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r_for_tsundoku's Reviews (49)
A reminder to my future self - as an extension of your commitment issues, you constantly look over your GR ratings and are probably wondering whether this should actually be 4 stars rather than 5. In that moment, think about the touching end of the story, think about how he treasures a singular flower among the countless stars and remember the kind and reasonable king that you adore and amuses you the way Professor Pangloss does.
---
This book is just completely precious and everyone should read it. The adorable titular character and his snippets of philosophy stay with you for a long time. It is probably the shortest book that has made me smile, laugh AND cry.
A special shout out to the King because he is one of my favourite characters of all time! He wants to be obeyed absolutely but he's also good and reasonable. So when the prince asks if he can sit down , the King orders him to sit down. When the prince requests to ask the King questions, the King orders him to do so. It's simultaneously hilarious and wholesome - I adore the character! Anything I say about the titular character itself will be inadequate - that little adorable prince just stays with you for a long time well after you finish reading the book.
My favourite lines:
*This book has one of my favourite dedications of all time-
To Leon Werth
I apologize to the children for dedicating this book to a grown-up. I have a good excuse: this grown-up is the best friend I have in the world. I have another good excuse: this grown-up can understand everything, even children's books. I have a third good excuse: this grown-up lives in France where he is hungry and cold. He needs to be comforted. If all these excuses are not enough, I will then dedicate this book to the child who became that grown-up. All grown-ups were first children. (But few of them remember it.) So I correct my dedication:
To Leon Werth
when he was a little boy.
*I have lived among the grown-ups. I saw them up close. It did not really improve my opinion of them.
*If someone loves a flower that only exists in one million and millions of stars, that's enough for him to be happy when he looks at them
*I must bear two or three caterpillars if I want to know the butterflies.
*In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night.
And so you will love to watch all the stars…
You, only you, will have stars that can laugh.
I shall not leave you.
---
This book is just completely precious and everyone should read it. The adorable titular character and his snippets of philosophy stay with you for a long time. It is probably the shortest book that has made me smile, laugh AND cry.
A special shout out to the King because he is one of my favourite characters of all time! He wants to be obeyed absolutely but he's also good and reasonable. So when the prince asks if he can sit down , the King orders him to sit down. When the prince requests to ask the King questions, the King orders him to do so. It's simultaneously hilarious and wholesome - I adore the character! Anything I say about the titular character itself will be inadequate - that little adorable prince just stays with you for a long time well after you finish reading the book.
My favourite lines:
*This book has one of my favourite dedications of all time-
To Leon Werth
I apologize to the children for dedicating this book to a grown-up. I have a good excuse: this grown-up is the best friend I have in the world. I have another good excuse: this grown-up can understand everything, even children's books. I have a third good excuse: this grown-up lives in France where he is hungry and cold. He needs to be comforted. If all these excuses are not enough, I will then dedicate this book to the child who became that grown-up. All grown-ups were first children. (But few of them remember it.) So I correct my dedication:
To Leon Werth
when he was a little boy.
*I have lived among the grown-ups. I saw them up close. It did not really improve my opinion of them.
*If someone loves a flower that only exists in one million and millions of stars, that's enough for him to be happy when he looks at them
*I must bear two or three caterpillars if I want to know the butterflies.
*In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night.
And so you will love to watch all the stars…
You, only you, will have stars that can laugh.
I shall not leave you.
It's my first time reading a thriller book that has drawings but as part of the plot and not just for illustration purposes. It's a very different experience from reading manga or a comic book or a graphic memoir. And my personal rating is based mostly on the novelty of the experience.
Some say the book is horror, some say it is a thriller. I don't have my copy on hand anymore but the first full length chapter was closer to horror than thriller. I chose to read the book at 2am on a insomnia-ridden stormy night and that probably was a contributing factor. It was unsettling to read, the drawings were deceptively plain yet eerie, and the pace was great. It was excellent. The next chapter was not as scary but still had a bit of a horror vibe to it. However, the rest of the book is actually an extremely typical mystery thriller. So if you're someone like me who never reads horror and doesn't want to, you can actually make an exception for this book because it is not very scary at all. It is really just a formulaic thriller with moments of a horror-esque ambience.
