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itshaldun's reviews
48 reviews
Schoolgirl by Osamu Dazai
dark
sad
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
3.0
Dazai, my man, what’s this? This is just a thinly veiled depression diary.
Kinda. It’s a story of a very, very disturbed young girl who is missing her late Father and trying to come into terms with growing up and being a woman, which she finds disgusting. But underneath it all, Dazai is kind of depression dumping.
But hey, the prose is still good, and it is a good guide on identifying which thoughts you have are coming from a bad place, because just about anything this poor girl says is coming from there, except the love for nature walks.
It’s is also an easy way to catch up with your reading goals, so Dazai gets a bonus point for that.
Kinda. It’s a story of a very, very disturbed young girl who is missing her late Father and trying to come into terms with growing up and being a woman, which she finds disgusting. But underneath it all, Dazai is kind of depression dumping.
But hey, the prose is still good, and it is a good guide on identifying which thoughts you have are coming from a bad place, because just about anything this poor girl says is coming from there, except the love for nature walks.
It’s is also an easy way to catch up with your reading goals, so Dazai gets a bonus point for that.
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
My only real issue was the storys’ unwillingness to keep any girl Toru interacts with from becoming a close friend or a sister figure. No, he did indeed sleep with every single woman he interacted with. This also has a secondary effect of reducing the supporting woman character’s personality to just wanting to be with him in the end, making them less than what they had been up to that point.
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Unmatched vibes, understated humor, complex characterization—but enough about me.
Okay, in all fairness this book has those too. The vibes and the setting of this book is impeccable. Even though it is not an autobiographical work, it certainly feels like one. The banter between the characters are humorous and believable, and the while there isn’t much happening in a traditional sense, what does happen is presented in quite the introspective way.
Main character Toru is your classic wish fulfillment everyday coming of age guy with not much interesting going on, although that doesn’t stop literally every girl he interacts with from falling for him in some way. But the supporting characters carry the book quite a bit. From his slightly sociopathic but very honest friend Nagasawa to his troubled childhood love interest Naoko to free-spirited, sexuality obsessed Midori to the broken musician Reiko; characters in the book keep you guessing and offer enough colors of personality to compliment Toru’s gray.
Being a coming of age story, it can be occasionally frustrating to read as someone who already came-of-age, as you’ll find yourself helplessly watching characters making very obvious blunders and make big deal of things they really shouldn’t. But I guess that’s part of the charm, and it is also not outrageous in this book.
If I have to summarize the book in a single sentence though, it would be “don’t stick your dick in cra- nvm he already did”.
Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
2.0
This is the book that inspired the legendary film Stalker, and introduced to the world the concept of zones filled with hazards beyond human comprehension two decades before Chernobyl happened. The point is, it is an important book.
There are lots to love here in isolation. The parts where Stalker ventures into the Zone are one of the tensest things I’ve ever read in my entire life. The concept of how an advance alien visit might actually look like (hint, the title) is really interesting and original. The alien artifacts are straight out of SCP entries (actually the other way around, of course)
But after the first chapter, I quickly started losing interest in the book and never quite recovered it. The story focuses too much on uninteresting side characters and story lines that are probably social commentary on the life in the Soviet Union at the time, but I honestly couldn’t care less.
I think the book ended up being less than sum of its parts for me. Maybe I was not in the mood for it, maybe it is character growth on my side, who knows?
Buy European, BYEEEEEEE
There are lots to love here in isolation. The parts where Stalker ventures into the Zone are one of the tensest things I’ve ever read in my entire life. The concept of how an advance alien visit might actually look like (hint, the title) is really interesting and original. The alien artifacts are straight out of SCP entries (actually the other way around, of course)
But after the first chapter, I quickly started losing interest in the book and never quite recovered it. The story focuses too much on uninteresting side characters and story lines that are probably social commentary on the life in the Soviet Union at the time, but I honestly couldn’t care less.
I think the book ended up being less than sum of its parts for me. Maybe I was not in the mood for it, maybe it is character growth on my side, who knows?
Buy European, BYEEEEEEE
Ways of Seeing by John Berger
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
4.5
This book is a brilliant collection of short stories that all revolve around our relationship with the imagery that surrounds us.
Essays touch on topics of cultural archetypes, power, and class relationship with regards to how images are created, bought, and displayed, the inner workings of advertisement and how imagery is used to relate the past to a promised future happiness, and most importantly, how gender roles are displayed and affirmed through oil paintings throughout ages.
This is the book (and TV series) that popularized the concept of male gaze. So yeah, some say it’s a bit important.
Every written essay is exceptionally well put together and informative, but still easily understood. The only two criticisms I can give are that essays of pure imagery didn’t connect with me all that much, and paperback pages don’t do too well to highlight some of the images.
Essays here are the standards by which I hope I can make social commentary one day.
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
dark
mysterious
reflective
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? No
4.25
This turned out to be a much more interesting book than I initially thought. For the sake of not spoiling the book, I’ll just say that it is a WWII anti-war book with elements of science fiction that makes the character very interesting.
