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dejnozkova's reviews
134 reviews
A Grain of Wheat by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
How to ADHD: An Insider's Guide to Working with Your Brain (Not Against It) by Jessica McCabe
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.75
My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
If Cats Disappeared From The World by Genki Kawamura
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Not to be that guy, but I think this book was pretty overhyped and the reason I rushed through it as fast as I could was because I was tired of it and I have so many books in my queue I wanted to get to. I read “Kafka on the Shore” before and that was a good book despite some cringe parts, so I thought I could tackle this one but it just magnified the things I hated.
1. Obsession with breasts - It felt like every other chapter was spent taking inventory of every woman’s breast size. The main female protagonist is obsessive about how small hers are, male characters almost always note the breasts of the women they know or meet, and there was even a part where a female character was supposedly mourning two friends and was thinking almost exclusively of their breasts? Murakami pleeeeeaassee be real. Honestly I was stomaching the cringe in hopes the rest of the book would make up for it. I was wrong.
2. Weak characterizations - Between the women being written poorly/blandly, relationships between characters not making any real sense, and every single thought being spelled out for you, there was no real room to develop feelings for the characters nor discern any magic between them. Characters were written flatly and unconvincingly, and I’m sorry but the connection between specific characters was so uninspiring. You can’t SAY characters have a connection and think that’s enough. I don’t want to give details away in this review but Murakami made an attempt at a deep connection and fell disappointingly short. If you’re a reader who values character development or growth, there is hardly any at all in this book either.
3. This book didn’t have to be 1,000 pages long - I could skim entire pages and keep perfectly fine with the plot without losing meaning along the way. Why? Because Murakami would spend two whole pages describing how to take a pregnancy test, or entire paragraphs on a single detail that could’ve been effectively covered in one sentence. Left nothing to the imagination, got lost in arbitrary details, and over-explained things.
4. The entire premise is dissatisfying - The characters didn’t markedly change throughout the story, there was no discernible meaning for the actual plot, and the “mystery” lost its intrigue halfway through. So I’m left wondering why I even read this? I felt nothing, learned nothing, my perspective on things didn’t change, and this didn’t even successfully land as a titillating mystery novel written solely for entertainment value either.
The concept and initial plot were interesting, and there were a couple nice eureka moments when something fell together. But unfortunately the main reason I was able to keep turning pages was because I was HOPING the book would eventually deliver something substantial that never came. Sorry lads, but I would not recommend. There are so many other magical realist authors and novels with far more compelling characters, richer writing styles, and much more impactful plotlines than this.
1. Obsession with breasts - It felt like every other chapter was spent taking inventory of every woman’s breast size. The main female protagonist is obsessive about how small hers are, male characters almost always note the breasts of the women they know or meet, and there was even a part where a female character was supposedly mourning two friends and was thinking almost exclusively of their breasts? Murakami pleeeeeaassee be real. Honestly I was stomaching the cringe in hopes the rest of the book would make up for it. I was wrong.
2. Weak characterizations - Between the women being written poorly/blandly, relationships between characters not making any real sense, and every single thought being spelled out for you, there was no real room to develop feelings for the characters nor discern any magic between them. Characters were written flatly and unconvincingly, and I’m sorry but the connection between specific characters was so uninspiring. You can’t SAY characters have a connection and think that’s enough. I don’t want to give details away in this review but Murakami made an attempt at a deep connection and fell disappointingly short. If you’re a reader who values character development or growth, there is hardly any at all in this book either.
3. This book didn’t have to be 1,000 pages long - I could skim entire pages and keep perfectly fine with the plot without losing meaning along the way. Why? Because Murakami would spend two whole pages describing how to take a pregnancy test, or entire paragraphs on a single detail that could’ve been effectively covered in one sentence. Left nothing to the imagination, got lost in arbitrary details, and over-explained things.
4. The entire premise is dissatisfying - The characters didn’t markedly change throughout the story, there was no discernible meaning for the actual plot, and the “mystery” lost its intrigue halfway through. So I’m left wondering why I even read this? I felt nothing, learned nothing, my perspective on things didn’t change, and this didn’t even successfully land as a titillating mystery novel written solely for entertainment value either.
The concept and initial plot were interesting, and there were a couple nice eureka moments when something fell together. But unfortunately the main reason I was able to keep turning pages was because I was HOPING the book would eventually deliver something substantial that never came. Sorry lads, but I would not recommend. There are so many other magical realist authors and novels with far more compelling characters, richer writing styles, and much more impactful plotlines than this.
The Hundred Years' War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.75
The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the World by Lonely Planet
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
4.0
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5