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I am having a hard time figuring out what this story is really about. This is because by the end of the book, our titular Professor William definitely has some shillings he had not earned as result of rather randomly and luckily obtained connections. William does not try to maintain these connections whatsoever, they just appear by coincidence and keep themselves. As a story about building your way up after falling all the way down, this is either very dated, or just doesn't work.
I could mention various minute things I take issue with, but most of them are probably just a symptom of the time period. One major hit for my enjoyment of the book besides the aforementioned was just the simple fact that I really do not like William as a character.
I am having a hard time figuring out what this story is really about. This is because by the end of the book, our titular Professor William definitely has some shillings he had not earned as result of rather randomly and luckily obtained connections. William does not try to maintain these connections whatsoever, they just appear by coincidence and keep themselves. As a story about building your way up after falling all the way down, this is either very dated, or just doesn't work.
I could mention various minute things I take issue with, but most of them are probably just a symptom of the time period. One major hit for my enjoyment of the book besides the aforementioned was just the simple fact that I really do not like William as a character.
What can I say? I love Jane Austen, and this is perhaps the most densely packed collection of the characteristics that make her writing her own. That being said, I just cannot bring myself to like the way she ends her stories, no matter how much I like the actual ending.
What can I say? I love Jane Austen, and this is perhaps the most densely packed collection of the characteristics that make her writing her own. That being said, I just cannot bring myself to like the way she ends her stories, no matter how much I like the actual ending.
What I personally like about Jane Austen stories are the sketches of quiet landed life in the early 19th century they provide, and this book draws (them out)particularly well. For me it is a welcome escape, but I wouldn't be surprised if it seemed a bit boring to someone else.
I'm puzzled about the moral of the story though. There seems to be this island of proper breeding in Mansfield Park, and everyone outside of it is just not up to par. The heroine serves every moral obligation but never herself, and life just happens to her, but she still gets what she wants. I'm not sure I agree with the author on this one.
What I personally like about Jane Austen stories are the sketches of quiet landed life in the early 19th century they provide, and this book draws (them out)particularly well. For me it is a welcome escape, but I wouldn't be surprised if it seemed a bit boring to someone else.
I'm puzzled about the moral of the story though. There seems to be this island of proper breeding in Mansfield Park, and everyone outside of it is just not up to par. The heroine serves every moral obligation but never herself, and life just happens to her, but she still gets what she wants. I'm not sure I agree with the author on this one.
What I personally like about Jane Austen stories are the sketches of quiet landed life in the early 19th century they provide, and this book draws them out particularly well. For me it is a welcome escape, but I wouldn't be surprised if it seemed a bit boring to someone else.
I'm a bit worried about the moral of the story though. There seems to be this island of proper breeding in Mansfield Park, and everyone outside it is wanting.
What I personally like about Jane Austen stories are the sketches of quiet landed life in the early 19th century they provide, and this book draws them out particularly well. For me it is a welcome escape, but I wouldn't be surprised if it seemed a bit boring to someone else.
I'm a bit worried about the moral of the story though. There seems to be this island of proper breeding in Mansfield Park, and everyone outside it is wanting.
This book consumed me for a bit, but after finishing it I feel refreshed and almost as if an ancient weight I didn't know I carried has been lifted off my chest.
- As for most people, this is my introduction to Danielewski. His style of writing has such unique cadence to me which I cannot unsee in other works now, and after reading so many pages of it it's getting a bit annoying, sadly.
- I for one loved the format and the unique way of characterization that can be expressed through it, I loved the unreliable editor upon unreliable commentator upon unreliable transcript upon unreliable narrator. It made me consider the outside influences on characters beyond what was said in the text. A good example of this is Johnny Truant constantly writing "should of", but correcting many grammatical mistakes in Zampanòs text and also being able to understand and riff on most of Zampanòs references to greek mythology, even though from what we know about his life he's really no intellectual – until we get to the Pelican poems and Whalestoe letters at the very end of the book.
- A common complaint I see in reviews is about how the women are represented, but I like to believe that this is a conscious choice made by the author to tell us more about the character that describes the women. The only time that I agree with the criticism is when it is targeted at the portrayal of P. and what she says (how she portrays herself) in the Whalestoe letters specifically, however even this instance could be explained by obvious reasons.
- The odd page layout can get tiresome after a bit, but some nice visual effects come out of it combined with the thinness of the paper.
I'm chopping the last star in half only because there's still this an itch that I cannot scratch. There's something about this book I can't put my finger on, and I'm mad about that.
