Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
Classic “Boy meets girl, Boy can’t find himself, Boy jets to rural greek island to teach english, Boy meets wealthy old hypnotist, Boy gets entrapped in psychotic masquerade” rot.
A great chaser for the Auster - wow, by contrast, maybe one of the MOST emotionally resonant works I’ve yet read, though I acknowledge I may be particularly susceptible to some of Fowles’ romanticism, ideas in re: sex vs love, personal freedom, etc, despite not strongly identifying with ol’ Nicko.
Credit also due to the immaculate pacing, making this one of the few 600+ page bricks that quickly becomes nearly impossible to put down.
Fair warning that there is (also?) some truly weird shit in here and that while I would strongly disagree with characterizations of the novel as misogynistic, there is certainly some truth to descriptions of its being “suffocatingly heterosexual.”
“Nicholas, will you always remember something about tonight?
I grinned. “What?”
“That it’s also how, not why.”
A great chaser for the Auster - wow, by contrast, maybe one of the MOST emotionally resonant works I’ve yet read, though I acknowledge I may be particularly susceptible to some of Fowles’ romanticism, ideas in re: sex vs love, personal freedom, etc, despite not strongly identifying with ol’ Nicko.
Credit also due to the immaculate pacing, making this one of the few 600+ page bricks that quickly becomes nearly impossible to put down.
Fair warning that there is (also?) some truly weird shit in here and that while I would strongly disagree with characterizations of the novel as misogynistic, there is certainly some truth to descriptions of its being “suffocatingly heterosexual.”
“Nicholas, will you always remember something about tonight?
I grinned. “What?”
“That it’s also how, not why.”
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm not sure I know what it was about. I'm not even quite sure I know what happened, or why I enjoyed it (but I really did). Help. Definitely a book to reread.
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
WHEW. That was a rough ride. I did NOT like this at the halfway point. Really wanted to DNF, because it's a tome, but pushed on for some reason. I am not a fan of psychological thrillers usually, but I must say this actually made sense by the end, so I'm glad I finished.
Reasons to DNF:
1. So damn long
2. All the foreign languages (Greek, Latin, German, French)
3.
Reasons to continue:
1. Google translate
2. It does get past that 3d point above & comes together really well
Reasons to DNF:
1. So damn long
2. All the foreign languages (Greek, Latin, German, French)
3.
Spoiler
Annoying sex scenes/language that seem an awful lot like date rapeReasons to continue:
1. Google translate
2. It does get past that 3d point above & comes together really well
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm going to DNF this one. I know it's dated, but the MMC is an AH and I really don't want to read another 500 pages where he thinks of women as objects.
I have two concurrent opinions about this book. One is that the author is clearly a brilliant and well educated man who knows how to craft a very engaging story. There was a point midway through where I thought he went all too far with the story—to a point where it seemed to almost chide the reader with the contumacious narrative and excessive, heavily-allegorical plot. I still maintain this opinion after completing the read and I honestly would have preferred for him to edit it back a step. still, he found his way back from the depths of that insipid space and fully recovered my rapt attention.
Despite finding Fowles to be an excellent writer, I really hated this inventive and thought-provoking story ending in a ‘narcissistic, abusive douchebag fucks everything up and STILL gets the incredible girl despite the extreme level of abuse and an *openly admitted* unwillingness to change and we’re supposed to celebrate them’ bit. I wanted to wring his neck for perpetuating this trite and abhorrent trope. I would rather have reread the overdone middle portion (referenced above ^) I petitioned to have removed from the story ad infinitum. A deeply maddening conclusion to an otherwise engaging and intellectual piece.
Despite finding Fowles to be an excellent writer, I really hated this inventive and thought-provoking story ending in a ‘narcissistic, abusive douchebag fucks everything up and STILL gets the incredible girl despite the extreme level of abuse and an *openly admitted* unwillingness to change and we’re supposed to celebrate them’ bit. I wanted to wring his neck for perpetuating this trite and abhorrent trope. I would rather have reread the overdone middle portion (referenced above ^) I petitioned to have removed from the story ad infinitum. A deeply maddening conclusion to an otherwise engaging and intellectual piece.