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aim_mee223's reviews
312 reviews
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
2.0
2.5 stars
The Alchemist was a pretty disappointing read. I was expecting too much and the book just fell short. It was interesting to read, but I think it may appeal to some audiences rather than others which would be dependent on ones' experiences, faiths and walk of life.
For myself personally, the protagonist was too underdeveloped. His motivations and goals in life were dismissed and rather focused on fables and religion/culture, which finding the treasure was his personal legend. This was a plot gap that was neglected in regards to character development. This created distress and unwillingness towards completing his journey or quest and it was annoying that a lot of this book was plot focused and not really explained or explored in terms of character development and their emotional response. This might sound like shit but I'd rather my books not to sound like an account or report I read off the internet.
The Alchemist was a pretty disappointing read. I was expecting too much and the book just fell short. It was interesting to read, but I think it may appeal to some audiences rather than others which would be dependent on ones' experiences, faiths and walk of life.
For myself personally, the protagonist was too underdeveloped. His motivations and goals in life were dismissed and rather focused on fables and religion/culture, which finding the treasure was his personal legend.
Spoiler
For example, when he is in the Sahra Desert, he meets this girl and falls in love with her.
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
3.0
I have no idea where to start with this book. I fricking loved it. However, there were also major things that I didn't like. At all.
This book was segmented into different points of time. Doerr utilised beautiful, lyrical writing - it was amazing, but it got me lost. It was confusing to remember the different points of time and you have to sort out what happened. It was the kind of book where something big happens and it goes back in time, but it jumped to after the event also and it was just confusing (and I confused myself again writing this). But I have to say that I really liked the short chapters and how he changed the pov through the book.
Both Marie-Laure and Werner were great characters. Werner was somewhat unrealistic, lacking an opinion about the Nazi regime. Being a child, you would think that he would form a strong opinion and this really took away from his character and instead, he was nonchalant. Sometimes I felt that Doerr could have gone into more depth into the characters (including Volkheimer) to create more complexity.
I also wasn't a fan of the perfect, all rounded story. I know that the blurb says that Marie-Laure and Werner are connected and it was to be expected but it was not my cup of tea. I think it was unrealistic, to say the least and it put me off. Lastly, the last part was extremely flat. I think that it could have been written so much better. Or maybe not at all. I think that I wouldn't have minded if it was cut out altogether.
This book was segmented into different points of time. Doerr utilised beautiful, lyrical writing - it was amazing, but it got me lost. It was confusing to remember the different points of time and you have to sort out what happened. It was the kind of book where something big happens and it goes back in time, but it jumped to after the event also and it was just confusing (and I confused myself again writing this). But I have to say that I really liked the short chapters and how he changed the pov through the book.
Both Marie-Laure and Werner were great characters. Werner was somewhat unrealistic, lacking an opinion about the Nazi regime. Being a child, you would think that he would form a strong opinion and this really took away from his character and instead, he was nonchalant. Sometimes I felt that Doerr could have gone into more depth into the characters (including Volkheimer) to create more complexity.
I also wasn't a fan of the perfect, all rounded story. I know that the blurb says that Marie-Laure and Werner are connected and it was to be expected but it was not my cup of tea. I think it was unrealistic, to say the least and it put me off. Lastly, the last part was extremely flat. I think that it could have been written so much better. Or maybe not at all. I think that I wouldn't have minded if it was cut out altogether.
Hurt by Tabitha Suzuma
2.0
This is my first novel by Tabitha Suzuma, and her writing style is on point. It's descriptive and atmospheric, which really impressed me. I thought at times though, that the description was overthought and abstract. But for the most part, Suzuma's writing style blew me away. It was a great experience.
My issue with this novel is that I felt that Suzuma kept repeating scenes of Mathéo experiencing PTSD. I thought that there was little variance between these scenes, which put me off continuing the novel. The novel was written in a way that it led the audience to believe that he hadn't remembered what had happened until he had told someone, as though he knew all along.
This just really annoyed me. And it didn't just happen once. The other time that I remember it occurring (I put the book down for a while) was the perpetrator. I guess this gave it a mysterious element, however, I got sick of these scenes repeating, only to discover that Mathéo knew all along (or a while at least).
Summing up this mini-rant, I felt that the death of Lola was unnecessary (and cruel-thanks Suzuma!). It just prevented the story from developing as the Epilogue jumps from Mathéo's healing and I think it really takes away from the story. I'm sure there is plenty who don't agree with my opinion, and maybe, the novel was really about uncovering the truth, but I'm just saying that this ending prevented further character development and exploration into victims of sexual abuse (and possibly the ramifications of family members of rapists).
This novel was amazing. Not that I have had the same experiences as Mathéo, but I could relate to him when he felt worthless and out of place. This and the amazing writing style really impressed me. And although I have some issues with this book, I really want to read more of Suzuma's books. :)
My issue with this novel is that I felt that Suzuma kept repeating scenes of Mathéo experiencing PTSD. I thought that there was little variance between these scenes, which put me off continuing the novel. The novel was written in a way that it led the audience to believe that he hadn't remembered what had happened until he had told someone, as though he knew all along.
This just really annoyed me. And it didn't just happen once. The other time that I remember it occurring (I put the book down for a while) was the perpetrator. I guess this gave it a mysterious element, however, I got sick of these scenes repeating, only to discover that Mathéo knew all along (or a while at least).
Spoiler
The ending. It was harsh and so sudden. I thought that it was melodramatic, to say the least. Reading through the book, knowing of the assault, I wanted to be able to read about Mathéo's experience after- dealing, and also how he was able to heal and get past this horrible experience. And it really seemed that the novel was headed into that direction. The story continuing in this direction could have allowed Suzuma to write about how Lola dealt with the grief of her father being a rapist, thereby exploring the effects of close family and friends of a rapist, especially as Jerry was her best friend.Summing up this mini-rant, I felt that the death of Lola was unnecessary (and cruel-thanks Suzuma!). It just prevented the story from developing as the Epilogue jumps from Mathéo's healing and I think it really takes away from the story. I'm sure there is plenty who don't agree with my opinion, and maybe, the novel was really about uncovering the truth, but I'm just saying that this ending prevented further character development and exploration into victims of sexual abuse (and possibly the ramifications of family members of rapists).
This novel was amazing. Not that I have had the same experiences as Mathéo, but I could relate to him when he felt worthless and out of place. This and the amazing writing style really impressed me. And although I have some issues with this book, I really want to read more of Suzuma's books. :)
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, J. Pekka Mäkelä
2.0
2.5 stars.
Ready Player One was extremely flat and lifeless. There is barely any merit to this novel except for its setting in a futuristic world. A lot of it is telling you what happened, frequently info-dumping. Many people love the use of 80s references, however it was overused. There was too much name dropping throughout. And there was barely any character development and it really bored me. Also, there the issues concerning technology weren't explored or were touched on which was really disappointing. But on a positive note, I did love the friendship between Aech and Parzival.
Ready Player One was extremely flat and lifeless. There is barely any merit to this novel except for its setting in a futuristic world. A lot of it is telling you what happened, frequently info-dumping. Many people love the use of 80s references, however it was overused. There was too much name dropping throughout. And there was barely any character development and it really bored me. Also, there the issues concerning technology weren't explored or were touched on which was really disappointing. But on a positive note, I did love the friendship between Aech and Parzival.