I was thoroughly dumbstruck when I finally put down this book. It wasn't until the last half of the novel, that I beganWarning: Includes adult themes.
I was thoroughly dumbstruck when I finally put down this book. It wasn't until the last half of the novel, that I began to formulate a picture of what was so deeply disturbing and disappointing about this story, so I want to be clear.
This book is a tour de force of misogyny, objectification, an incomprehensible reduction of the male psyche, and, of course, narcissism.
Much like the now derided phrase uttered by our hopefully soon to be un-president, - "the telephone conversation was perfect" - I found the imagination of the main character (the author in disguise?) to be derived of a similar, incongruous nature. For example, upon falling to sleep in the middle of the freezing cold, in a shack, surrounded by Nazi's, the MC's final thought is of "a sky raining fat girls." Now, can you imagine writing that? In defense of the narrative, the MC is tired of all the skinny girls, exhausted skeletons of their former selves - a result of starvation and rape - and is just wishing he'll stumble across some lovely young woman with a bit of meat on her bones, so he doesn't break off his, well, c*** is probably what the author would say, when he finally gets his first chance, because, spoiler alert, he's a virgin!
Which brings us to our two protagonists, Incel and Casanova. Perhaps needless to say at this point, women are only for sex, ridicule, and affirmation of the male ego. Fortunately, these two caricatures of stereotypes drown out all female perspective, so we don't have to get into what women actually think or, heaven forbid, want. Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dumb bumble their unassuming, supernatural way through one blunder into the next, sometimes with grace, sometimes with cowardice, but always with a dash of fear that if they somehow fall entirely out of the frying pan and into the fire, they won't get to have sex any more, or for the first time, depending on which faux character you identify with.
And whom do we have? An angry young man, eager to prove himself, and jealous of men who get women, and frustrated by women who don't recognize him. And his jaunty companion Casanova hopping alongside, recounting his seemingly endless conquests of every sort of woman. Don't worry, he doesn't seem to discriminate, as prostitutes are more than fine, as long he gets off, which puts the pep in his step towards the next lady on his list. However, if you are looking for that rare female lead, we have tom-boy McRedhead, who can shoot and cuss just as good as the good ole boys. She's rough and tough, with a killer's grin and a heart of gold. Too hard for Casanova and too precious for Incel. Dream girl made flesh, for a time, the vanishing reminder that Incel will never get what he craves...or will he.
Impossibly, (spoiler alert) Incel doesn't get to sleep with anyone in the end, even though he accomplishes his goal of proving he is a man in front of the woman he loves at that particular moment - I think there are about half a dozen in the same number of days. Guess he'll just never live up to Casanova, the soft, extroverted intellectual who knows women so well, he gives lessons on negging them. "Calculated neglect!"
So, what did I think of the book. Great premise; two guys go out to find a dozen eggs in war torn Leningrad . Terrible story; incomprehensible misrepresentation of men and abuse of women, with some action thrown in to keep you going. Much like the Kite Runner, everyone wins in the end, impossibly! Except for the people the author doesn't care about. They die, and who cares, it's not Incel and Casanova. I can only imagine this is how the author imagines what men and women are like, two dimensional planks, designed mostly for f***ing, and the occasional scuffle with cannibals, oh yes, there are cannibals!
Outgoing Warning: You're going to want to defend this book because you gave it 5. But before you do, just think. Would you suggest this to your son or daughter, assign it to a student, suggest it to a friend? Go and look at the one star reviews, by women, and get some perspective....more
Ok, so this book was freaking amazing. Seldom has a story struck such a powerful chord of mystery, magic, and mayhem thA to the M to the A to the Z...
Ok, so this book was freaking amazing. Seldom has a story struck such a powerful chord of mystery, magic, and mayhem that I literally had to put it down several times between chapters to make it last just a bit longer. Much like great crafters of fantasy, including Tolkien, Staveley (Unhewn Throne), and Rowling, Sanderson brings the reader to brink of the impossible and back, straddling the blurry line between life and death, as his heroes manipulate the powers of a world entrenched in a medley of ever winding history and tantalizing futures. When one Hero of Ages falls, another rises to take his or her place. Sanderson possesses, without a doubt, one of the more fun-loving and fantastic imaginations, spicing his novels with just the right amount of adventure, action, and romance.
In the Bands of Mourning our protagonists continue their search for stability in the ever fracturing world beyond the basin. Unfortunately, the gears of destiny no longer turn with the assurance they once seemed to exude. Wax's search for himself and (spoiler) derail the well formed lines of the horizon, as the possibilities of the Mistborn world open into a deeper, darker, abyss that threatens to undermine the foundations of metallurgic lore and unmake the world in the image of a sinister and looming chaos.
So, what are you waiting for...to learn the name of the wind? But that probably won't happen, so go and grab a copy of The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) and begin a journey where metal and mind entwine. ...more
Phew. Long time since I've reviewed anything, but here goes.
Just finished Naruto, the entire 700 comics, online. Basically it has everything you wantPhew. Long time since I've reviewed anything, but here goes.
Just finished Naruto, the entire 700 comics, online. Basically it has everything you want in a series, with the exception of strong/steroetypical female characters. That aside, it's an amazing story of friendship, betrayal, and more ninja jutsu than is probably reasonable. If you're still a 7 year inside, you're going to love the crap out of this.
From near death ice-mirror prisons and lightening dragon strikes, to shadow clones disguised as shuriken, this series has it all. Between the pictures and pages of this long ranging saga, our titular hero, Naruto, relies upon his inhuman ability to never give up on himself, his friends, and his goal of ultimately becoming Hokage of the entire Leaf Village Alliance. However, what starts out as a classic tale of tom-foolery, accidental victories, and quirky childishness, evolves into a harrowing journey through a dark past where friend and foe become hard to distinguish.
It keeps you on your toes as you expectantly await the next new, and more impressive ninja technique and Kishimoto never fails to deliver something magical and often out of left field. So stay sharp, and dig in if you enjoy the tender timeless story of the struggle for power, the choices that bind us, and the nature of what drives us. ...more
Mango Street was well crafted and an excellent book for teaching how to imagine a world outside one's own. Its merit clearly lies in its ability to weMango Street was well crafted and an excellent book for teaching how to imagine a world outside one's own. Its merit clearly lies in its ability to weave a childhood narrative that reveals only bits and pieces of understanding as they take form or are reformed by the ever growing consciousness of the author. A quick read which reminds us that our individual experience is often light years apart from people who live just down the street. ...more
Not sure why I read this book. It just happened to be laying there. The experience, however, turned out to be quite enjoyable. Rhys is a good writer aNot sure why I read this book. It just happened to be laying there. The experience, however, turned out to be quite enjoyable. Rhys is a good writer and keeps the story fast and focused. Before long you are caught between two worlds battling for a woman's soul, and eventually come to realize that her only escape is a faltering midpoint where magic, dreams, and sanity collide and fall apart as the world moves forward and the past looms forever on the horizon.
A powerful story of the darkness of men and the struggle of women against all odds. Check it out if you want an intense experience that leaves one feeling empty and grasping at the ghosts of the unknown past for meaning....more
I love it when I find a book out there that totally blows my mind. The Handmaid's Tale is one such novel. There's really not Holy rusted metal Batman!
I love it when I find a book out there that totally blows my mind. The Handmaid's Tale is one such novel. There's really not much to say about the book itself other than that the writing is singularly captivating and the story is doled out in such a manner that the reader is constantly searching for the next clue that will put together the puzzle of this bygone world's fate...
The one thing I would like to touch on is how I'm a bit miffed, or rather, I smidgen pissed off that only now am I aware of what may be the best dystopian novel ever written. Thanks to school curriculums with entire courses of literature which contain not a single female author this gem has been hidden from me for years. Step aside Brave New World, here is a work that rivals if not surpasses 1984 as a stand alone work that incredibly preempts the natural and social disasters of our modern world, and opens a window into our own modern world that refuses to change at the cost of sharing power and treating others with the equality they deserve. 5 stars is not enough.
*Note: The Handmaid's Tale may or may not contain material that is inappropriate for hard-line Christians who lack an open mind and have failed to evolve with the current era (or at least the open-minded parts of the current era :) ...more
Do you like 1 Q 8 4? I do not like them. Critic-What-For? I just don't want to read any more.
Shame on you Murakami, and shame on all of you who gave this Do you like 1 Q 8 4? I do not like them. Critic-What-For? I just don't want to read any more.
Shame on you Murakami, and shame on all of you who gave this book a rating above 2. A book is a story, and although some stories are designed to impart a sense of incompleteness, often to great effect, Murakami has finally achieved the failure of a book he has hinted at for years. I mean, I love Murakami. His writing is good, his ideas are good, and his characters sometime boggle the mind (in a good way). But this book was an exercise in mental torture. It was like a relationship doomed to collapse into nothingness. A bright spark, the intrigue of novelty, and then bam! 500 hundred pages of a plot so stagnant, that when Murkami finally writes the final lines, you're wondering if he just handed a draft to a middle schooler and asked them to paraphrase the first half of the book and then write their own ending, which is impossible, because, spoiler alter, Murakami just made up the Little People, and no one else is going to be able to explain what they are...or ( I know, this is a long sentence) Murakami actually died about halfway through the book (until which point the story is fantastic) and someone decided to attempt an ill conceived opus to memorialize his end. Or, more likely, Murakami engaged in the obsessive habit of many adolescent boys and famous male authors; whale books, of course, being longer than they are wide.
And to preempt your post, yes you, don't tell me the Little People represent the unfathomable struggle between the eternally unbalanced, opposing forces in the universe. Yeah, I get it, but what the hell are the Little People. Fiction is not designed to leave the imagination to the imagination. That sort of ontology leads to insanity, which is why I finished the damn tome, hoping there would be something more valuable than an awkward, large paperweight leftover at the end. I mean write an ending for god sake. The first half of the novel was brilliant, and then we all had to suffer through what I can only assume was a re-printing error made in production which duplicated the first half of the book, albeit from the ever so minutely different perspective of secondary characters. At least there was some relief when Tamaru showed up and started killing those characters so their internal dialogue could no longer spew forth the repetitious drivel that might help put a baby to sleep, but left me infuriated that I wasted a solid chunk of my life.
Please don't get me wrong. If there's one thing I love it's a good dose of magical realism. I even rush to the kitchen to make baked goods every time I start crying now. But it must said that Murakami is definitely hit or miss, and this was a big miss. Read the first half and be satisfied. The rest may serve as kindling. Pick up Norwegian Wood or Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. Much better choices for Murakami fans.
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