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elpalmer's review against another edition
5.0
Bits I liked:
- “The novel I would most like to read at this moment, should have at its driving force only the desire to narrate, to pile stories, upon stories, without trying to impose a philosophy of life on you, simply allowing you to observe its own growth, like a tree, an entangling, as if of branches and leaves…”
- P. 240 “something must always remain that eludes us… for power to have an object on which to be exercised, a space in which to stretch out its arms… as long as I know there exists in the world someone who does tricks only for the love of the trick, as long as I know there is a woman who loves reading only for readings sake, I can convince myself that the world continues… and every evening I, too, abandon myself to reading, like that distant unknown woman…”
- “The novel I would most like to read at this moment, should have at its driving force only the desire to narrate, to pile stories, upon stories, without trying to impose a philosophy of life on you, simply allowing you to observe its own growth, like a tree, an entangling, as if of branches and leaves…”
- P. 240 “something must always remain that eludes us… for power to have an object on which to be exercised, a space in which to stretch out its arms… as long as I know there exists in the world someone who does tricks only for the love of the trick, as long as I know there is a woman who loves reading only for readings sake, I can convince myself that the world continues… and every evening I, too, abandon myself to reading, like that distant unknown woman…”
margot04's review against another edition
4.0
Oh me oh my. Not sure how to feel - like overall positive because I do love the concept and I was generally engaged throughout. Goes back and forth and sometimes exists in all these at once: lighthearted/humorous, academic, literary, adventurous. Like sometimes it felt super serious and other times kind of ridiculously silly, but I think it's meant to be that way. Found a lot of it pretty relevant to today. Honestly the main qualms I have are gender/woman-character related, I think the archetype/role the woman occupies in this feels fairly powerless/has a lack of agency that feels frustrating.
The rest of my qualms I feel like I can brush away by just living in the multiple dimensions the story wants to exist in. I really liked the different stories and adventures, the meta quality is fun (plus with my little real life meta moment I enjoy that even more!), and I liked all the different reflections on reading, books, literature, and writing.
The rest of my qualms I feel like I can brush away by just living in the multiple dimensions the story wants to exist in. I really liked the different stories and adventures, the meta quality is fun (plus with my little real life meta moment I enjoy that even more!), and I liked all the different reflections on reading, books, literature, and writing.
vaporvisions's review against another edition
It felt as if this book was actively trying to make the reader not want to read it. The writing was a novel and fun at first, but then you just become further and further pushed way by the author with nothing to hold fast to in terms of interesting story.
I wanted to like it and I tried very hard to like it, but I simply wasn't able to find anything to like in the end. I desperately wanted to as well since so many others have said they loved the book. I did not though. Too bad.
I wanted to like it and I tried very hard to like it, but I simply wasn't able to find anything to like in the end. I desperately wanted to as well since so many others have said they loved the book. I did not though. Too bad.
bttyuen's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
jillysretellings's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
1.25
It honestly just wasn’t for me
sanhei's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
isanto's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
some of it was good, most of it was weird. overall too weird (derogatory) for me to appreciate how clever it probably was
114's review against another edition
When I began this book, I greatly enjoyed the fascinating concept of stories inside stories and books contained in the wrong covers. However, as I continued reading, I began to find it frustrating and boring in places. I do feel this is a book I should come back to and reread. I think I will find many more things in the book that interest and captivate me at another time.