jentang's reviews
80 reviews

Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis

3.0

i suppose i would have to read more of ellis's works for this to be a fair critique, but he doesn't seem to have very extensive range as a writer- at least not enough to come up with innovative, grabbing ideas unique to every novel of his. this story drags on. while well written, there's this permeating feeling of disconnect and emptiness that stretches beyond hopeless characters and creates an almost meaningless reading experience. this book is made up of deeply unsatisfied, materialistic, never sober college kids coming from old money, some more sadistic than others. it's truly just a drag reading about the same day repeated of partying, sex, and interchangeable interactions for the greater half of a novel. towards the end, things did start to pick up with a solidified storyline - though, while certainly sad, it was nothing spectacular or original - but besides that, i cannot say the sudden interjections of SA scenes and gory violence added up to create a real plot. all in all, i spent a good portion of my night tonight getting through this, and came away with nothing beyond a little irritation. with a deeper exploration into clay himself, perhaps a twinge more into julian, and a great deal less into everyone else, i think i would've liked this book quite a bit more.

Almost Transparent Blue by Ryū Murakami

2.0

I think anyone who might find this novel enjoyable does so simply for the edge factor. This was a grossly uncomfortable read, and essentially just a bad trip the entire way through. I enjoy dark and disturbing literature, but this greatly oversteps my limits. The only beauty I found in anything written here lay in the interactions between Lilly and Ryu, but these were far overshadowed by the plentiful graphic happenings. If you are in the headspace to connect with, find pleasure in, or romanticize anything that goes on in this book, I feel both deeply concerned and sorry for you. Definitely check content warnings before reading; the subject matter's main accomplishment is being offending and perturbing, it seems.

The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami

4.0

i quite enjoyed this little compilation of eccentric stories. beyond the fact that nearly every character seemed to be in a passionless relationship (though admittedly i would take this shared factor over the one found in "men without women"), there really wasn't much repetition, which always is key for a refreshing short story read. anyways, here's my personal rating breakdown :)

1-3 stars: the wind-up bird and tuesday's women (bizarre in a why-am-i-really-reading-this way, features the classic easily detestable murakami male); the second bakery attack (silly with unexpected plot developments, but again a bit meaninglessly bizarre); TV people (this one just didn't hold my focus); the fall of the roman empire, the 1881 indian uprising, hitler's invasion of poland, and the realm of the raging winds (perhaps i'd have appreciated this more if i were a bigger history buff); family affair (well-written, but thanks to personal connections i found the subject matter uncomfortable)
3-4.75 stars: the kangaroo communiqué (odd, but i thought the concept was interesting); the silence (IMO, the most straightforward story in this book); lederhosen (women recognizing their worth is so slay, but the delivery wasn't quite grabbing, similar to the silence in retrospect); barn burning (this was a really cool piece); the dancing dwarf (again a really cool piece, but the ending felt amateur and underwhelming); a window (short, simple, well-written, classic); a slow boat to china (i'm allowed to find this one greatly comical because i'm chinese)
5 stars: on seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful april morning (i really loved this one); sleep (i view this story in pretty high regard given that murakami was finally able to construct a non overly sexualized female protagonist who i found both extremely realistic and relatable. additionally, it was neat how present russian literature was in this piece); the little green monster (a very silly, quick read that really scratched an itch for me. i enjoy the freedom of readers to choose between feeling heartache for the little monster, or empowering pride for the woman); the elephant vanishes (the story with the story's title, and it did not disappoint)