The book explores the bombing of Dresden and the events that preceded it through the perspective of a distant yet personal observer. The book is also very factual (expect for the number of deaths, which is a bit exaggerated) because it is intertwined with the lived experiences of the author, who was a POW.
There is dry humor and self-conscious elements in the book, which help ease the constant suffering and man-made horrors beyond comprehension digestible. So it goes.
The book explores the bombing of Dresden and the events that preceded it through the perspective of a distant yet personal observer. The book is also very factual (expect for the number of deaths, which is a bit exaggerated) because it is intertwined with the lived experiences of the author, who was a POW.
There is dry humor and self-conscious elements in the book, which help ease the constant suffering and man-made horrors beyond comprehension digestible. So it goes.
Gyo by Junji Ito
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
5.0
It’s Junji Ito, biiiiiiiiitch! Of course it’s 5 stars! It’s not biased if it’s true!
UnitedHealth can fail, British Petrol can fail, but Junji Ito cannot fail, baby! This man operates on another plane of existence, where he dines with the Gods and listens angels sing!
.
.
.
In all seriousness, this is probably the weakest of his large works, but it still provides the absurd horror I love, and is a lot faster paced than Tomie. It can still be weirdly funny in a very fucked up way, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, to the surprise of no one. Unlike his other works, I couldn’t quite figure out what this one says about the human condition.
But that’s not why I bought Gyo.
I bought it because it features an extra short story at the end, called “The Enigma of the Amigara Fault”, which I already read before.
Now, this short story is an actual masterpiece. I will not tell anything, except that only Junji Ito can evoke anything other than amusement from the line “THIS HOLE! IT WAS MADE FOR ME!!”.
Go read it. I’ll keep living in your walls until you do ;)
UnitedHealth can fail, British Petrol can fail, but Junji Ito cannot fail, baby! This man operates on another plane of existence, where he dines with the Gods and listens angels sing!
.
.
.
In all seriousness, this is probably the weakest of his large works, but it still provides the absurd horror I love, and is a lot faster paced than Tomie. It can still be weirdly funny in a very fucked up way, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, to the surprise of no one. Unlike his other works, I couldn’t quite figure out what this one says about the human condition.
But that’s not why I bought Gyo.
I bought it because it features an extra short story at the end, called “The Enigma of the Amigara Fault”, which I already read before.
Now, this short story is an actual masterpiece. I will not tell anything, except that only Junji Ito can evoke anything other than amusement from the line “THIS HOLE! IT WAS MADE FOR ME!!”.
Go read it. I’ll keep living in your walls until you do ;)
The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan
slow-paced
2.0
Majority of it was kind of a snore fest. It’s a nice exploration and explanation of the scientific method, but for me it seemed pretty elementary at this point in my life. I think book was more aimed at a general public from 30 years ago, where concepts of this book would be quite rare to find in a single source.
The book has a lot of debunking of paranormal activities, especially UFOs, so if you believe those but don’t want to, it’s a good book. I don’t, so I lost interest in the explanations pretty fast.
The best parts of the book were definitely about the politics of discrimination and education. You can see how the problems Carl Sagan was concerned with back then are the exact problems we are having now, namely, suppression of minorities through purposefully failed and rigged education system, racial and gender stereotyping, taking rights from people through manufactured “wars” (for example, against drugs or against wokeness), tolerance paradox and the like. It was kind of harrowing to read considering the current rise of Fascism across Western nations.
Love Carl Sagan though. OG popular science guy with actual scientific achievements to support his position, and his ego in check (Looking at you Neil)
The book has a lot of debunking of paranormal activities, especially UFOs, so if you believe those but don’t want to, it’s a good book. I don’t, so I lost interest in the explanations pretty fast.
The best parts of the book were definitely about the politics of discrimination and education. You can see how the problems Carl Sagan was concerned with back then are the exact problems we are having now, namely, suppression of minorities through purposefully failed and rigged education system, racial and gender stereotyping, taking rights from people through manufactured “wars” (for example, against drugs or against wokeness), tolerance paradox and the like. It was kind of harrowing to read considering the current rise of Fascism across Western nations.
Love Carl Sagan though. OG popular science guy with actual scientific achievements to support his position, and his ego in check (Looking at you Neil)
Tutunamayanlar by Oğuz Atay
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
It only took 200 or so days!
I don’t even know why I am bothering to write this review, because this book is so extremely interwoven with Turkish culture and language that I cannot even begin to imagine how one would translate it. There are parts of it where I felt I was not Turkish enough to understand properly!
It’s name would literally translate to “Those who can not hold on”, but the official translation uses “The Disconnected”. It is a story about a married man discovering that his university friend had committed suicide. Feeling as if he did not do his friendship justice, he sets to explore every aspect of his friend’s life and his stance on life starts to change.
The text itself, being postmodern, is astonishingly diverse in its format, switching styles and perspectives without a care. There is a 100 page long section told entirely in poem form. One 85 page long section is a thought-stream without a single paragraph break or punctuation, forming an essentially 85 page single sentence.
