Hmm. I enjoyed Steinbeck's writing, as always, and he creates a strong sense of place in this sardine-canning district of Monterey, California, but I Hmm. I enjoyed Steinbeck's writing, as always, and he creates a strong sense of place in this sardine-canning district of Monterey, California, but I find I prefer his longer family epic novels like East of Eden and The Grapes of Wrath.
In this book, we visit brothel owner Dora Flood, Chinese grocer Lee Chong, marine biologist Doc, a bunch of unemployed rogues led by Mack, and the disabled boy Frankie who struggles to fit in anywhere, amongst others. Cannery Row's short vignette-style chapters flit between so many different characters that I didn't feel particularly invested in any of them, save maybe Frankie. This was not the case in the other two books I mentioned above.
There is a beauty in how this ragtag bunch of characters come together and forge connections. It is thematically and atmospherically strong-- the gritty setting, the poetry in the mundane --but structurally plotless, and reads like a collection of loosely connected episodes....more
The Well of Loneliness-- and the legal battles over its publication --increased awareness and acceptanceI really wanted to like this more than I did.
The Well of Loneliness-- and the legal battles over its publication --increased awareness and acceptance of lesbians in British and American culture. The first few chapters, approximately the first quarter of the book, were interesting. It was an emotive journey being inside Stephen's mind as she is born into a wealthy British family and grows up butch and nonconforming in a time when pretty dresses and nice manners were all that was expected of upper class women.
However, the book quickly grew stale and meandering as we ventured further into Stephen's adult life. It went on and on forever, with multiple tangents here and there, making me wonder if shaving off a couple hundred pages might have been the best decision.
It is also a struggle, as a modern reader, to accept some of the outdated ideology. Radclyffe Hall's understanding of homosexuality is drawn from the work of Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, which makes sense as there were few sources one could turn to in the 1920s. But Ulrichs saw gay men as a "female psyche trapped in a male body" and vice versa for lesbians.
So Stephen is presented as something less than-- or perhaps it is correct to say more than --a "normal" woman. So, rather than being an empowering book about how there's no right way to be a woman, instead Stephen's disdain for the feminine, plus the way she infantilizes her more femme lover, comes across as simply misogynistic and gross.
Adult Stephen reads as a pompous, entitled, racist and misogynistic man. Some modern readers have decided that Stephen and Radclyffe Hall are actually trans men, which may or may not be the case. Impossible to say with the author long dead. But if Stephen is indeed a man, then he's a dick....more
A lot of books have aged badly, but some are worse than others. This is one of the worst, in my opinion.
I always try to make allowances for the time iA lot of books have aged badly, but some are worse than others. This is one of the worst, in my opinion.
I always try to make allowances for the time in which a book was written, but this one has aged so badly that it’s just impossible to find the good in it. To be fair, it is both dated AND the kind of book I would never enjoy anyway, so there's that.
King Solomon's Mines is an adventure/survival story about three white guys trekking across Southern Africa murdering herds of African elephants for ivory, being disgusted when Zulu men dare to speak to them as equals, spending a few pages listing all of the guns they brought with them, and eyeing up some hot local women-- the description of whom was so grotesquely racist that I made note of it, but find now I can't bring myself to type it out.
This is all while they're on the hunt for Sir Henry's missing brother, yada yada, who cares anyway?
The whole point of a survival story is that you should want the characters to survive, but why would I? I was honestly delighted when one of the elephants� a ‘brute� according to Quartermain —fought back when they attacked him. But, of course, none of the main three were killed. (view spoiler)[Only the expendable African servant. (hide spoiler)]
If you’re looking for the most ugly, nauseating and culturally disrespectful example of imperialism, then look no further than this book. A bunch of white guys go tromping through southern Africa with guns, acting like they own the place, sneering at the locals and killing the wildlife.
An algorithm recommended this to me because I enjoyed Williams' Stoner and I guess this is an example of how algorithms fail to understand the nuancesAn algorithm recommended this to me because I enjoyed Williams' Stoner and I guess this is an example of how algorithms fail to understand the nuances of book preferences.
Sure, there are some similarities between Stoner and No Longer Human-- male protagonist narrates a mostly unremarkable life story, both are sad --but where Stoner was a sad book filled with many uplifting moments of passion, love and integrity, Dazai's book is extremely depressing. Every little event in the life of the protagonist, no matter how seemingly innocuous, is ugly, hateful, without a single speck of joy.
