Book Reviews
Review - This Is How You Lose The Time War
This novella deserves all the praise I can give it.
At first, the flowery language and hyper-romantic prose was offputting. The more I read the story, though, the more it felt fitting and the more I fell into the two characters. Red and Blue weave a love story through time that revels in all the ideals of expression and self-sacrifice. My favorite line was this:
“What will I do, sky?...
Review - The Paul Street Boys
I received my copy of this book from a vending machine in the Budapest metro—they were scattered throughout the city and I wanted a novel as a souvenir. I was travling with my friend Flora and she recommended The Paul Street Boys as a classic of Hungarian literature.
It certainly didn’t disappoint. It started off a bit slow, but the reader quickly becomes enamored with the various characters. The book...
Review - The Hunchback of Notre Dame
This might be one of the best and saddest books I’ve ever read. Going into this book, I had never seen or experienced any adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, whether it be the film, the play, or an abridged version. The main plot was a complete mystery to me—as such, I expected the novel to be about the wild and wacky adventures of Quasimodo in the cathedral. In...
Review - The Count of Monte Cristo
“All human wisdom is contained in these two words: ‘wait’ and ‘hope’!
- Your Friend, Edmond Dantes, Count of Monte Cristo”
The concluding sentence of The Count of Monte Cristo offers possibly the best description of the experience of reading the novel I’ve encountered. At its core, The Count of Monte Cristo is just a damn good story: through the exposition, the reader gets a sense of...
Review - Cannery Row
My copy of this novel has the following summary on the cover:
The famous novel. The unforgettable people. The crazy, colorful world they lived in.
I can’t help but think that this does a disservice to the world crafted in Cannery Row. The world isn’t crazy - it’s real. Steinbeck shows you the salt and dirt of California rural life with no holds barred.
This is the only...
Review - The Call of the Wild 🏔🐕
Something about the Iditerod calls to young men, I think. I read this book as a child and would imagine myself holding a sleigh, yelling “Mush, Mush!” I get that sort of sad-nostalgic whenever I think about reading this book in my grandparents’ house. It makes me miss better times.
✭✭✭✭
Review - Flowers for Algernon 🐁💐
This book scared the crap out of me in high school. The prospect of being fully aware of one’s demise is just about the most horrifying thing I could imagine. I remember reading the passages about the wrath evoked from acknowleding the eventual loss of others and of the self, and just telling myself that I would probably never sign up for any mystery drug trials.
It’s a classic, though....
Review - Little Women 👧🏼👩🏼👩🏼👩🏻🦰
A classic. It’s a tale about love - there’s no way around it. Read this book to feel good at the happy ending. (it also makes professors seem HOT)
✭✭✭✭
Review - Cat's Cradle
One of my favorite novels of all time.
This was the book that introduced me to Vonnegut, and I couldn’t wait to read more. I remember falling in love with the analogy of a Cat’s Cradle itself: something that seems to be “looks one thing but is really another,” but in fact really does fulfill some deeper purpose.
Vonnegut takes this analogy and extends it to satirize science, technology, religion,...
Review - The Little Prince 👦✨
Should be required reading for all prospective MENSA members. Does that mean I’m missing the point?
✭✭✭✭