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dilfpercyshelley's reviews
71 reviews
The Prelude: 1805 by William Wordsworth, William Wordsworth
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
i will come back to this, because i certainly didn’t hate it, but i am just being realistic for university purposes. i have so much to read and no time to finish a lengthy poem that i’m not that bothered about. sorry wordsy!
Paradise Lost by John Milton
Did not finish book. Stopped at 19%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 19%.
i hope that i will pick this up again at another point, but for now i’m done. i can completely understand why this is such an iconic piece of literature, and studying it was very interesting, but finishing it for pleasure is a different thing !!!!!
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
i have recently written a decently long essay on this novel, so i am not quite in the mood to analyse this book to such an extent, but i truly truly loved it. i don’t want to let any of the characters go! such grief to let margaret out of my sight.
i love how gaskell writes. the detail is rather similar to eliot, and since i am also reading middlemarch, i can’t help but make the comparisons. the detail placed in social class and locations is my favourite, but i also love how gender and femininity are so closely interwoven with the class relations of the story. a novel about death and strife whilst equally a novel about the beauty of life despite it all. great read :)
i love how gaskell writes. the detail is rather similar to eliot, and since i am also reading middlemarch, i can’t help but make the comparisons. the detail placed in social class and locations is my favourite, but i also love how gender and femininity are so closely interwoven with the class relations of the story. a novel about death and strife whilst equally a novel about the beauty of life despite it all. great read :)
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
adventurous
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
i am genuinely surprised at how low the ratings are for this. sure, robinson crusoe is a right bastard. a self righteous, arrogant, horror of a man with no thought for anyone but himself. yet still, i enjoyed the novel thoroughly. partially, even, because of how much i despised the protagonist.
in fact, what i think people should take from novels like this (ones that make you uncomfortable) is how very different the world is now, or how very different you are, and how positive that change is. indeed just because a character is bad, doesn’t make the novel bad. that uncomfortable feeling should be more prevalent in literature, in my opinion. the fact that crusoe was so blind to his own hypocrisy is a reminder to modern audiences that you are like that too sometimes. people should be not just aware but actively made to consider topics such as colonialism, racism, bigotry in general more often, and literature is a great comparative tool to achieve this.
in fact, what i think people should take from novels like this (ones that make you uncomfortable) is how very different the world is now, or how very different you are, and how positive that change is. indeed just because a character is bad, doesn’t make the novel bad. that uncomfortable feeling should be more prevalent in literature, in my opinion. the fact that crusoe was so blind to his own hypocrisy is a reminder to modern audiences that you are like that too sometimes. people should be not just aware but actively made to consider topics such as colonialism, racism, bigotry in general more often, and literature is a great comparative tool to achieve this.
Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
this has everything i love about queer literature. i loved the imagery. i loved the grit. i loved the intimacy. i loved that it made me feel immense grief for queer couples of the past. a beautiful piece of literature that everyone should read at least once.
Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
sayaka murata you’ve done it again you crazy son of a bitch. what a collection! i will admit, i had my doubts with the first two stories. i’m not sure if it just took me a while to get re-accustomed to murata’s prose, or if the first two stories were lacking depth, but after this dip the rest of the stories were thoroughly enjoyable.
i enjoy, most of all, the way that murata subverts tradition. it’s a fascinating aspect of her writing that i really admire. the short story format allowed me tiny insights into exciting lives that i wouldn’t, for the most part, have imagined without this. the scenarios retained just enough humanity to be plausible (and contain clever insights into modern society) whilst equally dealing with seemingly alien concepts. i suppose all of these stories aren’t quite as alien as they first appear.
i enjoy, most of all, the way that murata subverts tradition. it’s a fascinating aspect of her writing that i really admire. the short story format allowed me tiny insights into exciting lives that i wouldn’t, for the most part, have imagined without this. the scenarios retained just enough humanity to be plausible (and contain clever insights into modern society) whilst equally dealing with seemingly alien concepts. i suppose all of these stories aren’t quite as alien as they first appear.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
another brontë belter.