I don't want to be too harsh because I know this book was very personal to the author, who struggled with his own mental health and eventually committed suicide. But reading this book was a horrible experience for me and I am in a good place right now. Please do not read this if you are struggling with depression. I could feel the book dragging me down into a dark place as I was reading.
Some authors showcase the beauty in the mundane, but here the narrator finds every bit of ugliness in it. Nothing brings him joy and we are repeatedly told this matter-of-fact. The misogyny was nauseating, too.
I never could think of prostitutes as human beings or even as women. They seemed more like imbeciles or lunatics.
I often enjoy dark, gritty books, but there are some minds I just don't want to be inside....more
God, this was so bad it was almost funny. This is literally just a book full of philosophical emo journal entries.
“I'd woken up early, and I took a loGod, this was so bad it was almost funny. This is literally just a book full of philosophical emo journal entries.
“I'd woken up early, and I took a long time getting ready to exist.�
"Each face, even if it belongs to someone we saw only yesterday, is different today simply because today is not yesterday."
"I've just re-read these pages, in which I write with a clarity that will last only as long as they last, and I ask myself: What is this, and what is it for? Who am I when I feel? What dies in me when I am?"
Sort of interesting to analyse and study; not particularly enjoyable.
Even now, humour is completely subjective, but humour from several centuries agoSort of interesting to analyse and study; not particularly enjoyable.
Even now, humour is completely subjective, but humour from several centuries ago is always hit and miss. I thought Voltaire's Candide-- written shortly before this one --was quite funny in parts. 150 years earlier, Don Quixote contained moments of comedic brilliance. The humour in Jacques the Fatalist, however, slipped right on past me without leaving a mark.
Jacques and his master gallivant around having supposedly comical adventures, all of which are to emphasise Jacques' philosophy that everything is prewritten and predestined. The adventures are whimsical and random and there is no character, conflict, or promised destination to really connect you to the narrative.
Harsh, but if you want to experience some men going on a trip and getting themselves in and out of comical scenarios, you could just watch The Hangover....more
“I have so much in me, and the feeling for her absorbs it all; I have so much, and without her it all comes to nothing.�
A lot of classic novels co
“I have so much in me, and the feeling for her absorbs it all; I have so much, and without her it all comes to nothing.�
A lot of classic novels contain certain things that make us cringe a little today but The Sorrows of Young Werther is one that, more than most, really hasn't aged well. I do not know if some people consider this tragically romantic, but it is not my idea of romance. Werther is a serious pest and borderline stalker. He needs to let it go.
In this story, Werther falls head over heels for the first pretty girl who wants to dance with him, obsesses over her, and continues to pursue her even after learning of her engagement to another man; even after she openly refuses him. He turns up at her house constantly. He attempts to force kisses upon her. We suffer through accounts of his sex dreams about her. They're not called that, but that's basically what they are.
The book is written as a series of letters to Werther's friend Wilhelm. It's a tiny book, but it feels so much longer because these letters mostly consist of Werther's repetitive internal struggles. Of course he believes he is the only person in the history of the world to feel like he does, and he repeatedly insists that Charlotte - the object of his obsession - secretly loves him, too, despite her protestations.
I can sympathise with the pain and angst of young love, even when it is wrapped up in a flowery, introspective package. I liked Call Me By Your Name after all. However, any sympathy I had for Werther quickly dissipated when he continued to harass both Lotte and her now husband, Albert. I guess this is just an old example of predatory behaviour being excused because of passion, and men's emotions being perceived as more important than the damage they do to the women they're directed at.
It also romanticizes (view spoiler)[suicide, as Werther eventually kills himself over the rejection by his beloved. In fact, it apparently led to some of the first known copycat suicides in Europe. (hide spoiler)] And though the intellectuals smell blood when anyone dares to call a 300-year-old classic "boring", I'm going to have to be philistine and say it: It's also really boring.
This took me longer to read than I thought it would when I decided to "quickly zoom through one of those 100-page classics I have on my TBR".
It's notThis took me longer to read than I thought it would when I decided to "quickly zoom through one of those 100-page classics I have on my TBR".
It's not awful, just a little dull and mopey at times. I can't see the great romance some other readers have found in these pages. It is mostly about how religious fervour can be a kind of mental illness that destroys a person from within. Despite being in love with Jerome from childhood, Alissa rejects his marriage proposal and gradually withers away out of some misplaced piety. She sees romantic love as a threat to her relationship with god, and so shuns it.