This book consumed me for a bit, but after finishing it I feel refreshed and almost as if an ancient weight I didn't know I carried has been lifted off my chest.
- As for most people, this is my introduction to Danielewski. His style of writing has such unique cadence to me which I cannot unsee in other works now, and after reading so many pages of it it's getting a bit annoying, sadly.
- I for one loved the format and the unique way of characterization that can be expressed through it, I loved the unreliable editor upon unreliable commentator upon unreliable transcript upon unreliable narrator. It made me consider the outside influences on characters beyond what was said in the text. A good example of this is Johnny Truant constantly writing "should of", but correcting many grammatical mistakes in Zampanòs text and also being able to understand and riff on most of Zampanòs references to greek mythology, even though from what we know about his life he's really no intellectual – until we get to the Pelican poems and Whalestoe letters at the very end of the book.
- A common complaint I see in reviews is about how the women are represented, but I like to believe that this is a conscious choice made by the author to tell us more about the character that describes the women. The only time that I agree with the criticism is when it is targeted at the portrayal of P. and what she says (how she portrays herself) in the Whalestoe letters specifically, however even this instance could be explained by obvious reasons.
- The odd page layout can get tiresome after a bit, but some nice visual effects come out of it combined with the thinness of the paper.
I'm chopping the last star in half only because there's still this an itch that I cannot scratch. There's something about this book I can't put my finger on, and I'm mad about that.
An amusing read featuring extended family incest and a smidge of antisemitism.
In my opinion, the best parts of the novel are character interactions. Aside from Sophie, who seems to have a read on every character almost instantaneously, the characters are interesting and clash in entertaining ways.
Sophie's schemes, which always seem to go either exactly to plan or better and never go south, were by far the worst aspect of the novel.
An amusing read featuring extended family incest and a smidge of antisemitism.
In my opinion, the best parts of the novel are character interactions. Aside from Sophie, who seems to have a read on every character almost instantaneously, the characters are interesting and clash in entertaining ways.
Sophie's schemes, which always seem to go either exactly to plan or better and never go south, were by far the worst aspect of the novel.
Certainly an enlightening insight into the lives of two women during differing parts of the 20th century. The art is very expressive, and gets the characters' emotions across just fine. Overall though, I thought that the "graphic" part of the graphic novel was rather underwhelming.
Certainly an enlightening insight into the lives of two women during differing parts of the 20th century. The art is very expressive, and gets the characters' emotions across just fine. Overall though, I thought that the "graphic" part of the graphic novel was rather underwhelming.
I read this in one sitting while extremely tired and it felt like dreaming. Will definitely reread while in a better state.
I read this in one sitting while extremely tired and it felt like dreaming. Will definitely reread while in a better state.
Even though it is, in my opinion, a bit too idealistic at times, it is also an enlightening read. I expected a cozy and comforting story, which I did get, but I was also given insight into my own life (alongside your typical 19th century moral lectures, though that's to be expected).
Even though it is, in my opinion, a bit too idealistic at times, it is also an enlightening read. I expected a cozy and comforting story, which I did get, but I was also given insight into my own life (alongside your typical 19th century moral lectures, though that's to be expected).
Obohacující okno do života mladé židovky se schizofrenií v amerických 50. letech 20. století. Některá probíraná témata jsou aplikovatelná ke zdravému přístupu k životu obecně, ale stoprocentně bych knihu doporučila jakémukoliv člověku, který se o zmíněná témata i okrajově zajímá. Ze začátku je poměrně matoucí se ve světě a pocitech protagonistky orientovat, což je ovšem pochopitelně opodstatněno.
Obohacující okno do života mladé židovky se schizofrenií v amerických 50. letech 20. století. Některá probíraná témata jsou aplikovatelná ke zdravému přístupu k životu obecně, ale stoprocentně bych knihu doporučila jakémukoliv člověku, který se o zmíněná témata i okrajově zajímá. Ze začátku je poměrně matoucí se ve světě a pocitech protagonistky orientovat, což je ovšem pochopitelně opodstatněno.
Kniha poutavě vypráví tragický příběh, od kterého se těžko odchází. Ten samý styl vyprávění mě ale trochu odrazoval u pasáží o autorově současné rešerši.
Kniha poutavě vypráví tragický příběh, od kterého se těžko odchází. Ten samý styl vyprávění mě ale trochu odrazoval u pasáží o autorově současné rešerši.