The book is also advertised like a series of short stories and while it may seem like it, all the stories are connected by a larger plot that is revealed in the end. I thought it was important to mention because the individual stories feel very unfinished and unsatisfying otherwise and might make people want to DNF the book.
All the drawings in every chapter are connected or understood via a gimmick of sorts. All the gimmicks were new to me so that was very enjoyable to uncover and learn. The writing itself was extremely simple, simply laying down facts and devoid of imagery, metaphor, etc. I am completely fine with that because that was not the central focus of the book and it can be refreshing occasionally to read a plot so clearly without hacking through miles of descriptive prose. But this might even come across as juvenile writing to other readers. Without giving away plot spoilers, I will say some of the things in the second half of the book were predictable and almost amateurish for experienced thriller readers. Unfortunately the very last chapter and the larger plot connecting all the preceding chapters was very weak, with large leaps in logic and unclear character motives. Overall, the promise held by the first three chapters wanes heavily in the second half.
Individual elements of the book can be reviewed independently, and praised or forgiven accordingly. Loved the way drawings were the actual plot mechanic. There is no character depth whatsoever, just plain names of actors whose not so motivationally clear actions progress the plot. The individual stories are better than the weak contrived overall plot. A seasoned thriller reader will not be impressed and should avoid the book if they're seeking for groundbreaking and mindbending twists. But you can pick up the book if you're intrigued by the drawing aspect, looking for a light read that's still a thriller and want to give your brain cells a break while not letting them get bored. As a reading experience, it is unique and interesting enough that I highly recommend it. Read it more with your eyes than your brain.
Some say the book is horror, some say it is a thriller. I don't have my copy on hand anymore but the first full length chapter was closer to horror than thriller. I chose to read the book at 2am on a insomnia-ridden stormy night and that probably was a contributing factor. It was unsettling to read, the drawings were deceptively plain yet eerie, and the pace was great. It was excellent. The next chapter was not as scary but still had a bit of a horror vibe to it. However, the rest of the book is actually an extremely typical mystery thriller. So if you're someone like me who never reads horror and doesn't want to, you can actually make an exception for this book because it is not very scary at all. It is really just a formulaic thriller with moments of a horror-esque ambience.
The book is also advertised like a series of short stories and while it may seem like it, all the stories are connected by a larger plot that is revealed in the end. I thought it was important to mention because the individual stories feel very unfinished and unsatisfying otherwise and might make people want to DNF the book.
All the drawings in every chapter are connected or understood via a gimmick of sorts. All the gimmicks were new to me so that was very enjoyable to uncover and learn. The writing itself was extremely simple, simply laying down facts and devoid of imagery, metaphor, etc. I am completely fine with that because that was not the central focus of the book and it can be refreshing occasionally to read a plot so clearly without hacking through miles of descriptive prose. But this might even come across as juvenile writing to other readers. Without giving away plot spoilers, I will say some of the things in the second half of the book were predictable and almost amateurish for experienced thriller readers. Unfortunately the very last chapter and the larger plot connecting all the preceding chapters was very weak, with large leaps in logic and unclear character motives. Overall, the promise held by the first three chapters wanes heavily in the second half.
Individual elements of the book can be reviewed independently, and praised or forgiven accordingly. Loved the way drawings were the actual plot mechanic. There is no character depth whatsoever, just plain names of actors whose not so motivationally clear actions progress the plot. The individual stories are better than the weak contrived overall plot. A seasoned thriller reader will not be impressed and should avoid the book if they're seeking for groundbreaking and mindbending twists. But you can pick up the book if you're intrigued by the drawing aspect, looking for a light read that's still a thriller and want to give your brain cells a break while not letting them get bored. As a reading experience, it is unique and interesting enough that I highly recommend it. Read it more with your eyes than your brain.
Standard fare of Tumblr-esque poetry but I admittedly loved a lot of it. These were some of my favourite lines:
*My atoms love your atoms, it's chemistry.
*I let her go because I knew
she could do better and now she's gone.
I wonder if I should've just been better.
*I have seen your darkest nights and brightest days and I want you to know that I will be here forever loving you in dusk.
*From the moment I saw her
I knew this one was worth the broken heart.
*She flirted with life
and life flirted right back with her,
as if all the universe
came more alive just for her
and everything felt her glow.
It was
in the dew
in the stars
and the colors of the sky-
they all shone
bright as they could
in the hopes
to catch her eye.