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

3.0

this book is popular for very understandable reasons. it is modern with almost tangible characters, yet comedically outlandish. however, this book just didn't inspire me to think very much, despite being an extensive commentary on various mental illnesses and disorders. even as someone who unfortunately found many of the habits present in the book relatable to a fairly large degree, i didn't feel captivation or connection. the book dragged on with so much repetition that, even knowing that this was a purposeful stylistic move, i found myself becoming disinterested. it's a shame, since the few scenes from the book that deviated from the narrator's monotonous lifestyle did actually do something for me, even despite lacking absurdly detailed imagery. i will say that while i was disinterested, i still was gripped enough to the point where i didn't even notice the narrator remained unnamed for the entire book until i had finished reading. there is clearly deeper symbolic meaning behind the narrator's identity being hidden and insignificant, which i do not have the energy to dive into currently, but it still was neat how the author managed to accomplish building such a complete picture of a woman like the narrator, giving her a whole identity missing the name, the piece that usually is the core of any identity. the ending with

reva dying in 9/11

was not my favorite. i get that the scene ties back to waking up, but for the most part it felt out of place and almost lazily done. i wouldn't read this book again, and can't see myself ever really recommending it, but i still am glad that i read it. thank you to dr. tuttle for informing me that people like myself give psychotropic medication a bad reputation.

The Castle by Mark Harman, Franz Kafka

i don’t feel that it would be right for me to assign a rating to this book, considering it’s unfinished (this caused me a great deal of grief; i had not known before i commenced reading). i know kafka gave up on this work, but i actually greatly enjoyed reading it. a good deal of it was definitely droning and dense, and not exactly enchanting, but other parts of it were witty, possessed clear deeper meaning up for contemplation, and so funky that it made diving into kafka’s nonsensical world fun. the characters were distinct, fascinating, and unique. i didn’t feel any of the exasperation i normally do when reading political fiction, largely thanks to the silliness of everything. writing aside, i want to note that this book served as proof of how easy i am to manipulate. i was being batted back and forth like a tennis ball when it came to who i felt was more in the right at any given moment. that goes to say, i hope no men ever read this work of his and apply his indirect teachings. 

Educated by Tara Westover

4.75

this book is exactly the reason why i am so exhilarated every single time i find a promising memoir to pick up. tara's life thus far has been nothing short of incredible, although not completely for good reasons. the odds of everything she's experienced playing out exactly like they did feel slim to none, and yet, tara's story exists here. at no point during the story (with obvious exceptions) did i know what was going to happen next. the happenings of tara's life were everything from outrageous to painful to tragically hilarious to infuriating to extensive case study worthy. i actually quite liked the disjointed style of tara's writing, with the beginning matching her scrambled, chaotic upbringing that was filled with nothing but people and moments in time and feelings, and the latter half transforming into more composed, chronological, sensical writing as tara herself matured into an articulate woman making her own way through the modern day world she had been barred from her entire life. i felt there was a great blend of material for readers to laugh and frown at, as well as psychoanalyze and puzzle over. tara's later education at elite universities also threw in a taste of the world of academia, which helped the book develop an overall more serious tone which it had previously lacked, even when serious matters were being discussed. although readers don't have to be well versed in the beliefs of the great philosophers or feminists whatsoever, i still think the juxtaposition of academic background as it happened in this structured memoir provided a lot. i didn't give this book 5 stars solely because writing-wise there was just so much going on (to be fair, this was necessary and not tara's fault) that i couldn't keep all my side characters straight. names came up repeatedly that i should've known, but they had not been incorporated initially in a memorable enough way that i could place them, thus making reading a bit confusing at times as i tried to match name with relationship with "side", if you will. just for the content of this memoir alone, though, tara deserves 5 stars for having had to face all that she did, and for soldiering through. she comes from a background so removed from the average person’s that i don't think anyone would have a lackluster time reading this, which is more than can be said for most books.

Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

3.5

this particular work of sally rooney's didn't do very much for me, honestly. i welcomed the intellectual discussions on politics, interpretations of religion, and debates concerning societal concepts that she inserted into this novel through the emails eileen and alice exchanged with every POV shift, but i didn't feel that these conversations contributed much to the actual characters of the female protagonists. the transitions between these emails and their everyday lives could've been a lot smoother at the very least. additionally, i wasn't able to find a degree of connection with any of the characters. there was nothing enthralling about the relationships in this book, either - one is what you get when you date a 5'8" man, and the other is almost the love, rosie trope exactly - so there was really nothing compelling me to read all the way through. of course, beyond the lack of quotation marks muddling many group conversations, something which didn't happen as much in other works of rooney's, this book is still very much well-written, and not unenjoyable to read - perfect for when you're a twinge uninspired and in a bit of a reading rut :)

South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami

3.5

as a normal human being, i hated everything about this book. murakami floors me with each and every work of his (in a bad way). nevertheless, i must give it to him; there is something enchanting about his writing that causes me to finish each book, not just out of pure spite, and move on to the next of his novels on my to-read list without fail. again, as a normal human being, i hate his characters and their "flaws" (these pretty much never vary from book to book, aside from perhaps somehow worsening). however, as a reader, i am hopelessly enticed. it's like one of those train wrecks you can't look away from. there's something horribly incredible about how murakami has conditioned me to find any bizarre male main character with somewhat of a tangible personality/goals/backbone (no matter how twisted) a decent narrator so that although i was legitimately recoiling thanks to hijame, i still did not DNF this book and give it a scathing 1 star review. murakami's writing itself, disregarding content, is always beautiful and readable. however, i must say, from a removed perspective this book is just pretty much a story of

the childhood love who got away and affairs

with murakami flair, making it a well-written story, just with nothing special about it.

Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami

3.75

k should really just listen to pink triangle by weezer instead of strangely interjecting himself into nearly every instance in which sumire and miu are brought up together. additionally, i'm realizing that the most magical (read: fatuous) element to murakami's writing is the way he believes WLW relationships work. bizarre pubic hair descriptions and straight man having rape-y thoughts about his lesbian best friend aside (if you're brave enough to still read this book), i was quite pleased that it actually had somewhat of a quick progression and a generally solid plot. i enjoyed the stories contained within the story, as well as how open for personal interpretation the ending was. of course, these four elements as pictured in direct contrast could make for a frustrating / unsatisfying read on the whole, and i would be lying if i said there were zero completely irrelevant digressions from the plot throughout. continuing onwards, i did really enjoy sumire's character even though a strong case could be made for how she is just as insufferably written as murakami's other female characters in literature (i suspect it was because i strongly connected with her relationship to writing) so

her disappearance

did make reading after that point a bit flatter. a personal distaste for all of the characters could definitely sour the entire read despite the concrete plot presence i mentioned, but otherwise, this will probably be a decent, quick read for most. (also, from my initial written thoughts: i really just want to see sumire's dad's nose)

Out by Natsuo Kirino

3.75

this book did everything that could be expected out of it as a thriller, and perhaps even more. it was delightfully unpredictable (and if you get mildly confused occasionally throughout just as i did, you won't even catch on to the more obvious things for a little, making things all the more suspenseful), and the plot was continuously developing. i don't think this book could've made a slower, more reflective pace work, considering the length to which the story extends already. that being said, i did take note of the small, integral elements of the plot pertaining to the harsh conditions for a working class woman in Japan. the boxed lunch factory in which a good portion of the characters worked almost seemed science fiction-y to read about, although it is unfortunately a surely accurate reflection of workplaces out there. however, i must admit, had i swapped out all the names of the characters with names from the list of most popular baby names in America, i would've been more critical to an unfair degree. while i felt that most holes in the plot were successfully filled by the time the ending rolled around, i did find that the lengthy story itself was a bit unevenly distributed across matters - i had too many unanswered questions about unresolved issues that were not just forgotten about but seemingly discarded in favor of shifting all the focus to the dynamic found in the ending. this ending seems to inspire much discourse. i agree that it was disturbing, especially so for my taste (obligatory check TWs). while i am impressed that the author actually took it that far, as it definitely was provoking enough to make the book memorable, being unnecessarily sickening isn't the only way a book can be made notable, of course. to sum it up, the book was good, but there's not much to commend about the only reason it could border on being subjectively great, if that makes sense.