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opheliapo's reviews
345 reviews
Heart of Darkness and Other Tales by Joseph Conrad
4.0
‘I let him run on, this papier-mâché Mephistopheles, and it seemed to me that if I tried I could poke my forefinger through him, and would find nothing inside but a little loose dirt, maybe.’ (p.182)
I had very mixed feelings for this book. The introduction gave me context on the racial politics that followed the publications of these stories, as well as Conrad’s own horror at the atrocities he personally witnessed in the Congo, which fuelled his disgust for European imperialism, and the stories themselves seemed to shed light upon these beliefs and experiences.
I was entirely captivated by ‘An Outpost of Progress’, which I think will remain with me for a very long time. I found ‘Karain: A Memory’ and ‘Youth: A Narrative’ entirely forgettable and almost droning in narrative style, though this might have been due to them following such an excellent first story. Because of this, I was sceptical as I launched into ‘Heart of Darkness’, but found it intense, captivating, and at times difficult to read in its honesty about the notions of the time (particularly in reference to the native population). The protagonist Charles Marlow’s attitude was both empathetic and yet still deeply racist from a modern perspective.
More than anything, the four texts gave a brutal insight into a mindset that, at that time, would have been considered almost garishly progressive, and now appears equally discriminatory.
I had very mixed feelings for this book. The introduction gave me context on the racial politics that followed the publications of these stories, as well as Conrad’s own horror at the atrocities he personally witnessed in the Congo, which fuelled his disgust for European imperialism, and the stories themselves seemed to shed light upon these beliefs and experiences.
I was entirely captivated by ‘An Outpost of Progress’, which I think will remain with me for a very long time. I found ‘Karain: A Memory’ and ‘Youth: A Narrative’ entirely forgettable and almost droning in narrative style, though this might have been due to them following such an excellent first story. Because of this, I was sceptical as I launched into ‘Heart of Darkness’, but found it intense, captivating, and at times difficult to read in its honesty about the notions of the time (particularly in reference to the native population). The protagonist Charles Marlow’s attitude was both empathetic and yet still deeply racist from a modern perspective.
More than anything, the four texts gave a brutal insight into a mindset that, at that time, would have been considered almost garishly progressive, and now appears equally discriminatory.
My Family & Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
5.0
This is an indescribably charming book and an absolute credit to the cause of wildlife conservation. Durrell’s account is both absurd and honest, never forgetting to stress the pure insanity of the situation, nor leave out the more gory details of tortoise sex and the deaths of more than a few of his own ‘pets’.
I flew through this book and didn’t realise just how much I was enjoying myself until it was over and I had to return to the mundaneness of real life.
I flew through this book and didn’t realise just how much I was enjoying myself until it was over and I had to return to the mundaneness of real life.
The Savior's Champion by Jenna Moreci
3.0
I wanted to love this book. I’ve been a fan of Jenna Moreci’s YouTube channel for quite a while now, and hearing the premise of The Savior’s Champion made me anticipate it’s release a great deal.
I want to premise this review by saying that I did not dislike the novel, by any means. I enjoyed the story a great deal: the pacing, the characters, the consistency of plot and prose and, of course, the twist. I am excited to read the next instalment, and I trust Moreci’s writing ability is reliable enough to pull through on an excellent sequel. I believe Moreci is a good writer, I just do not believe she is a great writer.
It is, in fact, the reliability of the novel that put me off a little. It is a high school teacher’s wet dream it is so reliable. For what it exemplifies in ‘good writing ability’ it sorely lacks in experimentation and vision. The Savior’s Champion succeeds in it’s ability to strictly follow the rules of writing (in the way that a ‘How To Write Your First Novel’ handbook might praise) but fails to even attempt any literary flare.
Moreover, it feels as though Moreci didn’t really know who she was writing for. The premise, characters, and general development of the novel, as well as the way it was promoted, felt as though it was a YA title, which would make sense, considering the majority of Moreci’s YouTube audience are teenagers and young adults. But the promotional material claims that it is a ‘romantic fantasy’, and some of the material within the book seem to be attempting to ‘make up’ for it’s lack of adult themes.
The intense use of language (particularly the word ‘cock’, which seems to show up more often than ‘the’) is more off-putting than anything else. I don’t have anything against the use of strong language, but in this case it felt as though it were a compensation for the book’s less than mature topic.
The violence also felt a little strained. There was more discussion about how brutal the things that were happening were, rather than showing how brutal they could be. There was also a juvenile split between ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’ which gave away it’s appeal to a younger audience.
The dialogue also seemed forced, which I think is a shame, as it was very clear that Moreci had a great deal of fun writing her character’s communicating. I’m not sure if she was trying to make the characters seem noble and archaic by giving them such stiff prose and using so many British turns of phrase, but it was immersion breaking for me, and felt false. This is especially noticeable in the more intense action scenes, when Tobias insists upon using longwinded, formal speech, even in the face of death.
My final criticism is that I found Tobias difficult to connect with a lot of the time, because he is a bit of a Gary Stu - a man who can do no wrong. He is morally perfect, romantically perfect, skilled, passionate, and not to mention impossibly strong and powerful because of his blessings. He stands up for his friends, he loves unconditionally, he plays by the rules, he does not succumb to the temptations from the bad guys. I can honestly not name a single thing negative about him. He’s boring.
With all that being said, I have to commend Jenna Moreci for her pure skill in the art of tension building. I was TENSE for a lot of this book. I sprung through those pages like wildfire. She also does an excellent job of building unique characters, and making them all memorable when 20 are introduced within the same chapter.
Over all, I think this was a solid read, and I look forward to book two.
I want to premise this review by saying that I did not dislike the novel, by any means. I enjoyed the story a great deal: the pacing, the characters, the consistency of plot and prose and, of course, the twist. I am excited to read the next instalment, and I trust Moreci’s writing ability is reliable enough to pull through on an excellent sequel. I believe Moreci is a good writer, I just do not believe she is a great writer.
It is, in fact, the reliability of the novel that put me off a little. It is a high school teacher’s wet dream it is so reliable. For what it exemplifies in ‘good writing ability’ it sorely lacks in experimentation and vision. The Savior’s Champion succeeds in it’s ability to strictly follow the rules of writing (in the way that a ‘How To Write Your First Novel’ handbook might praise) but fails to even attempt any literary flare.
Moreover, it feels as though Moreci didn’t really know who she was writing for. The premise, characters, and general development of the novel, as well as the way it was promoted, felt as though it was a YA title, which would make sense, considering the majority of Moreci’s YouTube audience are teenagers and young adults. But the promotional material claims that it is a ‘romantic fantasy’, and some of the material within the book seem to be attempting to ‘make up’ for it’s lack of adult themes.
The intense use of language (particularly the word ‘cock’, which seems to show up more often than ‘the’) is more off-putting than anything else. I don’t have anything against the use of strong language, but in this case it felt as though it were a compensation for the book’s less than mature topic.
The violence also felt a little strained. There was more discussion about how brutal the things that were happening were, rather than showing how brutal they could be. There was also a juvenile split between ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’ which gave away it’s appeal to a younger audience.
The dialogue also seemed forced, which I think is a shame, as it was very clear that Moreci had a great deal of fun writing her character’s communicating. I’m not sure if she was trying to make the characters seem noble and archaic by giving them such stiff prose and using so many British turns of phrase, but it was immersion breaking for me, and felt false. This is especially noticeable in the more intense action scenes, when Tobias insists upon using longwinded, formal speech, even in the face of death.
My final criticism is that I found Tobias difficult to connect with a lot of the time, because he is a bit of a Gary Stu - a man who can do no wrong. He is morally perfect, romantically perfect, skilled, passionate, and not to mention impossibly strong and powerful because of his blessings. He stands up for his friends, he loves unconditionally, he plays by the rules, he does not succumb to the temptations from the bad guys. I can honestly not name a single thing negative about him. He’s boring.
With all that being said, I have to commend Jenna Moreci for her pure skill in the art of tension building. I was TENSE for a lot of this book. I sprung through those pages like wildfire. She also does an excellent job of building unique characters, and making them all memorable when 20 are introduced within the same chapter.
Over all, I think this was a solid read, and I look forward to book two.
The Island by Victoria Hislop
2.0
I read half of this and then skimmed the rest as I got incredibly bored. Could’ve done with a lot less explanation and some dialogue with some semblance of personality.