*She had been through hell
and though no one could see her demons
they could see the face that conquered them.
*She wasn't waiting for a knight-
she was waiting for a sword.
*Keep your bustling cities,
give me only the moon, some wine,
and old friends laughing in the desert,
and I will show you
what the pagans called god.
*The world's perception of you exists only in memories.
Give them new ones.
*Poetry's magic is that it is found
when it's needed.
*Art takes time-
Monet grew his gardens
before he painted them.
*There is always a glimmer in those
who have been through the dark.
*Depression is being color blind
and constantly told how colorful the world is.
*Poets and motorcycles don't mix;
it nevers pay to drive fast
when you have had too much to feel
*Some write for fun
others write because if they didn't
the words would grow
and fester and burst
from the seams of their souls.
Some words are safer down on paper.
*Our songs love longer than our kingdoms
*I hope to arrive at my death late, in love, and a little drunk
*She was incandescently beautiful and beauty was the least of her.
*My atoms love your atoms, it's chemistry.
*I let her go because I knew
she could do better and now she's gone.
I wonder if I should've just been better.
*I have seen your darkest nights and brightest days and I want you to know that I will be here forever loving you in dusk.
*From the moment I saw her
I knew this one was worth the broken heart.
*She flirted with life
and life flirted right back with her,
as if all the universe
came more alive just for her
and everything felt her glow.
It was
in the dew
in the stars
and the colors of the sky-
they all shone
bright as they could
in the hopes
to catch her eye.
*She had been through hell
and though no one could see her demons
they could see the face that conquered them.
*She wasn't waiting for a knight-
she was waiting for a sword.
*Keep your bustling cities,
give me only the moon, some wine,
and old friends laughing in the desert,
and I will show you
what the pagans called god.
*The world's perception of you exists only in memories.
Give them new ones.
*Poetry's magic is that it is found
when it's needed.
*Art takes time-
Monet grew his gardens
before he painted them.
*There is always a glimmer in those
who have been through the dark.
*Depression is being color blind
and constantly told how colorful the world is.
*Poets and motorcycles don't mix;
it nevers pay to drive fast
when you have had too much to feel
*Some write for fun
others write because if they didn't
the words would grow
and fester and burst
from the seams of their souls.
Some words are safer down on paper.
*Our songs love longer than our kingdoms
*I hope to arrive at my death late, in love, and a little drunk
*She was incandescently beautiful and beauty was the least of her.
Tumblr poetry is not for everyone but I think it can be great and I do enjoy it. There are some lines in this collection that have just tattooed themselves on my heart. Tattoo preference is deeply personal and so is poetry.
My favourite lines and poems from the book:
*the queen my mother smiled as she offered a cube of sugar in her upturned palm.
greedily, i accepted.
i reached inside my mouth, delicately placing one (just one) on the center of my tongue, & i clamped down.
salt.
that is what abuse is: knowing you are going to get salt but still hoping for sugar
for nineteen years.
- you may be gone, but i still have a stomachache.
*sticks & stones never broke
my bones,
but words made me starve myself until
you could see all of them.
- skin & bone.
*silence has always been my loudest scream.
*there came a time when poetry showed me how to bleed without the demand of blood.
- my most loyal lover.
*he promised to fix me &
he left me more
shattered
than i had been before.
- but now i've got gold in the cracks.
*if love is a battlefield, then i must have forgotten all of my armor at home.
- a war i never agreed to fight.
*the princess jumped from the tower & she learned that she could fly all along.
-she never needed those wings.
*if he was my cup of tea, then you are my cup of coffee.
tea simply isn't enough for me sometimes, but coffee can get me through anything.
- did i make you up?
*somehow, my soul knew your soul before we ever met.
- it was like coming home after a long, long day.
*he is even better than books.
- fiction has nothing on you.
*i am so glad we were born during the same lifetime.
- i may not believe in fate, but i believe in you.
*i'm pretty sure you have stardust
running through those veins.
- women are some kind of magic.
*be wary of the boys who only ever tell half-truths because they will only ever be half in love with you.
-slay those dragons.
My favourite lines and poems from the book:
*the queen my mother smiled as she offered a cube of sugar in her upturned palm.
greedily, i accepted.
i reached inside my mouth, delicately placing one (just one) on the center of my tongue, & i clamped down.
salt.
that is what abuse is: knowing you are going to get salt but still hoping for sugar
for nineteen years.
