You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
documentno_is's Reviews (1.28k)
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Nice story about a person regaining their power and control after having it stripped away, narrative structure was interesting but nothing too special otherwise.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think I disagree with the fundamental messaging and themes of this novel, and it was kind of poorly written. Nothing heinous though.
challenging
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
As a recommendation:
The first half of this novel acted as a perfect subway read, interesting and complex in structure but thematically easy. It was written in a way to be picked back up and put down again. If you're looking for something simple to carry around this is a great book for that.
So, my more in depth review in parts:
The first half of this novel acted as a perfect subway read, interesting and complex in structure but thematically easy. It was written in a way to be picked back up and put down again. If you're looking for something simple to carry around this is a great book for that.
So, my more in depth review in parts:
The Pool
I love the tone and the delivery, how Otsuka writes in both distant and close third where “we” experience what can only really be experienced by the individual. The magical realism of “the crack” is an effective stand in for the anxieties that plague us both real and imagined. The way the pool acts as a crutch, both to give everyone a unified activity but also to pull everyone out of their every day lives. Throughout this part we also begin to refer and isolate our main character (not our narrator/protagonist) Alice, and we are aware from the beginning she has some level of Alzheimers or memory loss.
Alice
In the second half of the novel the authorcompletely abandons the pool for the life of Alice, one of its previous visitors. I was expecting more themes to be carried over but the two halves still felt a little disconnected by the time the novel finished. These chapters are poignant in a classic Hallmark movie way, and the author never really delves into the complexities of Alice's character ( for ex. we are told fo her time in an internment camp but as the narration is in proxy of the daughter we are never given details or information into that experience. ) In all the narrative closeness we spend with the daughter we equally no nothing about her- just brief thoughts on her mom's deterioration mixed in with very quotable experiences of family distance and loss.
Final
I might have rated higher had the novel stayed in the vein of the first half, but the second really left something to be desired for me. It felt similar to "Please Look After Mom" which I read earlier this year, and even then I felt that novel conveyed Alzheimers and the complex feelings of looking after a parent. The Swimmers looses a lot of story and plot in expense of style, and outside of the chapters relating to the pool I didn't find that style that interesting.
Alice
In the second half of the novel the author
Final
I might have rated higher had the novel stayed in the vein of the first half, but the second really left something to be desired for me.
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I feel pretty determined to read more of Zadie Smith after that one, wow. This book really had everything- race, history, religion, philosophy, sex, family, etc. I also definitely sensed the DFWallace influence, at times it did sort of remind me of reading IJ. The writing was acerbic in tone, very "British" witticism. I also felt a perfect narrative line drawn through it- everything fell together and related to everything in theme or motif. I think, in terms of any great undertaking (a book of this breadth) you are bound to loose a little steam and I can't say that I was absolutely enthralled for every chapter but I do feel that almost every piece was necessary to come to the finale. I really appreciated the meditation on the choices we make and the cascading ripple effect it creates in the entire world.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Within reading the first few chapters of The Secret History I knew it would be one of my favorite novels of the year. I loved the vehicle of The Greek Tragedy as the focus and arcs of the narration. I have read criticism of the "lackluster" second half of this novel but I couldn't relate- I found it equally compelling throughout. The gripping first book propelled quickly as a plot heavy action thriller, and the second book descended into a more interior psychological breakdown of the characters as they inevitably met their demise despite never "literally" being caught. By the end of the novel the murder was so far out of my mind- only its aftermath remained.
The themes and motifs are the pillars of this temple- wealth, apathy, hedonism, power. The way these tenants shape and form the arc's of this novel are focused and precise. Tartt does specifically into the trappings of a western morality- but I don't mind it so much and playful jabs at catholicism and the hypocrisy of the beliefs of the core characters are quite center stage. Absurdity and humor fall in at the most inopportune times- where the form of the story grounds the reader that our characters will recieve their inevitable "just desserts."
The character building was incredible- I mean they were all so horrible in unique and interwoven ways.Our main character even, who was undoubtably some kind of psycopath flits effortlessly between describing his cogent lack of empathy, his overinflated sense of self, but also a true kinship and love for his friends at times making him a peculiar and entertaining protagonist to say the least. Everyone in this novel is entertaining- some with the brazen, bigoted, shameless evil and some with their creeping negative tendencies. Tartt almost goes down a list of the taboos of the wealthy, drug use and insest only two mentions. I mean nobody is safe- from the master manipulator yet mirroring cowardice of Julian to the god-like manipulation of Henry despite momentarily embodying a calming voice of reason to Bunny's, even our protagonist's attempts to distance himself from the murders morally inevitably fail in his own words as he realizes his hubris at becoming an easy target in his financial insecurities.
I don't think this book is for everyone, but it may have summed up to be the perfect "for me." This novel was like a mix ofSaltburn (god I wish I had read this before seeing Saltburn) and The Catcher in the Rye and I loved it. Nothing is ever perfect and I think there are times when it is clear Tartt is refusing to take a more malicious attitude toward the characters' class- and our dear Richard Papen being the tale's poor foil lends itself to this knowledge; still his moral failings seem to fail in the blanks. My personal favorite lies in his abhorrent disdain for his hometown and his inevitable ending up there.
I think ultimately I loved this novel so much because of its clear structure- everything fell into place and the cadence of the building momentum into final disillusionment so perfectly frenetic and I could barely drag myself away.
The themes and motifs are the pillars of this temple- wealth, apathy, hedonism, power. The way these tenants shape and form the arc's of this novel are focused and precise. Tartt does specifically into the trappings of a western morality- but I don't mind it so much and playful jabs at catholicism and the hypocrisy of the beliefs of the core characters are quite center stage. Absurdity and humor fall in at the most inopportune times- where the form of the story grounds the reader that our characters will recieve their inevitable "just desserts."
The character building was incredible- I mean they were all so horrible in unique and interwoven ways.
I don't think this book is for everyone, but it may have summed up to be the perfect "for me." This novel was like a mix of
I think ultimately I loved this novel so much because of its clear structure- everything fell into place and the cadence of the building momentum into final disillusionment so perfectly frenetic and I could barely drag myself away.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really appreciated the complexity with which Burns crafted character dynamics and motivations, even as I found the central story rather lackluster. I found the prose to be compelling, the narrative structure was pretty tight, but the themes and setting were not relatable to me. I also inadvertently read a book with almost the same subject matter as this one previously, and in direct comparison this novel stood out as the clear winner so this may have inflated my rating a tad.