Pretty dark and interesting concept. A little flowery and woe-is-me in execution. ...more
I've tried with Greene, I really have, but I've yet to read a story of his that truly grabs me and holds my attention.
For a short book of just over 20I've tried with Greene, I really have, but I've yet to read a story of his that truly grabs me and holds my attention.
For a short book of just over 200 pages, it felt like an endless waiting game. I kept waiting for the moment when I would connect to this "whisky priest", feel for him, and become immersed in his story. I kept waiting for an inexplicable something else to happen that would elevate the story and make it more interesting to me. I kept waiting... and then suddenly it was the end.
The best aspect of The Power and the Glory is that it introduced me to an area of Mexican history I knew little about-- La Cristiada. This was a time when Catholicism was outlawed, and in some areas of Mexico the ban was enforced with violence. Catholics were tortured and executed; churches were fired upon. But that premise is where my interest ends.
The rest of the story follows a whisky priest on the run in rural Tabasco. He moves around, evades capture and ruminates over Catholic doctrine. Themes of duty, faith, sin and a heavy serving of Catholic guilt abound. Sound interesting? Then this is the book for you....more
Maybe if I had read this book in 1984, if the concepts of the matrix and cyberspace, the web and AI, were genuinely new and mind boggling to me, maybeMaybe if I had read this book in 1984, if the concepts of the matrix and cyberspace, the web and AI, were genuinely new and mind boggling to me, maybe then I might have been more impressed.
But, then again, maybe not.
One of the themes of Neuromancer is that of alienation and despondency in a time of mass technology. But it also continues a modernist/postmodernist trend among 20th century authors (especially American and especially male)� the emotionally-detached male protagonist drifting through the novel, the narrative dislocation, the dreamlike blurring of reality.
And, in truth, I simply don't like it.
It really is that simple. I don't care to read about Case, our disaffected hero, endlessly trudging through an empty, nihilistic world. There's zero emotional depth to his character, making it hard to care about his fate.
This is one of those books that never once invites you to form an emotional connection with any of the characters. These people did not feel real to me; I did not suspend disbelief for them. Throughout every chapter of this book, I was conscious that I was reading fictional words on a page.
Also, the novel's pacing is sluggish, especially for a work that’s supposed to be setting the stage for a fast-paced, technological revolution. Gibson’s tendency to linger on the esoteric details of cyberspace and hardware at the expense of character development or plot momentum makes for a less-than-engaging read.
I appreciate it as the historical artifact it is-- a pioneer of the cyberpunk genre and weirdly prescient --but that's it....more
I just don't see the appeal of these "modern classics" that mostly feature men getting drunk, getting laid, being assholes and never really doing anytI just don't see the appeal of these "modern classics" that mostly feature men getting drunk, getting laid, being assholes and never really doing anything. I feel the same way about Post Office as I do about A Confederacy of Dunces. The protagonists are so repulsive that they are not even interesting in an unlikable way, and the "plots" are made up of drinking and screwing up one's life.
Oh, and they're both hilarious, apparently. Ha....more
I have a little inner book snob that desperately wants to like Vonnegut. In the very unlikely event that I should find myself at a convention of bookiI have a little inner book snob that desperately wants to like Vonnegut. In the very unlikely event that I should find myself at a convention of bookish intellectuals, I feel like I'd fit right in if I sipped my champagne and said "Oh yes, indeed, I simply adore what Vonnegut has to say about the absence of free will..."
This is the kind of bollocks that runs through my mind on a daily basis.
Unfortunately, I just don't find him that funny most of the time. Perhaps jokes about open beavers are funnier to readers who don't have vaginas - who knows? - but it goes sailing right over my head. Maybe this is why my invitation to the bookish intellectual convention seems to have got lost in the mail.
He also repeats the phrase "which looked like this" and follows it with a sketch of everything from a flamingo to a swastika to the aforementioned beaver, in both senses of the word "beaver". Again, is this funny? Should I find it funny?
The funniest parts are his jokes about white people and the way in which they celebrate their "discovery" of America in 1492, despite the fact that others had actually been living on the continent for thousands of years. But even that is a little overdone these days, and haven't others done it better? It sure feels like it.
That being said, I enjoyed Cat's Cradle. Easily my favourite of his works.
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