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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
I've only read "Morpho Eugenia" but it was alright. Hits you over the head with its symbolism and references though.
I enjoyed these stories and all the characters (the nice and not-so-nice) very much, but I must confess I resented the long poetry excerpts and the writings of the protagonists. A tad too much symbolism for me. But still a wonderful book and a pleasure.
The first quarter of the book was wonderful and very promising, and then the rest of it was just disappointing and dull.
It's two novellas. The first one about a man who studies insects. It's probably 3 stars. Pretty well-written except it tries to surprise the reader with something you can see a mile away. The characters are all a bit flat.
The second novella is a 1 or 2 star jumble. I just kept reading it to say I finished it.
The second novella is a 1 or 2 star jumble. I just kept reading it to say I finished it.
I've been meaning to read this for forever, and I really wanted to like it. Some discrete parts are really good and the subject matter is interesting, but ultimately the writing is a slog. I finished it out of duty.
One fun thing: for most of it, you can read the sentences and/or paragraphs out of order and not lose anything.
One fun thing: for most of it, you can read the sentences and/or paragraphs out of order and not lose anything.
This is an interesting novella that explores the question of whether mankind is merely an instinctual animal driven by nature, or are we something more? I actually enjoyed it quite a bit.
Every single character in the first novella is writing a book. The novella quotes extensively from each which is a little annoying and, of course, each book is the character's way of trying to tell another character the truth he or she does not see. A little heavy handed but it all comes together in a neat little scandal at the end. I couldn't read the second novella. I barely made it through the first as her prose is a little too lush and descriptive for me.
I stopped about half-way through, after the first novella. Mostly, I kept reading because I enjoyed the parts about the insects-I like to observe the critters in my yard, and I was interested in the descriptions of the ants and their behavior as written by the main guy and the woman he likes who isn't his wife. See? I can't even remember their names. Anyway, the woman who isn't his wife also writes a book/short story for children, and it is included in the novella, and I actually liked this, but not enough to read the rest of the book.