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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
Warm and entertaining, with unforgettable characters. One of the most immersive books I've ever read; I finished it in two sessions. Gorgeous prose, with not an errant word. A crystalline translation to be celebrated. The conclusion is melancholic, the final impression that of an immutable grey.
I think this would read better in the original Hungarian
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Skylark has a very simple plot, the titular character, Skylark, is the adult daughter of elderly parents, and she leaves on a trip to her uncle’s ranch. Their daily routine being so centered around Skylark’s whims, her parents have no idea what to do, let alone know what to cook. However, although reluctantly and sneeringly at first, the parents try to do what was forbidden; going out of their comfortable home. Because of the simplicity of this plot, there is much room to flesh out the characters and the setting of Sárszeg. I personally love this type of storytelling, being so character driven. Sárszeg, begins as a small and uninteresting town, as how the Vajkays seem to view it. As the story progresses however, they began to see the town that they had been resented by them, as beautiful and complex. The book also delves into the family dynamics of the Vajkays and dissects them until it finds their repressed feelings, leading to surprisingly thought-provoking questions:
“What do you not like about your own family? Is it okay to feel this way? Does it make me a bad parent/child?”
Which can lead to a quite relatable tragedy in the book, which it so effortlessly balances it with light-hearted events. This book is highly underrated, and if you happen to find it, give it a read.
“What do you not like about your own family? Is it okay to feel this way? Does it make me a bad parent/child?”
Which can lead to a quite relatable tragedy in the book, which it so effortlessly balances it with light-hearted events. This book is highly underrated, and if you happen to find it, give it a read.
reflective
medium-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
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“At first sight they had seemed worthless, twisted and distorted, their souls curling hideously inwards. They had no tragedy, for how could tragedy begin to grow in such a wasteland? Yet how profound, how human they all were.”
A brutal denouncement of domesticity. Not “brutal” due to any particularly violent incident, but for its depiction of three people trapped in a subtle domestic hellscape of their own construction, petrified of recognizing their own self hatred and terrified of participating in a world without justice. The ending is not at all what I expected but far more powerful than I could’ve imagined.
”In a state of excitement, things that normally pass unnoticed can seem pregnant with significance. At such times even inanimate objects — a lamppost, a gravel path, a bush — can take on a life of their own, primordial, reticent and hostile, stinging our hearts with their indifference and making us recoil with a start. And the very sight of people at such times, blindly pursuing their lonely, selfish ends, can suddenly remind us of our own irrevocable solitude, a single word or gesture petrifying in our souls into an eternal symbol of the utter arbitrariness of life.”
A brutal denouncement of domesticity. Not “brutal” due to any particularly violent incident, but for its depiction of three people trapped in a subtle domestic hellscape of their own construction, petrified of recognizing their own self hatred and terrified of participating in a world without justice. The ending is not at all what I expected but far more powerful than I could’ve imagined.
”In a state of excitement, things that normally pass unnoticed can seem pregnant with significance. At such times even inanimate objects — a lamppost, a gravel path, a bush — can take on a life of their own, primordial, reticent and hostile, stinging our hearts with their indifference and making us recoil with a start. And the very sight of people at such times, blindly pursuing their lonely, selfish ends, can suddenly remind us of our own irrevocable solitude, a single word or gesture petrifying in our souls into an eternal symbol of the utter arbitrariness of life.”
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes