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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
challenging
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I loved the experience of reading this knowing absolutely nothing beforehand. There’s some questionable content in the middle like a weird obsession with male characters wanting to either rape or have sex with every woman they encounter or some of the weird parody of feminism done through Lotaria’s character but even with all of that, I still thought it a worthwhile read with lots of lines that make you truly reflect on things
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Rape, Violence
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Some parts of this book deserve five stars, others deserve one, so I've settled on a rating of three stars. Overall, I enjoyed this book. It's not for the faint of heart and requires some focus to understand. Some chapters go on and on with beautiful lines, and then you get to the end and realize you have no idea what happened.
I loved some of the stories and hated others. Sometimes I loved the protagonist and other times I couldn't stand him. Calvino is clearly trying to say something about reading and identity and humanity, but he gets too meta to communicate what he means effectively. I didn't care for the secret agents and organizations plot, it just got in the way. Were Flannery's books written by aliens? Who's to say. Read with caution, but don't completely avoid this book; give it a shot!
I loved some of the stories and hated others. Sometimes I loved the protagonist and other times I couldn't stand him. Calvino is clearly trying to say something about reading and identity and humanity, but he gets too meta to communicate what he means effectively. I didn't care for the secret agents and organizations plot, it just got in the way. Were Flannery's books written by aliens? Who's to say. Read with caution, but don't completely avoid this book; give it a shot!
I haven't read anything like this before. Well maybe except for Invisible Cities (which is still waiting for me on my unfinished pile), but although it has similarities, it is mostly completely different.
I loved the way Calvino played with readership and authorship.
I feel it was more about reading than writing, although it would be difficult to talk about reading without talking about writing at least a little bit.
It seemed to me that Calvino covered every facet of reading you could think of, I'm sure there are more but he certainly covered a lot, he gave a very full picture and different views of what reading is and what it can mean with different perspectives from different people.
If you love reading, and books on the subject of reading, then is is a must read!
There were echoes of Borges throughout the novel, as well as other authors, but I felt Borges to be quite prominent, especially in the chapter 'In a Network of Lines that Intersect'.
I enjoyed some of the 'excerpt chapters' more than others, and certainly have my favourites, one of them being 'In a Network of Lines that Enlace'.
I would like to say so much about this book, but as I often don't have time for proper, structured reviews, at the moment, I will save that for a reread in the future. One day I promise my reviews won't be as chaotic as they are.
Now go read this book!! It'll amaze you! :)
I loved the way Calvino played with readership and authorship.
I feel it was more about reading than writing, although it would be difficult to talk about reading without talking about writing at least a little bit.
It seemed to me that Calvino covered every facet of reading you could think of, I'm sure there are more but he certainly covered a lot, he gave a very full picture and different views of what reading is and what it can mean with different perspectives from different people.
If you love reading, and books on the subject of reading, then is is a must read!
There were echoes of Borges throughout the novel, as well as other authors, but I felt Borges to be quite prominent, especially in the chapter 'In a Network of Lines that Intersect'.
I enjoyed some of the 'excerpt chapters' more than others, and certainly have my favourites, one of them being 'In a Network of Lines that Enlace'.
I would like to say so much about this book, but as I often don't have time for proper, structured reviews, at the moment, I will save that for a reread in the future. One day I promise my reviews won't be as chaotic as they are.
Now go read this book!! It'll amaze you! :)
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated