Scan barcode
flor_di_luna's reviews
73 reviews
Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The descriptions.. they were nice alright. But most of them were really just fillers. My search for meaning in the descriptions of absolutely random things and people turned out to be a false pursuit once I reached the end of the book. Alas, meaning and significance is certainly something this book is not famous for.
This is the first book of Murakami I have read. I get why his books are all over social media these days. It's short, direct, easily understandable and has a bunch of weird erotica in it (enough to make me realize this book was written by a man).
I won't say this book was a waste of time. It was certainly way better than CoHo's books'. The dreamy essence carried out throughout the book felt quite nonchalant. The visuals were indeed interesting, painting a beautiful picture in the mind. However, I am not sure I got the point of the story. I suppose it is up to the reader to make up their own? It is likely so, as I checked out some other reviews on YouTube and every other person had something new to say. This is a rather unique take by an author in a bookworm world, so far as I have read books.
The addition of certain supernatural elements gave it an extra dimension, making the story more than just a story. Though it was hard to relate for us non-supernatural readers, the realistic characters found a way to us anyhow.
It was an okay book, overall. For some reason, everything lay flat for me in this one. So I guess, there's that.
This is the first book of Murakami I have read. I get why his books are all over social media these days. It's short, direct, easily understandable and has a bunch of weird erotica in it (enough to make me realize this book was written by a man).
I won't say this book was a waste of time. It was certainly way better than CoHo's books'. The dreamy essence carried out throughout the book felt quite nonchalant. The visuals were indeed interesting, painting a beautiful picture in the mind. However, I am not sure I got the point of the story. I suppose it is up to the reader to make up their own? It is likely so, as I checked out some other reviews on YouTube and every other person had something new to say. This is a rather unique take by an author in a bookworm world, so far as I have read books.
The addition of certain supernatural elements gave it an extra dimension, making the story more than just a story. Though it was hard to relate for us non-supernatural readers, the realistic characters found a way to us anyhow.
It was an okay book, overall. For some reason, everything lay flat for me in this one. So I guess, there's that.
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy
dark
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This book is a good reason why you should read the reviews before buying a book you haven't heard much of before. I judged Arundhati Roy as an author based on her previous the Man-Booker Prize winner and critically acclaimed 'The God of Small Things'.
I couldn't begin to tell you how I skimmed through the book like most modern poetry books (oops!). Compared to the small quantity of diaogues and overall development of the characters, there is an extreme amount of seemingly useless descriptions. No, I do not need to know a bird crossed the sky while Anjum was crossing the street! I understand somewhere it might have been my own failure to not be able to understand her apparently deep and violent nationalistic book(s).
But so far, it was hellish trying to understand what is the actual plot of the story. I have concluded that there is simply no plot, just a weapon for Arundhati to use spread her views. I don't know, I am not into politics, and the book was entirely political. Every page was filled with long descriptions of the most arbitrary things and her opinions on political happenings of history.
As much as I appreciate her strong remarks, the book had barely any depth to it, nothing that would as much as leave a mark on you or prompt you to think! It was just a series of incidents that were joined together by the string of time, a coincidence, followed by Arundhati's own lengthy speeches. No wonder the 'story' was written from a third person POV. To me, it felt it was not about the characters at all, it was about her author.
Regardless, 'The Ministry of Utmost Happiness' wasn't a total disappointment. Arundhati's love- or rather, hatred, for the topics spurned certain moments that hit the spot right. She isn't a bad writer. Or maybe I misjudged her. Either way, I think we can all agree it was a little better than Colleen Hoover's books at least, thereby earning a minimum of 2 stars.
I couldn't begin to tell you how I skimmed through the book like most modern poetry books (oops!). Compared to the small quantity of diaogues and overall development of the characters, there is an extreme amount of seemingly useless descriptions. No, I do not need to know a bird crossed the sky while Anjum was crossing the street! I understand somewhere it might have been my own failure to not be able to understand her apparently deep and violent nationalistic book(s).
But so far, it was hellish trying to understand what is the actual plot of the story. I have concluded that there is simply no plot, just a weapon for Arundhati to use spread her views. I don't know, I am not into politics, and the book was entirely political. Every page was filled with long descriptions of the most arbitrary things and her opinions on political happenings of history.
As much as I appreciate her strong remarks, the book had barely any depth to it, nothing that would as much as leave a mark on you or prompt you to think! It was just a series of incidents that were joined together by the string of time, a coincidence, followed by Arundhati's own lengthy speeches. No wonder the 'story' was written from a third person POV. To me, it felt it was not about the characters at all, it was about her author.
Regardless, 'The Ministry of Utmost Happiness' wasn't a total disappointment. Arundhati's love- or rather, hatred, for the topics spurned certain moments that hit the spot right. She isn't a bad writer. Or maybe I misjudged her. Either way, I think we can all agree it was a little better than Colleen Hoover's books at least, thereby earning a minimum of 2 stars.