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cavafy's Reviews (37)
I have loved Cavafy for years, but this is the first time I've sat down and properly read all of his stuff. I am fascinated by his exploration of byzantine and hellenic worlds, as well as his unabashed appreciation for eroticism. Furthermore, Mendelsohn's notes and explanation of Cavafy's context are amazing for undertanding the more obscure historical references in the poems.
Loveable characters:
Yes
the art is insane i love this so much
This would be one of my favourite books if I didn't read it for school (tainted)
Carson's innovation is unmatched! I love the way she structures her work. The content of this book took some time for me to understand (i.e. I had to reread pages over and over again), but the profound images and ideas in this book make up for it.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"But you go on living. You don't kill yourself. No one loves you. You don't achieve anything. You can't cope with the next moment."
Description of a struggle is my favourite story by Kafka (if not my favourite short story of all time), yet it is unjustly condemned by everyone else. I concede there are some parts that are far too obscure, particularly the parts with the supplicant, yet this does not ruin my love for this story. It accurately shows the struggle of being an outsider, how this struggle blinds you to the struggle of others, and the dangers of escapism. Rather than trying to understand the purely nonsensical parts, I suggest reading them as a literary mimicry of the nonsensical way the narrator decides to deal with his problems. Kafka was not stupid. If parts of this story do not make sense, do you truly belive he was oblivious to it? Or maybe...... perhaps he was fully aware, and perhaps there is literary merit in this story's abstruseness? I beg people to give this story a chance.
"this is the very best way (say it in a whisper) to protect yourself."
Description of a struggle is my favourite story by Kafka (if not my favourite short story of all time), yet it is unjustly condemned by everyone else. I concede there are some parts that are far too obscure, particularly the parts with the supplicant, yet this does not ruin my love for this story. It accurately shows the struggle of being an outsider, how this struggle blinds you to the struggle of others, and the dangers of escapism. Rather than trying to understand the purely nonsensical parts, I suggest reading them as a literary mimicry of the nonsensical way the narrator decides to deal with his problems. Kafka was not stupid. If parts of this story do not make sense, do you truly belive he was oblivious to it? Or maybe...... perhaps he was fully aware, and perhaps there is literary merit in this story's abstruseness? I beg people to give this story a chance.
"this is the very best way (say it in a whisper) to protect yourself."
dark
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
I skipped over stories that didn't interest me, but most had something intriguing to say. I used the eponymous story for an essay and it is very well crafted. However, the narrators tend to insult other characters with pages worth of hatred that is never really justified. Like... its just making fun of other characters for the sake of it which bugged me a bit. It kinda makes it clear that plath never intended for others to read these stories and they were more of a way to vent or something.
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
LOVE Carson's prefaces, they add so much depth to the plays (especially for someone like me who isn't well versed in ancient literature)
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
The ways Red and Blue found to communicate with each other were so intelligent, and everything in the story is so well connected. The problem is that this book didn't emotionally affect me as I hoped it would, it made me feel nothing. Also it took me ages to read, it is definitely irritatingly obscure at places. Continuing with the theme of obscurity, I really wish the ending was less open-ended.
