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chluless's reviews
614 reviews
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne
4.0
the one where the rulebook is thrown out the window and things get meta
Bushido: The Soul of Japan (AmazonClassics Edition) by Inazō Nitobe
An interesting and insightful but - at times - undeniably dry and dated read
A Yorkshire Tragedy by Thomas Middleton
There are some redeeming aspects that carry this play -the interactions between the husband and servant at the climax, its staging of a wife's limited position, and the reflecting of the husband's troubled mind in the lines he speaks.
Ultimately, this is a Jacobean true crime drama that has (for modern readers) a lot to say about contemporary tastes and society.
How anyone could read this and see Shakespeare in its syntax is baffling. The Bard didn't deserve his name stolen as a sales strategy.
O, how damnation can make weak men strong!
There are some redeeming aspects that carry this play -the interactions between the husband and servant at the climax, its staging of a wife's limited position, and the reflecting of the husband's troubled mind in the lines he speaks.
servant [holding him back]: Were you the devil I would hold you, sir.
husband: Hold me? Presumption! I’ll undo thee for’t.
servant: ’Sblood, you have undone us all, sir.
husband: Tug at thy master?
servant: Tug at a monster.
Ultimately, this is a Jacobean true crime drama that has (for modern readers) a lot to say about contemporary tastes and society.
Conversations in Sicily by Elio Vittorini
3.5
3.5 stars
A hypnotic and fanciful (due to evasion of censorship) dive into the fragmented spirit of post-war Italy.
‘Conversations in Sicily’ explores the issues affecting italy under fascism, alongside the acknowledgment of ordinary people just trying to live through undesirable situations.
I particularly enjoyed the latter half of the book, and thought the graveyard scene was phenomenal.
On a more negative note, there are a few…entertaining…descriptions of women. The author (or perhaps the translator?) is very preoccupied with women’s bodies and their chest sizes. Has science found a correlation between cup size and richness of voice? The author certainly seems to think so.
A hypnotic and fanciful (due to evasion of censorship) dive into the fragmented spirit of post-war Italy.
‘Conversations in Sicily’ explores the issues affecting italy under fascism, alongside the acknowledgment of ordinary people just trying to live through undesirable situations.
I particularly enjoyed the latter half of the book, and thought the graveyard scene was phenomenal.
On a more negative note, there are a few…entertaining…descriptions of women. The author (or perhaps the translator?) is very preoccupied with women’s bodies and their chest sizes. Has science found a correlation between cup size and richness of voice? The author certainly seems to think so.