evelynkonrad's reviews
375 reviews

Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A utopia in the tradition of William Morris' News from Nowhere, but incorporating a stronger criticism of the present as well as a less doe-eyed view of the utopian future. Piercy's characters are fully drawn and exist beyond their functions in pitching a possible future, which in turn makes the possibility of that future feel more real, as it is a world that actual people live in and not just a fantasy that requires flat souled inhabitants to work. Similarly the future language is crafted just right to feel strange but not fake.

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Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

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

5.0

V convincing
The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.0

The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham

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mysterious reflective 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

3.0

The movie's better

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The Shining by Stephen King

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

2.0

If you thought the movie was ongoing and boring, just wait til you read the book!

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Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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

Everything you could hope for from a gothic novel, with plenty of horrible revelations
The Mars Mystery by Graham Hancock

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medium-paced

1.0

Utter dross. One of the frustrating things about books like this that are blatantly lying or deliberately misinterpreting things is that it calls into question even the more reasonable claims that they make. Aside from the wild speculation about possible Martian civilisation based on 'it kind of looks like there's a face in one of the early probe pictures' and a bunch of dubious (and dubiously meaningful) math, there's a strong focus on the possible danger of near-Earth space objects (comets and asteroids etc). What they say about that could well be accurate enough, but because it's used in aid of obvious bunk and alongside things that are I can tell are wrong there's just no reason to think any of that is accurately presented either. It compiles huge amounts of information, but it's all completely meaningless.
It also has a weirdly religious moralising conclusion about how maybe the earth is due for destruction by (totally not a god) some supreme intelligence that is upset by all the evil in the world.

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Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Instead of Three Wishes: Magical Short Stories by Megan Whalen Turner

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

My flatmate and friend, Jack, read this aloud to me over an afternoon and into the evening while I knitted. V enjoyable!
Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse

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funny lighthearted fast-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

Didn't really go anywhere; felt like it was just getting to the beginning of an actual story. Enjoyed reading it, but was disappointed when I got to the end. Kinda that's thematic though.