dilfpercyshelley's reviews
74 reviews

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.

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!

Homie: Poems by Danez Smith

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

what a beautiful collection of poetry. i love poems that’s are unquestionably raw. so raw it’s sore to the touch and you wish to bandage them  up and give the wound a kiss. the poetry in this collection touches on almost all of my favourite themes in poetry (religion, nature and gay sex) and articulated them in such a perfectly heartbreaking way that it made fall in love with the trees and human blood and the concept of prayer all over again. wonderful stuff.

Physical by Andrew McMillan

reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

a piece of literature so fluid that it left me with contradicting opinions.

as with most poetry, there were stand out lines so incredibly written i wanted to cry and rate this 5 stars. for this collection, i found the most enjoyment in the first section which, in my opinion, was the best written section. 

however, as the collection progressed, the unruly ‘train of thought’ style began to wear on me. it no longer held itself together. the poems became as disjointed as the structure and lost a lot of meaning (and thus enjoyment) from the first section’s formatted chaos.

all in all i enjoyed it. the lines were often beautifully written and i did mostly enjoy the structure. although occasionally the loose formatting contributed to a looser, less meaningful experience.

God's Children are Little Broken Things: Stories by Arinze Ifeakandu

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

a great collection of stories that really made me sad. like actually made me very very sad. that’s how i know it was great. 

the stories, whilst often sharing similar themes, continually  produced interesting characters and plots, and also managed to display a wide variety of life for gay men in Nigeria. the contrasts between nuclear families and taboo relationships were beautifully done, and the writing was captivating in its emotion.

all in all, a beautifully pensive piece of queer literature. 

Flèche by Mary Jean Chan

medium-paced

2.25

not a huge fan of this i’m afraid!

Occasionally, Chan wrote a line so beautiful and so well phrased that I rethought my initial stance. Ultimately however, this style of poetry is not for me. 

Their words, and thus,  their crafted imagery felt extremely over-explained, so much so that it left me with absolutely nothing to uncover for myself. For me, the analysis of poetry is the most enjoyable part. This enjoyment was stripped from my experience by the obviousness of it all. Why explain the image Mary?? Why do that in the context of short form poetry??? Why not use the extra lines for more detailed descriptions and coherent imagery??? 

I think that I would enjoy this author’s prose (then I would not be hung up on the over explaining.) However, for this simple style of poetry, the style caused a lack of depth I simply did not enjoy.

Cat in the Rain by Ernest Hemingway

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

a very short story that touches on the complexity of class inequalities and space as an ever changing, ever adapting, concept. a fun and short text to analyse. 

What Belongs to You by Garth Greenwell

reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

what a beautifully written novel. a great way to start my readings for class this year.

i love an unlikable protagonist. especially when the author allows them to be as complex as this nameless character. furthermore the sadness ingrained in almost everything about this story captivated me. mitko, as a character, was wonderful. ever changing and ever interesting, his presence not only had a complex life of its own, but allowed the author to develop the protagonist in his reactions and relationship to mitko. 

occasionally, the function of mitko as a device to reveal the true nature of the protagonist irritated me. i didn’t much care for the protagonist, and i felt rather the opposite of the intended way: i wished to know more of mitko than of the protagonist. it was frustrating to see mitko through only the eyes of the entitled american protagonist, rather than the raw complexity of such a captivating character. 

all in all, this was a truly a beautiful and complex read. perfect for people, like myself, who love all character no plot. and equally perfect to use as a reflection on socio-political issues of contemporary western society.

Sappho: Poems And Fragments by Sappho

hopeful reflective relaxing

3.5

it is always so beautiful to read something so very very ancient, especially when the writer themselves mentions the immortality of art. 

the translation notes were very explanatory and thus helpful. a lovely read!!!