- you may be gone, but i still have a stomachache.
*sticks & stones never broke
my bones,
but words made me starve myself until
you could see all of them.
- skin & bone.
*silence has always been my loudest scream.
*there came a time when poetry showed me how to bleed without the demand of blood.
- my most loyal lover.
*he promised to fix me &
he left me more
shattered
than i had been before.
- but now i've got gold in the cracks.
*if love is a battlefield, then i must have forgotten all of my armor at home.
- a war i never agreed to fight.
*the princess jumped from the tower & she learned that she could fly all along.
-she never needed those wings.
*if he was my cup of tea, then you are my cup of coffee.
tea simply isn't enough for me sometimes, but coffee can get me through anything.
- did i make you up?
*somehow, my soul knew your soul before we ever met.
- it was like coming home after a long, long day.
*he is even better than books.
- fiction has nothing on you.
*i am so glad we were born during the same lifetime.
- i may not believe in fate, but i believe in you.
*i'm pretty sure you have stardust
running through those veins.
- women are some kind of magic.
*be wary of the boys who only ever tell half-truths because they will only ever be half in love with you.
-slay those dragons.
Wendy Cope is absolutely a 5-star amazing poetess. The collection just falls short of the same because many of the poems didn't absolutely blow my mind away like some other poetry I have read. But throughout my reading, I was smiling and laughing and that happiness is unrateable anyways.
I stumbled upon her poetry on Reddit randomly one morning and decided to read the book immediately, sacrificing the morning hours of my work day, and it was well worth it. It was even more of a fun reading experience because I simultaneously texted my favourite lines and pieces with friends and we all enjoyed them together. I look forward to reading more from her. She has impeccable humour and delivery like Shel Silverstein but writes about things that only adults can relate to, with a levity that allows us to recognize our own folly and laugh at it as well.
These were some of my favourite lines:
- I long to see you,
hear your voice,
My narcissistic object-choice.
- Loss
The day he moved out was terrible
That evening she went through hell.
His absence wasn't a problem
But the corkscrew had gone as well.
- Write to amuse?
What an appalling suggestion!
I write to make people anxious and miserable
and to worsen their indigestion.
- A Christmas Poem
At Christmas little children sing
and merry bells jingle,
The cold winter air makes our hands
and faces tingle
And happy families go to church
and cheerily they mingle
And the whole business is unbelievably dreadful,
if you're single.
- Oh, see if you can catch the eye of the waiter
And order me a double vodka and lime.
We all have to be sensible sooner or later
But I refuse to be sensible all the time.
- Magnetic
i spell it out on this fridge door
you are so wonderful
i even like th way you snor
- On Waterloo Bridge, where we said our goodbyes,
The weather conditions bring tears to my eyes.
I wipe them away with a black woolly glove
And try not to notice I've fallen in love.
I stumbled upon her poetry on Reddit randomly one morning and decided to read the book immediately, sacrificing the morning hours of my work day, and it was well worth it. It was even more of a fun reading experience because I simultaneously texted my favourite lines and pieces with friends and we all enjoyed them together. I look forward to reading more from her. She has impeccable humour and delivery like Shel Silverstein but writes about things that only adults can relate to, with a levity that allows us to recognize our own folly and laugh at it as well.
These were some of my favourite lines:
- I long to see you,
hear your voice,
My narcissistic object-choice.
- Loss
The day he moved out was terrible
That evening she went through hell.
His absence wasn't a problem
But the corkscrew had gone as well.
- Write to amuse?
What an appalling suggestion!
I write to make people anxious and miserable
and to worsen their indigestion.
- A Christmas Poem
At Christmas little children sing
and merry bells jingle,
The cold winter air makes our hands
and faces tingle
And happy families go to church
and cheerily they mingle
And the whole business is unbelievably dreadful,
if you're single.
- Oh, see if you can catch the eye of the waiter
And order me a double vodka and lime.
We all have to be sensible sooner or later
But I refuse to be sensible all the time.
- Magnetic
i spell it out on this fridge door
you are so wonderful
i even like th way you snor
- On Waterloo Bridge, where we said our goodbyes,
The weather conditions bring tears to my eyes.
I wipe them away with a black woolly glove
And try not to notice I've fallen in love.