Witch Child by Celia Rees
3.0
Witch Child had it’s merits, though it was only toward the end that I really began to enjoy it. I feel that very little was said that could not have been made better in a shorter format.
The story was open-ended, which I enjoyed (though I have little interest in reading the sequel), the pacing was good and, particularly after their arrival in Beulah, there grew a strong mood which carried until the end.
Unfortunately, enjoying the novel meant swamping through a few inconsistencies which had me exasperated from the start.
Firstly, and on a more minor note, the tenses were all over the place. I understand that, with a diary being a personal document that contains information about the past and present, there will be some overlap, but sometimes it felt as though this weaving of tenses had confused Celia Rees herself, as they seemed to be dotted about willy-nilly.
Secondly, there was a bit of divergence between the narrative style and the... narrative style. On the whole the book was very straightforward in its prose style: ‘She did this, then he said that, then they went here.’, which would not be my preferred style for a book of this tensity, but nonetheless worked for Rees. But every now and again a paragraph of ill fitting, almost flowery prose would be slotted in as if Rees was reminding herself to include some atmosphere. I personally feel that she should have trusted her own ability to build tension without those additions, which were immersion breaking.
Finally, it surprised me when I finished this book and turned it over to read the back cover, that it was meant to be read by TEENAGERS. I thought, as dark as the material was, that this couldn’t have been written for anybody over the age of twelve. I do not know what it is that causes so many teen fiction writers to believe that they need to condescend their audience, when most have adult reading capabilities and more world experience than many seniors I can think of. This was not a patronising book, but it was oversimplified, and I think that is a shame, as this could have made a great piece of horror if Rees had allowed herself to pour all of her abilities and development into it, without thinking about her target audience.
The story was open-ended, which I enjoyed (though I have little interest in reading the sequel), the pacing was good and, particularly after their arrival in Beulah, there grew a strong mood which carried until the end.
Unfortunately, enjoying the novel meant swamping through a few inconsistencies which had me exasperated from the start.
Firstly, and on a more minor note, the tenses were all over the place. I understand that, with a diary being a personal document that contains information about the past and present, there will be some overlap, but sometimes it felt as though this weaving of tenses had confused Celia Rees herself, as they seemed to be dotted about willy-nilly.
Secondly, there was a bit of divergence between the narrative style and the... narrative style. On the whole the book was very straightforward in its prose style: ‘She did this, then he said that, then they went here.’, which would not be my preferred style for a book of this tensity, but nonetheless worked for Rees. But every now and again a paragraph of ill fitting, almost flowery prose would be slotted in as if Rees was reminding herself to include some atmosphere. I personally feel that she should have trusted her own ability to build tension without those additions, which were immersion breaking.
Finally, it surprised me when I finished this book and turned it over to read the back cover, that it was meant to be read by TEENAGERS. I thought, as dark as the material was, that this couldn’t have been written for anybody over the age of twelve. I do not know what it is that causes so many teen fiction writers to believe that they need to condescend their audience, when most have adult reading capabilities and more world experience than many seniors I can think of. This was not a patronising book, but it was oversimplified, and I think that is a shame, as this could have made a great piece of horror if Rees had allowed herself to pour all of her abilities and development into it, without thinking about her target audience.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen, Seth Grahame-Smith
3.0
“We passed William Goulding, whose curricle had been overturned and horses devoured, so I was determined he should know it, and so I let down the side-glass next to him, and took off my glove, and let my hand rest upon the window frame, so that he might see the ring, and then I bowed and smiled like anything. He yelled after us—something about his son being trapped; but oh! Mamma, I am sure he saw the ring. Oh! Think of how the news will spread!”
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has been an experience. I had read the book a few years ago, and it gave me some hope that I may one day really enjoy Jane Austen, even if it had to be through modified means (which it did - I can now read a full Austen and enjoy it, in it’s original form).
I did spend most of the book having a good chuckle, and I don’t at all resent Seth Grahame-Smith for only modifying aspects of the original text. I think this is a great way to get into Austen if you find reading the original work challenging, or if you just want a laugh. However this book really is a lightening of a classic piece of fiction and did far from a perfect job of modifying the subject matter.
Grahame-Smith has added a great deal of playful absurdity and burlesque into the work, one of my favourite being, while Elizabeth is taking care of her plagued friend:
‘Apparently, overcome with excitement, Charlotte dropped to the ground and began stuffing handfuls of crisp autumn leaves in her mouth.’