Where the book really shines, though, is the authors otherworldly talent (especially for the time) at drawing profound and introspective meanings and explanations from simple events or sayings. The book tackles the norms of marriage, friendship, work, intellectualism and more. It can also be read as a neurodivergent story, since the person who killed himself clearly shows signs of not fitting in and faking basic social interactions.
SUMMARY
This book is a linguistic, cultural and literary achievement in every way, not just of Turkish literature, but of all literature. It is slow, it loses track, it is dirty, and it is all part of its design. The only reason it is not getting a perfect score is because it is so hard to read and very inaccessible to wider audiences.
It is a masterpiece you (probably) won’t read.
I dedicate this review to those who could not hold on. Your legacies will forever live on with this book.
I don’t even know why I am bothering to write this review, because this book is so extremely interwoven with Turkish culture and language that I cannot even begin to imagine how one would translate it. There are parts of it where I felt I was not Turkish enough to understand properly!
It’s name would literally translate to “Those who can not hold on”, but the official translation uses “The Disconnected”. It is a story about a married man discovering that his university friend had committed suicide. Feeling as if he did not do his friendship justice, he sets to explore every aspect of his friend’s life and his stance on life starts to change.
The text itself, being postmodern, is astonishingly diverse in its format, switching styles and perspectives without a care. There is a 100 page long section told entirely in poem form. One 85 page long section is a thought-stream without a single paragraph break or punctuation, forming an essentially 85 page single sentence.
Where the book really shines, though, is the authors otherworldly talent (especially for the time) at drawing profound and introspective meanings and explanations from simple events or sayings. The book tackles the norms of marriage, friendship, work, intellectualism and more. It can also be read as a neurodivergent story, since the person who killed himself clearly shows signs of not fitting in and faking basic social interactions.
SUMMARY
This book is a linguistic, cultural and literary achievement in every way, not just of Turkish literature, but of all literature. It is slow, it loses track, it is dirty, and it is all part of its design. The only reason it is not getting a perfect score is because it is so hard to read and very inaccessible to wider audiences.
It is a masterpiece you (probably) won’t read.
I dedicate this review to those who could not hold on. Your legacies will forever live on with this book.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
slow-paced
3.0
Night Circus
Pace? Tortoise
Andy Serkis
Bore.
Cool places
Blurry faces
500 pages
Long.
Low stakes, and
Plain romance, and
Lacks scope, and
More.
Hard to say
Good things
In a poem
Dong.
My score
Can be
three, but
no more.
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
dark
reflective
sad
slow-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
4.25
If I rated this book right after finishing it, I think I’d have given it 3.5 stars. This is mainly because of the bloat and the way characters talk and ramble on about nothing. In that sense, the age of the book does show.
So I let my thoughts and feelings digest for couple of days, and the frustration I felt reading the boring parts washed away. #lifehacks
Let’s talk what makes this book, and in fact, any Dostoevsky work, exceptional. It’s the pure, deep dive into human psyche. Dostoevsky has exceptional understanding of human psychology, and it still holds up.
I mean, if Nietzsche calls it good, you know it’s pretty fucking good. Or consider this, there is a passage where a character criticizes “let me fix him” type of girls. Dostoevsky was that ahead of the curve.
I was also surprised to see this book being a critique of Übermensch concept. Main character at the start firmly believes it, and the events of the book happen directly because of it.
Just like most books of that era, writing and the depth of woman characters don’t hold up, and their lives revolve entirely around the male cast, but this is hardly surprising. There is also the aforementioned bloat problem, especially in the middle of the book. And finally, the names, being foreign to me, was really hard to remember and recognize, not helped by the fact that characters had nicknames that had nothing to do with their normal names, and how some characters used last names while others used first names or the nicknames. Stop it, get some help.
If you’re having hard time finishing the book, have your parents get you tickets to a terrible play of it. The fear of the reading experience being ruined by the play will fill you with the determination to finish the book in no time!
So I let my thoughts and feelings digest for couple of days, and the frustration I felt reading the boring parts washed away. #lifehacks
Let’s talk what makes this book, and in fact, any Dostoevsky work, exceptional. It’s the pure, deep dive into human psyche. Dostoevsky has exceptional understanding of human psychology, and it still holds up.
I mean, if Nietzsche calls it good, you know it’s pretty fucking good. Or consider this, there is a passage where a character criticizes “let me fix him” type of girls. Dostoevsky was that ahead of the curve.
I was also surprised to see this book being a critique of Übermensch concept. Main character at the start firmly believes it, and the events of the book happen directly because of it.
Just like most books of that era, writing and the depth of woman characters don’t hold up, and their lives revolve entirely around the male cast, but this is hardly surprising. There is also the aforementioned bloat problem, especially in the middle of the book. And finally, the names, being foreign to me, was really hard to remember and recognize, not helped by the fact that characters had nicknames that had nothing to do with their normal names, and how some characters used last names while others used first names or the nicknames. Stop it, get some help.
If you’re having hard time finishing the book, have your parents get you tickets to a terrible play of it. The fear of the reading experience being ruined by the play will fill you with the determination to finish the book in no time!