emmaisnotavampire's reviews
140 reviews

Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

A brilliant combination of fiction and non-fiction, of idyllic and dystopian, of real and fake, of perspectives, opinions, societal models and roles. Perkins Gilman wrote a novel so absurd yet so believable, in a way. By depicting such an unrealistic system, she had her own characters - white, wealthy, privileged men - point out that, nonetheless, the society that we consider to be normal is no better, but in fact a lot worse, for no justified reason at all. 
Weaved within a surreal fantasy narration, some passages, statements and aphorisms read like travel journals, science reports, some even like proper essay writing. However, despite the mesmerising juxtaposition of genres, there are also stylistic choices I wasn’t so sure about, like the pace, which felt a bit flat, probably for the lack of major plot twists… not that they weren’t there at all, but I think they weren’t really treated as such.
I also wasn’t the biggest fan of the theme of motherhood in here, or rather, of its portrayal of the ultimate form of love, though I see where the author was coming from in choosing that as the core of her alternative national system. I liked the importance of community and this almost marxist utopia, in which work, education, duties all come not for retribution nor imposition, but from a sense of society, sharing, of common good for the present and future generations especially. Still, I didn’t really agree that all this links to the innate female desire for parenthood, as I believe there is no such thing; however, considering the time this book was written, I guess it was already incredibly innovative and provocative like this.

Someone Like You by Roald Dahl

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

One day I will learn not read short stories. One day I will accept the fact that they’re not my thing. One day. But that day is not today.
My problem with short stories is that they are always compared to fairytales, and I love fairytales. I love the combination of folklore, fantasy, myth, morals, magic, and sometimes even some beloved underlying darkness; yet I never seem to understand that none of those elements are indeed the source these comparisons originate from. Short stories are like fairytales in length, pace, development, but hardly ever in themes, tropes, atmosphere which I hold so dear to my heart.
I picked up this book because I was curious to read the peculiar, playful yet dark Roald Dahl version of tales, without realising that there was no “fairy” in front. I thought I was going to be met with macabre magic, some horror elements, but these short stories read more like thrillers.
That being said, they were brilliant short thrillers. The rhythm was immaculate, the twists coming exactly at the right time, never too early, never too late, never rushed, never too long, surprising the reader without giving them time to digest. I was expecting a bit more of a horror anthology, but even without the typical elements of the genre I still got the nice little eerie, unsettling feeling of unease in my stomach.
I guess to sum it all up we could say that I don’t love thrillers nor short story collections, but if I ever were to pick one it would definitely be this.

BIBLIOMANIA by おおばる (Obaru), マッチロ (Macchiro)

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Let’s all thank my boyfriend for forcing me to read mangas every once in a while, and for always giving me the most accurate recommendations for them, because holy crap how I loved this little gem right here. At this point I think he unironically knows me better than I know myself.
I don’t believe there can be anyone out there in the world who can be more of the intended target audience than me. The thirst for knowledge, the perpetual risk of literary escapism, the danger of words, the horror elements, the satanic references, the Alice in Wonderland parallels… a dark, twisted fable built on one of my favourite hobbies, what can ever be better than that? It seems like it was made for me.
It wasn’t just the themes that captivated me, though they definitely were what made me feel called out: the drawings as well were absolutely beautiful, secretly uneasy children’s books illustrations meeting disturbing supernatural gore, with lovely style variations to match the different rooms… the plant lady pages reminded me so much of an obscure version of Art Nouveau, of a modern Beardsley, I was in love! So in love that I even challenged my usual belief that all stories can be best narrated in literary prose: this was perfectly right just like this.
Although this work never really tried to hide what it was saying, I found it incredible how it managed to constantly change the focus, initially making the reader believe that the bigger themes were only marginal, the marginal ones central, then slowly unraveling its topic hierarchy. Most of all, I was amazed by how at first the enemy of humanity seemed to be the snake, alias Satan/temptation, alias escapism, when really it was humanity itself: it was the Odysseus archetype, stubborn intellect, ambition, curiosity, that little part of us that can devour us from within and consume everything around us, just for the sake of knowing all that there is to be known. Maybe it isn’t all that destabilising, all that true, all that universal, not to all; but to me, always praised for this tendency of mine, it definitely felt like it. It was the sudden realisation that the best part of me has the power to be the worst too.
I am genuinely so sad that my boyfriend and I are probably the only two people on Earth to have read this, because what one gets out of this story is honestly the truest presentation of myself that I could ever give.

Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

At first I wasn’t sure I was going to like this book, after all the classics I’ve been reading I feared that I would find young adult fiction a bit too childish and disappointing. Still, I was in need of a lighter read, so I decided to give it a try anyway. And am I glad I did.
I am not usually the kind of person to pick up something random without looking into reviews, themes, plot, opinions, yet for some reason this book called out to me. After having read it, I know that the reason was that I am precisely the intended target audience for it (except I don’t really love to read romance, but I’ll let it slide since I don’t mind it when it’s a marginal thing alongside an interesting plot - well, an interesting novel, should I say, as the importance of vibes here definitely overpowers that of events). Greek-mythology-inspired fantasy like in “Percy Jackson”, combined with historical fiction and an academic setting that made this feel like XVIII/XIX century dark academia, perfect to match basically the whole of my library at the same time.
Of course, I recognise that the book itself, despite being really good, is far from genius, it was a lovely read but pretty ordinary in terms of writing style, characters, plot twists and so on. In fact, nothing was unpredictable enough to really shock me, and as I said the plot isn’t all that complex, but I still think that the atmosphere created was pretty unique and fascinating in its unusual combination of elements, and not everything needs to be a literary masterpiece in order to be loved. Personally, I wouldn’t have changed a thing, and I’m so happy I picked this up at exactly the right time.

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

reflective medium-paced

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

3.25

I was so excited to read this book, but I’m afraid my curiosity and impatience have been caused by “false advertising”. Let me explain: when I found it online, described as the story of Rochester’s first, so-called insane wife, I thought I would encounter an introspective, tragic and possibly disturbing prose depicting a slow descent into madness, with a hint of condemnation of racism and discrimination towards Creole people which I was nonetheless aware would have been there. However, when I started reading it I realised what I thought would have been a marginal racial theme was actually the crucial heart of the story, the mad woman Antoinette sane throughout most of the novel, the psychological introspection much more limited than expected. Of course it didn’t stop me from enjoying the book, but I couldn’t love it as much as I wanted to since my initial fascination was really for something that didn’t exist. 
It was an interesting tale of injustice from multiple perspectives, some quite unexpected to be honest, and it allowed me to learn about dynamics I had never even heard of before, so I’m glad that I read it, but ultimately it is not a hundred percent my preferred type of book to pick up for entertainment purposes.

Coming Up for Air by George Orwell

reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.25

I might be influenced in saying this by the fact that I have read this book right after To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, but I genuinely believe that it is Orwell’s equivalent to Mrs Dalloway. Although nothing will ever parallel the absolute mastery required to tell a whole life story in a rather eventless day like that, Coming Up For Air achieves a similar effect by focusing on a week or so in the protagonist’s for the most part ordinary life. The difference, however, is quite evident: Woolf’s novel is a lot more about emotions, introspection, personal experiences, whereas Orwell’s has
much more sociopolitical commentary, more talk of status, war, alienation, more dissatisfaction, and the usual reality-based dystopian feeling that characterises his work… more Orwell, in a nutshell.
Unfortunately, I am not completely sure that it always fully worked; most of the time it did, don’t get me wrong, but it did occasionally get a little slow and static. Now, I do love me some good slow and static introspective literature, but I surely was not expecting something of the sort from Orwell; I was anticipating another of his shocking, unpredictable, intense plots with lots of twists and surprises, and I still think that is what he does best. Still a very enjoyable read, I’m just a little disappointed it didn’t leave me as much as his other stuff did.

Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell

mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

I don’t usually love short stories, I tend to prefer getting lost in the pages of a more intricate plot; however, I have been absolutely devouring  pretty much anything even remotely gothic lately, especially if written by a woman, so I still picked this up quite enthusiastically. Sadly, I was quickly disappointed with my poorly informed choice.
What I wish I had known about Gaskell is that, despite being acquainted with both, her writing is definitely closer to Dickens than to Brönte, much more realistic than mysterious and dark. As a result, these Gothic Tales, despite surely being good tales, were not gothic at all! I kept waiting for a gloomy, supernatural or at least seemingly so twist that just would not happen (in most cases at least), and ended up just getting bored.
I don’t actually dislike Dickens at all, so if her more socially focused realistic works are anything like that I am quite curious to read them, but Gaskell’s gothic side didn’t really resonate with me, unfortunately.

