jeyjeyyy's reviews
189 reviews

La vie des grands philosophes by Jean Baudet

challenging informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

3.75

Très bonne introduction à la philosophie, ce livre m’a permis de découvrir à la fois de nombreux philosophes et de nombreux système de pensée sans jamais m’ennuyer. J’ai beaucoup apprécié ma lecture et elle m’a fait tomber amoureuse de la philosophie, ce qui n’est tout de même pas mince affaire!
Cependant j’ai également relevé certains points négatifs que je ne peux  oublier. L’auteur, très à cheval sur la logique et l’objectivitéde la philo, reste pourtant parfois très subjectif, surtout lorsqu’il s’agit de décrire les philosophes ou de choisir lesquels aborder plus longuement que d’autres. Il critique constamment les philosophie se basant sur une morale (ils ne sont pas « objectifs ») et en conséquence applique lui-même un jugement de valeur sur leur travail en donnant des avis subjectifs et en ignorant même certain (biographie rpaide, aucun détail sur leurs idées). Cela m’a naturellement quelque peu dérangée, mais ce livre reste un ouvrage très intéressant, bien écrit et très utile. Je remercie l’auteur de m’avoir présenté la philosophie, cette discipline que j’aime tant!

Au Bonheur des Dames by Émile Zola

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Entre la joie et les hésitations de l’amour et le désespoir de l’évolution du commerce, Zola aborde de nombreux sujets avec nuance et toujours sans oublier de divertir et d’émouvoir. J’ai également beaucoup aimé la variété des personnages (bien que peu me plaisent beaucoup….)et la facilité de l’auteur à aborder tant de sujet sans jamais perdre le fil. Ce livre était une très bonne introduction pour moi à Zola, un livre à la fois touchant et intéressant d’un point de vue historique, et je continuerai certainement la série des Rougon Macquart sans trop perdre de temps.
Je ne dirais pas que ce livre est un de mes classiques préférés mais il reste un monument littéraire majeur que j’ai bcp aimé.

Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat

adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

2.0

This book has some good and a lot of bad. What’s good about this story is the writing style, which is very efficient and fast, making the book incredibly easy to read and addictive. It also uses the pretty classic « enemies to lovers » trope and quite a lot of sexual content which are to a lot of people very hooking themes for a book. I enjoyed the politics in this book quite a bit, though most of it was very predictable. I cannot deny that this book was fun to read in some aspects and incredibly efficient. 
However, this book is also extremely problematic. The story almost completely accepts the concept of slavery in its world and the rape that comes with it and it is at best criticised but never condemned. I have seen some people excuse this fact by saying that this is a world inspired by ancient times Europe, in which slavery and pederasty were unfortunately very present and accepted. However, I think that because it is not direct historical fantasy this could’ve been avoided very easily. It is obvious that CS Pacat uses the theme of pleasure slavery more as a plot point than  as the start of an actual important discussion, and I think that is not an okay use of this kind of theme. Obviously this book is ,though it is very dark and graphic, quite a lighthearted story and I’m sure the author didn’t mean to say slavery was ok IRL but that is no excuse. As someone who publishes stuff publicly, an author should always be aware of the messages their book can appear to convey. There is a rape and mentions of pedophilia that absolutely grossed me out, so read at your own risk. 
There you have it. That is my opinion. This is an addictive trashy book with, again, very efficient writing but it should use a bit more of its political aspect and lean a bit less on all the problematic themes this story overly relies on.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

dark inspiring mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

I am a bit mad, because I know that if I had read the book back when it was written, I would’ve been  flabbergasted by that plot twist.
 However, I still really enjoyed the book, knowing the ending, and I was glad to get to know such a famous and important story. I really liked the length of this book, I feel like Stevenson really knew that this story didn’t need to be told in a really long book and that makes it easier and more fun to read. 
I also really like his writing style which is not overly serious nor too pretentious, and yet stays as striking as other more famous gothic literature. I think this is a really good book and a masterpiece in mystery, if no one knew the ending !

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A very entertaining classic, with efficient and clever writing. This story is passionate, wonderfully dark and I would recommend to anyone in need of a good gothic novel! 
Maybe not a new favourite per se, but a book I will definitely remember and am very glad to have read.

Alcools: suivi de Le Bestiaire et de Vitam impendere amori by Guillaume Apollinaire

challenging dark inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Des choses très belles, des choses sympas, d’autres un peu plus perchées mais le recueil reste très intéressant et vaut le coup pour n’importe quel amoureux de poésie.

Du côté de chez Swann by Marcel Proust

challenging emotional funny inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Un Amour de Swann fait maintenant partie de mes livres préférés de tous les temps. Proust décrit l’amour et la jalousie de façon si juste, pleine de sentiments et de réalisme; c’est une vraie expérience qui m’a fait beaucoup réfléchir et je sais que je m’en rappellerai.
 Les premières et dernières parties traduisent également’du génie de l’auteur et sont toutes deux très belles, mais m’ont parues plus longues et fastidieuses à lire (le sujet m’intéressait moins, je suppose, et c’était plus lent).
Un livre compliqué parfois, long c’est vrai, mais si vous aimez la bonne littérature, ça vaut vraiment le coup. C’est magnifique et, je le répète, si JUSTE dans ses réflexions.
(Je conseillerai, si vous n’aimez pas les longs livres, de commencer par Un Amour de Swann pour vous faire une idée. On peut le lire seul sans soucis et c’est la partie la plus « traditionnelle » je dirais.)

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

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

4.0

A fantasy masterpiece !!! This book is an amazingly well-written story with so much ground covered and great, touching characters. What more could you want? I would give it a higher mark, but I was in a bit of a reading slump while reading it so I did not enjoy his full potential.

100 poèmes classiques et contemporains: anthologie de la poésie française by Marion Baudriller

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective

4.5

Slay Lamartine !!!

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

Utterly beautiful book with a heartbreaking narrative and gorgeous immersive writing. Not necessarily a new favourite, but certainly a book I will not forget.
(As a french person living in Paris, I found the descriptions of the city, its queer culture and the french in general amazingly done and quite fascinating. Loved the bits in french as well.)