en-US Mon, 21 Apr 2025 09:39:04 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Friend1420799350 Mon, 21 Apr 2025 09:39:04 -0700 Review7206122612 Sun, 12 Jan 2025 07:38:23 -0800 /review/show/7206122612 Mikael gave 4 stars to Kitchen (Paperback) by Banana Yoshimoto
bookshelves: fiction
Charming, sufficiently weird, melancholic, and primarily heartwarming. I really enjoyed Banana's writing style, and I finished this short book in a couple of evenings. The storyline didn't really stay with me, I must admit, but the way in which it is written did. ]]> Review7180648171 Mon, 06 Jan 2025 03:06:38 -0800 /review/show/7180648171 Mikael gave 4 stars to Blonde (Mass Market Paperback) by Joyce Carol Oates
bookshelves: fiction, based-on-true-events, exofiction
I enjoyed Oates' feminist rewriting of the life of Marilyn Monroe. The reader gets a grim portrait of the life behind the shiny walls of glamour. At times, I think the style gets a bit too obvious, too fictionalised perhaps, and even though Oates herself says clearly that you should read this as a work of fiction, it's hard not to compare the book to what you already know about Monroe and her movies. ]]> Review7170431578 Mon, 06 Jan 2025 03:04:14 -0800 /review/show/7170431578 Mikael gave 4 stars to Intermezzo (Hardcover) by Sally Rooney
bookshelves: fiction
This book is a must-read, not because it's perfect, but because when it shines, it's absolutely brilliant. The story of the two brothers, Ivan and Peter, and the woman Margaret is captivating and melancholically thoughtful. I especially loved to read the parts told from Ivan's point of view, and Sally Rooney really succeeds in creating an interesting character in him. My only disappointment is that the story is not more about him, but instead focuses too much on Peter, whose stream-of-consciousness introspections get a bit overworked towards the end. Still, big fan of Sally Rooney, and will keep reading her books. ]]> AuthorFollowing106439315 Mon, 06 Jan 2025 02:55:40 -0800 Review7040918422 Thu, 28 Nov 2024 12:49:03 -0800 /review/show/7040918422 Mikael gave 3 stars to Totalskada (Hardcover) by Helena von Zweigbergk
bookshelves: fiction
Mysig bok, skulle ge den typ 3,5. Kändes som historien kunde ha fått utvecklas mer, men den är njutbar läsning hursomhelst. ]]> Review6710133455 Sun, 28 Jul 2024 17:22:21 -0700 /review/show/6710133455 Mikael gave 3 stars to Yellowface (Hardcover) by R.F. Kuang
Quite entertaining. Feels very 2020. Has some very good bits but gets a bit tedious, I thought. The comments on online culture and cancel culture are actually quite brilliant, though. They're not obvious, and I guess every reader can make his/her own interpretation. And yeah, can't say I was impressed by the ending, it felt like taken from a "clever" 90s movie. ]]> Review6522013978 Tue, 21 May 2024 02:26:23 -0700 /review/show/6522013978 Mikael gave 5 stars to Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead (Audible Audio) by Olga Tokarczuk
bookshelves: fiction, crime
Believe the hype. A great work of crime fiction. Those looking for the standard whodunnit will probably be disappointed, although it does contain some of that. This is a psychological study in the Dostoyevsky tradition but with some exciting, modern twists. It's a joy to read. ]]> Review6299646545 Tue, 21 May 2024 02:21:22 -0700 /review/show/6299646545 Mikael gave 4 stars to The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Paperback) by Milan Kundera
bookshelves: fiction, philosophy
Great on many levels, deep, interesting, and I started devouring it from the first page. So why not five stars? I felt it lost a lot of pace towards the end. In the first half, Kundera managed to create a work of fiction with both literary and philosophical qualities, but I felt the former started missing the closer I got to the end. Still, a very rewarding book to read, and the critique of the Soviet system is still relevant concerning many modern-day equivalents around the world. ]]> Review6522013978 Tue, 21 May 2024 02:19:17 -0700 /review/show/6522013978 Mikael gave 5 stars to Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead (Audible Audio) by Olga Tokarczuk
bookshelves: fiction, crime
Believe the hype. A great work of crime fiction. Those looking for the standard whodunnit will probably be disappointed, although it does contain some of that. This is a psychological study in the Dostoyevsky tradition but with some exciting, modern twists. It's a joy to read. ]]>