I don't even know where to begin with reviewing this book. Nabakov is diabolical - I can't believe, given the controversial themes of the book, how much I loved it.
I am glad I picked up this book in my e-reading era. I had to search up a word or literary reference almost every single page. I would expect I would tire of this and drop the book. But Nabakov's writing hooked me deep from the first page itself and still has not let me go.
I love a pompous, delusional, antisocial narrator, and Humbert fits the bill perfectly. His narcissism is hilarious, but his perversions make you completely unsympathetic towards him. As a reader, it is almost liberating to find a character you can laugh at freely and have no emotional investment in. He often breaks the 4th wall to address the reader directly which is indeed quite funny. I loved to laugh at Humbert's delusions and narcissism, but I absolutely do not care for him at all, almost wishing karma, justice, whatever to rightfully screw him over. He is perverse, misogynistic, selfish, delusional, narcissistic, unlikeable, but probably one of the most unforgettable characters in literary history.
To quote from the book itself: "No doubt, he is horrible, he is abject, he is a shining example of moral leprosy, a mixture of ferocity and jocularity that betrays supreme misery perhaps, but is not conducive to attractiveness. He is ponderously capricious. Many of his casual opinions on the people and scenery of this country are ludicrous. A desperate honesty that throbs through his confession does not absolve him from sins of diabolical cunning. He is abnormal. He is not a gentleman."
Here are some of the lines from the book that made me laugh and maybe wince simultaneously:
- "You can always count on a murderer for a fancy prose style."
- "Overtly, I had so-called normal relationships with a number of terrestrial women having pumpkins or pears for breasts; inly, I was consumed by a hell furnace of localized lust for every passing nymphet whom as a law-abiding poltroon I never dared approach."
- "I was, and still am, despite mes malheurs, an exceptionally handsome male"
- "I passed by her in my adult disguise (a great big handsome hunk of movieland manhood)"
- "I do not know if in these tragic notes I have sufficiently stressed the peculiar "sending" effect that the writer's good looks--pseudo-Celtic, attractively simian, boyishly manly--had on women of every age and environment."
- "My gloomy good looks should be kept in the mind's eye if my story is to be properly understood. Pubescent Lo swooned to Humbert's charm as she did to hiccuppy music. "
In the beginning, the book is funny besides the perverse themes, but it progressively gets harrowing as his "relationship" with Lolita develops. Humbert becomes increasingly unhinged and is the classic unreliable narrator who obscures Lolita's abuse and suffering. There are several horrifying thoughts and events that are described within the book that I don't want to repeat here. All I can say is that Humbert is a villain like no other.
The book is controversial but undeniably well written. It is a book within a book - the reader is reading a memoir by Humbert, not actually witnessing the events occurring, and thus the unreliable narrator perspective is smoothly established. I loved the book from beginning to end in terms of plot and writing. The last couple of chapters were more wild and bizarre that I expected but was the book ever normal? Personally, I loved the ending of the story, something I don't often get to say, but I am not sure if that's a hot take. PSA to readers! After finishing the book, go back to the beginning and read the foreword to the memoir - things in there make sense with the additional context and might even surprise you.
Needless to say, 5 stars and a newly acquired all time favourite.
I am glad I picked up this book in my e-reading era. I had to search up a word or literary reference almost every single page. I would expect I would tire of this and drop the book. But Nabakov's writing hooked me deep from the first page itself and still has not let me go.
I love a pompous, delusional, antisocial narrator, and Humbert fits the bill perfectly. His narcissism is hilarious, but his perversions make you completely unsympathetic towards him. As a reader, it is almost liberating to find a character you can laugh at freely and have no emotional investment in. He often breaks the 4th wall to address the reader directly which is indeed quite funny. I loved to laugh at Humbert's delusions and narcissism, but I absolutely do not care for him at all, almost wishing karma, justice, whatever to rightfully screw him over. He is perverse, misogynistic, selfish, delusional, narcissistic, unlikeable, but probably one of the most unforgettable characters in literary history.
To quote from the book itself: "No doubt, he is horrible, he is abject, he is a shining example of moral leprosy, a mixture of ferocity and jocularity that betrays supreme misery perhaps, but is not conducive to attractiveness. He is ponderously capricious. Many of his casual opinions on the people and scenery of this country are ludicrous. A desperate honesty that throbs through his confession does not absolve him from sins of diabolical cunning. He is abnormal. He is not a gentleman."
