Technically great, a bit poor plot- and theme-wise. Really easy-to-read Murakami but definitely not as good or complex as some of his better known novTechnically great, a bit poor plot- and theme-wise. Really easy-to-read Murakami but definitely not as good or complex as some of his better known novels. I've enjoyed the postmodern devices: time constraint, narrator purely as a fly on the wall, cinematographic language, focus on setting and scene, casual development of the story, and the surrealist presentation of Eri's mind. At the same time it feels almost empty of deeper meaning. Top quality mind fluff....more
Apparently I've been mistaking The Vampyre with Carmilla for quite a while. Turns out, Carmilla wasn't actually the first vampire story, so I will havApparently I've been mistaking The Vampyre with Carmilla for quite a while. Turns out, Carmilla wasn't actually the first vampire story, so I will have to check The Vampyre at some point to see what had been lifted by Le Fanu. Because, in fact, Dracula is basically the same story, but longer and more drawn out, since Stoker was inspired by this novella. I do prefer Carmilla, with its lesbian undertones and its fast-paced gothic horror, and even with its Van Helsing-type character at the end, the Baron. My only complaints are that Laura, the main character, is quite naive, and that we never (view spoiler)[learn about the supposed Countess that accompanies Carmilla. Is she a servant? Is she another Karstein vampire? What becomes of then now Carmilla is dead? (hide spoiler)]...more
Me ha gustado más que el primero, en parte por la diversidad de personajes. Los triángulos amorosos están metidos con calzador y el estilo es un poco Me ha gustado más que el primero, en parte por la diversidad de personajes. Los triángulos amorosos están metidos con calzador y el estilo es un poco simple, nada que ver con libros más recientes de Laura Gallego, pero aún asà muy entretenido. Eso sÃ, no soy nada fan del epÃlogo....more
I was expecting a completely different tale. I can recognise the story for what it is, a bildungsroman and resurrected hero journey, but it's overly dI was expecting a completely different tale. I can recognise the story for what it is, a bildungsroman and resurrected hero journey, but it's overly dry. The use of symbolism is not masterful as I've read in other reviews, it's too in your face and a bit simplistic, although it might have been innovative for a children's book in the 60s? I don't know. And it's not that original either, although I can see how it's served as a framework for a million other stories written later, like Harry Potter or The Name of the Wind.
Don't start here with Le Guin, she has far better stories....more
I love what if stories. And at first I thought Landline would be one of those. In a half-broken/half-functioning marriage where there is love but bothI love what if stories. And at first I thought Landline would be one of those. In a half-broken/half-functioning marriage where there is love but both partners are strained, what if you could affect the past so that things were different? What could you say to improve your shared life? Should you stop the marriage before it happened to prevent unhappiness?
But it is not a what if story, not exactly. The use of a magical phone was a lot of fun. I thought it was an intelligent use of a "time-travelling" ploy, (view spoiler)[and I really liked how the whole story turned out to be a cyclical paradox. (hide spoiler)] Landline really is an exploration of marriage and love and how things are not as easy as they are usually sold to us in stories and songs. Career or family? Can you have both an be successful and happy in both? This is a really interesting question that I try to answer every day of my life, so I very much identify with Georgie McCool's struggle. I also think it's quite unfair that this is a question women have to answer much more often than men. Neal and Georgie are not selfish, they are just human. Their marriage is not awful, is just flawed and unfortunately much more common than one would think. At least, that's what I got from this story. I really liked that Rainbow Rowell didn't offer a clear answer and a happily ever after ending - it is messy and it is something everyone needs to work out by themselves.
All in all, my first Rainbow Rowell was actually a much more mature read than I expected and I quite liked it. Although I suspect it's partly because it was a case of the right book at the right time....more
I haven't read many Agatha Christie novels, so I'm not an expert, but this has to be one of her best ones. Everyone more or less knows how th4.5 stars
I haven't read many Agatha Christie novels, so I'm not an expert, but this has to be one of her best ones. Everyone more or less knows how this murder mystery works: ten victims on an island dying one by one, and one of them is the murderer. Will they survive? Will they out the murderer? (Of course they won't).
It's hard to write a closed circle mystery without being trite, stereotypical and predictable. Agatha Christie was the queen of closed circles and locked rooms, so I was expecting this book to be a bit boring simply because it has been imitated a lot of times and I'm more familiar with the subsequent imitations and parodies than with the original itself. Yet it was surprisingly fresh and thrilling. It kept me guessing the entire time - every time I thought I had it figured out, my suspect died. The ending left me speechless and the epilogue made me want to applaud Christie. I don't think it was possible to correctly guess the murderer. Usually I would count that as deceiving your readers, but in this case it was such a brilliant deception that I was completely on board!...more
11/22/63 seemed to be one of those time travel stories that I love: exploration of alternate history lines and character growth. But it fell a bit fla11/22/63 seemed to be one of those time travel stories that I love: exploration of alternate history lines and character growth. But it fell a bit flat.
The main story is supposed to be about Jake Epping, high school literature teacher, going to the past to avoid JFK assassination since that would completely change the course of history for the better. That is quite a naive statement. I mean, I agree that it would change the course of history but... radically? And for the better? I don't think it would be a magical panacea to erase all racism, xenophobia and savior complex that are ingrained in western societies. But if you can sell that in your story, I'm on board. The problem is that Stephen King tries to do this by showing how wonderful the late 50s and early 60s were. Sure, he throws a couple of things in the story to show that not everyone is that great: race-segregated restrooms and scarce women's rights. Those are big issues, yet they felt as an afterthought to avoid complaints about presenting the past as a golden ideal. As they are in the book, those issues don't stack about how much better food tasted and how friendly and community-minded everyone was.
But what if I suspend disbelief enough to accept King's vision of the past as a fantasy land? Is the story good enough?
Well, it depends. The book is long because the story is a bit all over the place. We get this big historical drama and we get something like three or four personal dramas that aren't really tied together. They are vignettes. The vignettes themselves are good and thrilling. I was really interested in the story about Harry Dunning, and I understand it is included as a test, but I don't think the link between the different arcs is strong enough. The book just felt disjointed to me.
And that is a shame, because I really liked King's version of time travel. See, there were some things that had been bothering me from the start. How come Al and then Jake get to keep the money from the past? Or the meat for the burgers? If everything resets, how is it possible that tangible things stay in the present after everything has been erased? To be honest I thought that it was simply plot convenience, so I was not at all expecting such a cool explanation by the end. I don't want to say too much, but I really liked how each of those details were actually hints to what was really happening. On the other hand, (view spoiler)[the post-apocalyptic new present robs us of a true exploration of alternate histories. It is a tad deterministic for what I expect of time travel stories (hide spoiler)].
Ultimately I liked the book but didn't love it. King has great ideas and his pacing is fantastic, so I'm willing to give his other novels a try, but 11/22/63 could use a more ruthless editor....more
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