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pranjuli's reviews
168 reviews
Zikora by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
Chimamanda does it again - filled my head and heart with worry, loneliness, impatience, and too many thoughts and none at once. She has a gift.
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Did not finish book. Stopped at 13%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 13%.
Will start over again, at the right time, hopefully and love it then.
Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Aggressively average. Something that you can just listen to when you want some stories told to you while you are doing some boring work, something like that. They are simplistic in the extreme, and the world is just too straight forward. If you're looking for quality reading experience, I am afraid this isn't going to be one.
The characters are one-dimesnional, sexist, body-shamers and outdated. One can clearly see that stamp of 'black female characters written by a white man' everywhere. If the premise wasn't set in Botswana and instead in some white country, or somewhere even a little bit known, one wouldn't even have heard about this series of books. It works only because most people in the world outside Botswana know nothing about Botswana. The titles of each mystery are probably the most interesting part of them.
The characters are one-dimesnional, sexist, body-shamers and outdated. One can clearly see that stamp of 'black female characters written by a white man' everywhere. If the premise wasn't set in Botswana and instead in some white country, or somewhere even a little bit known, one wouldn't even have heard about this series of books. It works only because most people in the world outside Botswana know nothing about Botswana. The titles of each mystery are probably the most interesting part of them.
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I am not entirely sure why this book is tagged horror in most reviews and discourses, or maybe my understanding og such genre is limited at the moment for I personally did not associate it with horror while reading it.
This is the character discovery of Yeong-Hye from the eyes of other people as she unravels in front of them. How each one of them see her as an inconvenience, as an object of desire, as an artpiece, as a responsibility, as a victim. As parts ot Yeong-Hye are opened up infront of me, I felt more and more uncomfortable and stunned by what she has endured and as you realise that at some point something inside her broke and she stopped enduring. She suffered and tried to not suffer, but having no control of her life, she couldn't escape suffering for a long time. You realise that although she spoke little, when she did, she clearly communicated what she needed, but those words weren't heard.
The understanding of the characters of the narrators is also constantly being discovered as you read chapters in their voices and also see the others from their eyes.
I think this book has tried to say so much about the society, about the insides of people's minds, about traumas and sufferings of long ago that stay with us, about the sheer impossibility of understanding what exactly is going on inside someone else.
Flashes of this story are going to keep coming to me for a long time.
This is the character discovery of Yeong-Hye from the eyes of other people as she unravels in front of them. How each one of them see her as an inconvenience, as an object of desire, as an artpiece, as a responsibility, as a victim. As parts ot Yeong-Hye are opened up infront of me, I felt more and more uncomfortable and stunned by what she has endured and as you realise that at some point something inside her broke and she stopped enduring. She suffered and tried to not suffer, but having no control of her life, she couldn't escape suffering for a long time. You realise that although she spoke little, when she did, she clearly communicated what she needed, but those words weren't heard.
The understanding of the characters of the narrators is also constantly being discovered as you read chapters in their voices and also see the others from their eyes.
I think this book has tried to say so much about the society, about the insides of people's minds, about traumas and sufferings of long ago that stay with us, about the sheer impossibility of understanding what exactly is going on inside someone else.
Flashes of this story are going to keep coming to me for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Forced institutionalization, and Suicide attempt
The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Eye Of The Needle by Ken Follett
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Good book if you're in a thriller mood. Keeps you quite engaged even though you already know the actual ending of it all because you want to actually know how the story and the characters eventually end.
Some of the problems with the plot and writing -
after reaching the island in the sefond half, it becomes sort of obvious how it will end. The writer, however, does a good job of distracting you from that part by engaging you in sex and a bit of emotions.
I did NOT enjoy the fact that the cold-blooded murdered spy just kept on neglecting to kill that ONE woman at the very end and brought about the defeat of his country. I mean COME ON. That really was stupid after all his cold-bloodedness throughout the chase.
And the continuous repetition by EVERY character ever, about how 'Die Nadel' was the only spy of value in Germany and how the entire war depended on him. After the third time, I was just constantly eye-rolling.
Thr author kept introducing new characters with names and backgrounds of a full page even though they are hardly mentioned for two lines. This was happening even in the final act. Felt like it needed a bit of editing.
Anyway, despite my seemingly many problems with it, I did quite enjoy this WWII spy-thriller. It could have been better edited, but nevertheless it's not a waste of time, I can assure you.
Additionally, I did learn about the FUSAG and realised the reason behind the hue and cry of the landing of the allies at Normandy. So yay to that.
Some of the problems with the plot and writing -
I did NOT enjoy the fact that the cold-blooded murdered spy just kept on neglecting to kill that ONE woman at the very end and brought about the defeat of his country. I mean COME ON. That really was stupid after all his cold-bloodedness throughout the chase.
And the continuous repetition by EVERY character ever, about how 'Die Nadel' was the only spy of value in Germany and how the entire war depended on him. After the third time, I was just constantly eye-rolling.
Thr author kept introducing new characters with names and backgrounds of a full page even though they are hardly mentioned for two lines. This was happening even in the final act. Felt like it needed a bit of editing.
Anyway, despite my seemingly many problems with it, I did quite enjoy this WWII spy-thriller. It could have been better edited, but nevertheless it's not a waste of time, I can assure you.
Additionally, I did learn about the FUSAG and realised the reason behind the hue and cry of the landing of the allies at Normandy. So yay to that.
The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
It was very close to a great mystery experience except I don't understand the writer's choice to make it a first-person narrative. It would have worked just as well, if not better, in third-person. The story anyway feels like a third-person narration because of no involvement of the narrator in the story itself other than to praise himself and point out his ingenuity of the first chapter in the last chapter itself. He could have done the entire thing about this favourite detective novels and authors and all in an epilogue, maybe.. Or a dedication.. Something like that.
Anyway, other than that it was quite well done. There were, obviously, all elements of a good detective novel (as told explicitly by the narrator himself). It was super fast-paced and I definitely could not put it down or out of mind.
Solid 4 ⭐ The extra 0.25 for great cultural context and a translation that captured that context quite well.
Anyway, other than that it was quite well done. There were, obviously, all elements of a good detective novel (as told explicitly by the narrator himself). It was super fast-paced and I definitely could not put it down or out of mind.
Solid 4 ⭐ The extra 0.25 for great cultural context and a translation that captured that context quite well.