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.5

My first Virginia Woolf in its original language, or at least the first one I was able to properly… to be fair maybe starting out with something as peculiar and not linear as Orlando wasn’t the best idea. Anyway, I’m really happy to have familiarised myself enough with her writing to read it in English, because I loved it so much! There is truly no way of preserving all shades of meaning when translating, sadly.
Virginia Woolf really is the master of ‘no plot just vibes’, except those ‘vibes’ are so much more than simply that: they’re mesmerising descriptions, profound introspection, complex explorations of the human psyche and relationships, beautiful portrayals of vanitas, of the ephemeral nature of all things. The way everything is intertwined, how the story is told by thoughts, thoughts by emotions, emotions by descriptions, the perfect confluence of different perspectives adding to one another to create the narrative, everything is so poetic, fitting and prosodic.
It is not really the events that one can praise in this kind of novel, not as much as the prose and the emotions it conveys, but there is definitely a quite shocking series of plot twists towards the end of the first half which also kept me glued to the page. Although if I’m completely honest I should have predicted some of them: I’m starting to see a pattern in what happens to Woolf’s middle aged women who contemplate eternity and the passage of time.
I must also point out how much her depiction of the father’s tyranny in his children’s eyes resonated with me, it was one of those moments in which, once you read the words to describe it, you realise that’s what you have been thinking all along. In James’s thoughts, I found my own relationship with my father, the grownup realisation that who I had thought a villain was just an emotionally fragile man from the very beginning.
Overall probably my favourite Virginia Woolf so far!

Le intermittenze della morte by José Saramago

dark funny medium-paced

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

4.0

I have been hesitant to read Saramago for a while, but I’m glad I gave it a try: this book is brilliant, it creates such a perfect balance between its absurd irony and its more serious themes. The premise itself, people no longer dying, is genius, but what I liked even more was the author’s exploration of the implications of that in ordinary life: its consequences on economy, politics, the organisational issues, the ethical dilemma that cleverly introduces the theme of euthanasia as well. The prose sounds silly until it’s not, until it develops into these deep topics, still maintaining however its almost comedic tone that makes it read effortlessly despite the heaviness of some of the things it talks about. The only slight problem with Saramago’s writing is the wall of text effect that his way of writing dialogue into the sentence (a little confusing at first but easier than I expected to get used to) produces, which can be a bit tiring for the eye. To be fair, though, the book’s reduced length is sufficient to prevent that from becoming too much of an issue.
Overall I really enjoyed this, somehow it was the perfect combination of a light read and a thought provoking one, which I didn’t even know I was looking for until I found it.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I always find it interesting to read classics that are so ingrained in pop culture that we completely lose sight of what they originally were, but sometimes, like it happened when I read Frankenstein, the risk is disappointment  in finding that the real thing is not as interesting as the made up version. I was kind of scared this experience was going to be the same, but I was pleasantly surprised: despite its age, the novel still feels incredibly modern in intention, Count Dracula being a clear symbol of rejection of progress which the protagonists must fight. What is even more curious about this is how vampirism has blatant sexual implications and associations, coming to represent a state of depravation that the victims get seduced into; combining the two interpretations, therefore, the novel seems to suggest that it is not the new world corrupting the old, but on the contrary the outdated old conventions that try to keep the new one wicked. The complex equilibrium of condemnation and denouncement of many things is what makes Dracula forever relevant and provocative. 

Character wise, one of the most innovative aspects surely lies within the importance of the women alongside the men in the party, as well as their far-from-stereotypical portrayal: Lucy and Mina’s genuine friendship and correspondence kickstarting the adventure; Lucy being openly depicted as a flirt, then promiscuous, then evil, returning more and more beautiful the more twisted her morals get; Mina taking active part in the events, refusing to sit back but rather proving herself as a modern woman with modern interests, sometimes “wearing the pants” and taking care of her partner, a male whose psyche is allowed to show as fragile and scarred.

My only issue with this novel was really a matter of pacing, though unfortunately it was quite a big one, which brought my ranking down quite a bit. I am a big nerd when it comes to writing styles and techniques, so I appreciate any prose that makes use of unconventional devices to narrate a story, and I believe the overlapping and juxtaposition of multiple perspectives through letters and journals really was a clever way to display all of its different sides; that being said, I think it made the rhythm way too inconsistent throughout the book, much too fast at times (especially in moments that were supposed to be climaxes) and too slow at others. Unfortunately it is often the case with older literature that some elements no longer conform to contemporary standards, but I cannot really complain, for this was a read I still truly enjoyed.