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dmathuna's reviews
28 reviews
Peacemakers: Six Months that Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
An excellent look at the peace treaties and nation building that occurred after World War I by the peacemakers. This book gives a good base understanding of the treaties that have shaped the world in so many ways. A good insight into how all of the decisions were driven by imperialism and a good few by anti Bolshevism.
Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr.
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Man was Dr King one of the best of us, smart, eloquent, polite but utterly dedicated to his people’s cause, firm in his insistence that he was right and that he would prevail. Essential reading.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
A hard book to get through tbh, I don’t like Hemingways writing style and I didn't care about the characters. The ending hits like a ton of bricks tho.
Wax & Wane by Saoirse Ní Chiaragáin
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
An extremely well crafted fast paced narrative story set in modern Ireland. There was high tension throughout this entire book that never ceased to pull me in and kept me turning the pages. It starts off as a very real scenario and just gets more intense as you keep reading. An incredibly chilling story of how someone can be so radicalised so quickly with some life changing consequences. Highly highly recommended.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Murder
Minor: Animal death, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
On Palestine by Ilan Pappé, Noam Chomsky
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
This was a very interesting book when it gets going and certainly gave me a greater understanding of the situation and how it came to be the way it is currently. I found the writing style very tough to read and understand at some points as it became so academic like and this caused me to have to reread sentences to properly get what was being said. The meat and potatoes of this book is well laid out as it’s just a moderator asking questions and two people answering them with a few essays after. Some points were repeated a lot.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Racism, Religious bigotry, War
Minor: Murder
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Man what a fucking trip holy shit, the first 200 or so pages are definitely slow, but there’s a point where it picks up and it becomes very hard to put down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Misogyny, Medical content, Medical trauma
Minor: Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt
The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I did enjoy I although it was in spite of the female characters being written weirdly and kinda only existing for Geralt to have sex with? There’s a random shitty comment about how a sleeping fat woman isn’t a beautiful sight??? Who looks beautiful when they sleep? No one does! It felt like there was a lot of thought and effort put into the world that Geralt lives in and I am looking forward to reading the other books, I have them bought already so.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Sexual content