i started reading this book quite a while ago, and only just finished it now. i think, in that long period of reading, it helped me like the novel more. i felt as if i had spent so much time with jane, watching her grow up, that i felt so much more connected to her than i ordinarily would.
in addition to jane’s complex characterisation, i enjoyed the mentions of religion (and the critiques), the beautiful descriptions of the wildlife and towns, and the wide cast of characters each with interesting personalities (apart from you diana and mary, you were very clearly just a plot device.)
there were, unsurprisingly, some draw backs. often the plot over described, dragging out large paragraphs of bland and rather boring content. i am a big fan of excessive description, but this novel occasionally took that too far. the ending had the opposite problem; it felt rushed and under-explained. why did Jane visit Mr Rochester and then decide, without any of the previous drawn out monologuing, that she would be his wife? i suppose it’s a testament to her love (i liked the devotion, i felt genuinely loving at the end without the servitude of prior relationships) but it did feel shockingly sudden in comparison.
despite all of this, it’s still a 5 star read for me. i am still thinking about jane after finishing this novel. i was so engrossed for so long that she just hasn’t left me. great novel.
i started reading this book quite a while ago, and only just finished it now. i think, in that long period of reading, it helped me like the novel more. i felt as if i had spent so much time with jane, watching her grow up, that i felt so much more connected to her than i ordinarily would.
in addition to jane’s complex characterisation, i enjoyed the mentions of religion (and the critiques), the beautiful descriptions of the wildlife and towns, and the wide cast of characters each with interesting personalities (apart from you diana and mary, you were very clearly just a plot device.)
there were, unsurprisingly, some draw backs. often the plot over described, dragging out large paragraphs of bland and rather boring content. i am a big fan of excessive description, but this novel occasionally took that too far. the ending had the opposite problem; it felt rushed and under-explained. why did Jane visit Mr Rochester and then decide, without any of the previous drawn out monologuing, that she would be his wife? i suppose it’s a testament to her love (i liked the devotion, i felt genuinely loving at the end without the servitude of prior relationships) but it did feel shockingly sudden in comparison.
despite all of this, it’s still a 5 star read for me. i am still thinking about jane after finishing this novel. i was so engrossed for so long that she just hasn’t left me. great novel.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
what an incredible read; i wish i had read it sooner.
each character is so well thought out, so accurately intertwined, that each one has a life of their own. the descriptions of the house and its grounds were equally as evocative. the beautiful moors and the crisp freshness of the cold air felt so very real and certainly added detail to the already captivating story about love and loss and class and !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! what a great read.
each character is so well thought out, so accurately intertwined, that each one has a life of their own. the descriptions of the house and its grounds were equally as evocative. the beautiful moors and the crisp freshness of the cold air felt so very real and certainly added detail to the already captivating story about love and loss and class and !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! what a great read.
The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot
challenging
dark
fast-paced
4.0
a beautiful poem that i fear i need an infinitely increasing amount of context and external analysis to fully appreciate. despite this, i still enjoyed it. such a wonderful blend of beautiful lines! i presume the more i reread the more i will connect.
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
this was certainly a thought provoking novella. was joseph conrad a colonialist? is the point that he has learned from his real life experiences and thinks negatively of colonialism? is this why kurtz dies? i think the latter, but it’s certainly up for interpretation.
i enjoyed the extended metaphor of darkness, and the conflicting meanings. However, the text was often quite dense and indecipherable in its plot and the conflicting narrators. although i did enjoy the ‘word of mouth’ angle of storytelling. interesting and lots to think on in terms of censorship and context!
i enjoyed the extended metaphor of darkness, and the conflicting meanings. However, the text was often quite dense and indecipherable in its plot and the conflicting narrators. although i did enjoy the ‘word of mouth’ angle of storytelling. interesting and lots to think on in terms of censorship and context!