important and seeing other side of the story is fine as well, as the Israeli side seems to be generally more prominent in the media. I didn't like Sacco's style much, though, and I have to wonder, like couple of people who Sacco met in Palestine: what does this matter? He goes around, asking questions, writing down stories. This book was released twenty years ago, and to me it seems nothing has changed.
A wild alternate-history take on holocaust, a world where Nazis didn't rise to power in Germany, but instead fled to England from the communist rulers. The blackshirts get in power in England, instead. Adolf Hitler appears as a classic hard-boiled detective. At the same time, a man lies dreaming things in Auschwitz... This is a strange and a fascinating book.
I found Bach and his cantatas in Spring this year, and have been following the cantata cycle since then, listening to the “correct” cantatas every week. I've been focusing primarily on Gardiner. Getting this book was an obvious move, in order to find out a bit more about Bach. I certainly got a rather large pile of information. Interesting, mostly, bit heavy on the musical theory at times. I don't understand music theory, so I didn't understand large part of Gardiner's music terminology, but despite that, this was an interesting description of Bach's life and his work. Highly recommended, if you're interested in the topic. It's a heavy book, though, 560 pages of content with a tiny font.