But it did miss the mark a little. It was barely satire, as it had no purpose or reason to mock the audience or original work. It didn’t take advantage of caricature, and therefore little jokes like referring to sweat as ‘exercise moisture’ felt misplaced or entirely pointless.
Finally, on a minor note, there seemed to be a little harmless, but nonetheless noticeable disregard for accuracy about Japanese cultural history. The concept of a ‘waiting-geisha’ sitting in a personal Dojo while two characters start battling with Katanas and throwing stars is nigh on ridiculous, even for a book about Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy bonding over the slaying of the undead (spoilers?).
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has been an experience. I had read the book a few years ago, and it gave me some hope that I may one day really enjoy Jane Austen, even if it had to be through modified means (which it did - I can now read a full Austen and enjoy it, in it’s original form).
I did spend most of the book having a good chuckle, and I don’t at all resent Seth Grahame-Smith for only modifying aspects of the original text. I think this is a great way to get into Austen if you find reading the original work challenging, or if you just want a laugh. However this book really is a lightening of a classic piece of fiction and did far from a perfect job of modifying the subject matter.
Grahame-Smith has added a great deal of playful absurdity and burlesque into the work, one of my favourite being, while Elizabeth is taking care of her plagued friend:
‘Apparently, overcome with excitement, Charlotte dropped to the ground and began stuffing handfuls of crisp autumn leaves in her mouth.’
But it did miss the mark a little. It was barely satire, as it had no purpose or reason to mock the audience or original work. It didn’t take advantage of caricature, and therefore little jokes like referring to sweat as ‘exercise moisture’ felt misplaced or entirely pointless.
Finally, on a minor note, there seemed to be a little harmless, but nonetheless noticeable disregard for accuracy about Japanese cultural history. The concept of a ‘waiting-geisha’ sitting in a personal Dojo while two characters start battling with Katanas and throwing stars is nigh on ridiculous, even for a book about Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy bonding over the slaying of the undead (spoilers?).
Fluke by James Herbert
3.0
‘My own name was rising from ocean depths and about to break the surface. But a car swished past and the names scattered like startled fish.’
It made a lot of sense, upon discovering that James Herbert was a best selling horror writer, why Fluke had such an unusually tense feeling for a spiritual adventure story. Not to knock it, that is: I believe that this edge added immensely to the believability of the book, for having such a farfetched concept. Herbert handles emotions, particularly negative ones, with confidence and assuredness. I was particularly stricken by the tale of Victoria the cat and the chimney.
This tale follows a similar pattern that a lot of seventies adventure stories did at the time, in that it acts as if you are reading a series of short stories that all amalgamate through one perspective (kind if like a Dickens, I suppose), and it works to make this surprisingly heavy book an easy read.
Herbert put forward an idea that the communication between dogs and other animals would create an ‘us and them’ stance, which I found interesting. And he generally does a fantastic job of giving the dogs, in particular, characters without forcing upon them ‘human’ traits. This is particularly true in the character of Rumbo (I cry).
The ending to Fluke (no spoilers, I promise) sets itself apart from the horror or thriller story and into the realms of adventure by ultimately setting itself down as a story of belief.
It made a lot of sense, upon discovering that James Herbert was a best selling horror writer, why Fluke had such an unusually tense feeling for a spiritual adventure story. Not to knock it, that is: I believe that this edge added immensely to the believability of the book, for having such a farfetched concept. Herbert handles emotions, particularly negative ones, with confidence and assuredness. I was particularly stricken by the tale of Victoria the cat and the chimney.
This tale follows a similar pattern that a lot of seventies adventure stories did at the time, in that it acts as if you are reading a series of short stories that all amalgamate through one perspective (kind if like a Dickens, I suppose), and it works to make this surprisingly heavy book an easy read.
Herbert put forward an idea that the communication between dogs and other animals would create an ‘us and them’ stance, which I found interesting. And he generally does a fantastic job of giving the dogs, in particular, characters without forcing upon them ‘human’ traits. This is particularly true in the character of Rumbo (I cry).
The ending to Fluke (no spoilers, I promise) sets itself apart from the horror or thriller story and into the realms of adventure by ultimately setting itself down as a story of belief.