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matt_and_cheez's Reviews (493)
Another random book from a subscription box, so not something I would normally think to pick up. It's a fun chance to take, but unfortunately this one fell short. The novelty of reading short stories made it fun for me, but the stories were always just sub-par. Some were slightly unsettling, but not enough. Some were funny, but not enough. They didn't really leave me thinking, just puzzled at the randomness of them. It's a good book to fly through if you're traveling or in a hurry, but other than that, I don't really recommend.
Written in a sequence of three perspectives, The Vegetarian tells an unfolding nightmare of a woman descending into mental instability. She begins by adamantly refusing to eat meat, prompting outrage by her husband and traditional family. Things escalate quickly, and she withdraws more and more into her personal world. Her physical health declines as she transforms into something less-than-human in her mind.
What I liked about this short novel was the intertwining of dreams and reality, and how they can blur. Things are left a mystery ultimately, which is a refreshing breath in the otherwise huge pool of books with tidy endings.
This is the first Korean piece of literature I've read, and I'm happy my first taste happened to be this particular novel.
What I liked about this short novel was the intertwining of dreams and reality, and how they can blur. Things are left a mystery ultimately, which is a refreshing breath in the otherwise huge pool of books with tidy endings.
This is the first Korean piece of literature I've read, and I'm happy my first taste happened to be this particular novel.
From reading the blurb, I knew immediately that I would connect to this story. Told mainly as a sequence of cafe-hopping and foreign expeditions, M Train explores Patti Smith's journey as a creative soul. I admittedly didn't know anything about the artist until this book, but what an inspiring look into her life this was. Who knew something as basic as drinking coffee could be woven into the underlying current of this flowing narrative. Melancholic yet comforting, this is a story I can see myself rereading many times.
Edit: Second time reading-- Just wow. Now that I've been to college in a setting eerily similar to Hampden College in the novel, this reading experience has been much more relatable and profound. What I noticed this time around as well is that the main protagonist, Richard, is fleshed-out yet still retains some hollowness. In no way did this negatively impact the reading experience- in fact, it allowed me as the reader to fit more comfortably behind his eyes. I felt totally immersed as I watched the other characters develop and in some cases, spiral out of control. Donna Tartt is definitely in the top of my favorite authors list.
This beautifully-written novel captures the acute whimsical nature of the high-end American college. A group of students in a classics program of study stage a bacchanalia, ending in unforeseen tragedy. The dynamics of the group are viciously and tragically exposed as the students fear detection. Of course, this novel does not end on the brightest of notes, but the real (and surreal) depiction of the college life is vividly pronounced and abstrusely finite. Life and death are examined through the eyes of youth, the eyes of my contemporaries.
This beautifully-written novel captures the acute whimsical nature of the high-end American college. A group of students in a classics program of study stage a bacchanalia, ending in unforeseen tragedy. The dynamics of the group are viciously and tragically exposed as the students fear detection. Of course, this novel does not end on the brightest of notes, but the real (and surreal) depiction of the college life is vividly pronounced and abstrusely finite. Life and death are examined through the eyes of youth, the eyes of my contemporaries.
A mostly satisfying and powerful end to the Second Chronicles. I wasn't much a fan of the first third or so of the book, as it took place primarily on a ship. This made the story very slow-moving and not much developed along the way. Once the company left the ship, however, the pace picked up.
The Thomas Covenant series is very much a quest, travel-type novel a la Tolkien. So if you are an impatient reader, you may feel frustrated by all the movement across vast stretches of landscape that occurs.
Thomas remains very much the anti-hero, and not very likable. However, I learned to overlook his flaws and also developed interest more in the secondary characters as they become intertwined with the fate of Covenant.
I would've liked to see more of a wrapping-up of one of the main traits of Covenant- his leprosy. The disease and its stigma is a driving force in Covenant's back story and his ability to navigate the Land and its perils. In this installment he learns to put his disability in the background and focus more on the survival of others rather than himself. However in the conclusion, I felt not enough attention was paid to this main trait of his.
Despite what is a mostly satisfying ending to me, I'm looking forward to starting the final set of books, but do wonder where the story will go from here.
The Thomas Covenant series is very much a quest, travel-type novel a la Tolkien. So if you are an impatient reader, you may feel frustrated by all the movement across vast stretches of landscape that occurs.
Thomas remains very much the anti-hero, and not very likable. However, I learned to overlook his flaws and also developed interest more in the secondary characters as they become intertwined with the fate of Covenant.
I would've liked to see more of a wrapping-up of one of the main traits of Covenant- his leprosy. The disease and its stigma is a driving force in Covenant's back story and his ability to navigate the Land and its perils. In this installment he learns to put his disability in the background and focus more on the survival of others rather than himself. However in the conclusion, I felt not enough attention was paid to this main trait of his.
Despite what is a mostly satisfying ending to me, I'm looking forward to starting the final set of books, but do wonder where the story will go from here.
This was an assignment in English class. At first glance, I thought that it was going to be rather boring, but as soon as the storyline started moving, and it did by the third chapter, I was entranced by the descriptive detail of the lives of 'Okies' traveling west to escape the horrors of the Great Depression. The characters are unforgettable: Tom, with his down-to-earth and very masculine personality to Ma, who shifts the boundaries of gender roles when she takes charge of the family. Also unforgettable are the struggles the Joad family went through and the tragic lives of the Okies who just wanted to find work so they could eat. I know I will read this book again.