Here are some of the lines from the book that made me laugh and maybe wince simultaneously:
- "You can always count on a murderer for a fancy prose style."
- "Overtly, I had so-called normal relationships with a number of terrestrial women having pumpkins or pears for breasts; inly, I was consumed by a hell furnace of localized lust for every passing nymphet whom as a law-abiding poltroon I never dared approach."
- "I was, and still am, despite mes malheurs, an exceptionally handsome male"
- "I passed by her in my adult disguise (a great big handsome hunk of movieland manhood)"
- "I do not know if in these tragic notes I have sufficiently stressed the peculiar "sending" effect that the writer's good looks--pseudo-Celtic, attractively simian, boyishly manly--had on women of every age and environment."
- "My gloomy good looks should be kept in the mind's eye if my story is to be properly understood. Pubescent Lo swooned to Humbert's charm as she did to hiccuppy music. "
In the beginning, the book is funny besides the perverse themes, but it progressively gets harrowing as his "relationship" with Lolita develops. Humbert becomes increasingly unhinged and is the classic unreliable narrator who obscures Lolita's abuse and suffering. There are several horrifying thoughts and events that are described within the book that I don't want to repeat here. All I can say is that Humbert is a villain like no other.
The book is controversial but undeniably well written. It is a book within a book - the reader is reading a memoir by Humbert, not actually witnessing the events occurring, and thus the unreliable narrator perspective is smoothly established. I loved the book from beginning to end in terms of plot and writing. The last couple of chapters were more wild and bizarre that I expected but was the book ever normal? Personally, I loved the ending of the story, something I don't often get to say, but I am not sure if that's a hot take. PSA to readers! After finishing the book, go back to the beginning and read the foreword to the memoir - things in there make sense with the additional context and might even surprise you.
Needless to say, 5 stars and a newly acquired all time favourite.
Fun, funny, light-hearted and witty.
A classic bathroom book or perfect as a conversation-starter or casual reading for houseguests.
Many stories were okay but some were truly remarkable.
In the chapter on love, I wish there was more queer representation
These were some of my favourite stories:
- "Firetruck!" yelled five-year-old Billy. His mom had told him his dad was a fireman. When he got older he set fires, hoping to meet Dad.
-Suzy wasn't sure why she liked Trey. He didn't have much money and wasn't good looking. Maybe the fact he loved her counted for something.
-Called my dad to let him know my wife, Janice, was gone. "What happened?" asked my dad. "My fault," I said, "forgot to lock the door."
-Clowning was Daryl's profession, cooking was his passion. Stella thought he was perfect. She liked to laugh and never learned to cook.
-Sheila liked Ken in the same way she liked a Filet-O-Fish sandwich when she was thinking of lobster. He was right here, right now.
-I used my second wish to undo the first. Your body sprang back to life. The third wish I'm keeping, in case you get out of line again.
-Tired of being wanted for her looks, Kim shaved her head before the blind date. Ted dressed like a tramp, hiding his wealth. Both ran.
-After our date, we went home and found your place had been robbed. It made me feel bad about all the times I thought about robbing you.
-You asked for flowers and I brought flowers. You asked for dancing and I danced. I asked for your love and you gave back the flowers.
-The fire felt good. It drove away the thoughts of you as it caressed my skin. I hoped there was no afterlife from which to remember you.
-Psst! It's me...I mean you, from the future. Don't worry, it works out. You'll be wrongly convicted but meet your true love in prison.
-I held her pretty hand, intertwining my fingers with hers. Enjoying the moment, then putting it with the rest in the freezer.
-Mark's foot had swollen to twice its normal size. His health insurance company was sympathetic, they sent him larger shoes.
A classic bathroom book or perfect as a conversation-starter or casual reading for houseguests.
Many stories were okay but some were truly remarkable.
In the chapter on love, I wish there was more queer representation
These were some of my favourite stories:
- "Firetruck!" yelled five-year-old Billy. His mom had told him his dad was a fireman. When he got older he set fires, hoping to meet Dad.
-Suzy wasn't sure why she liked Trey. He didn't have much money and wasn't good looking. Maybe the fact he loved her counted for something.
-Called my dad to let him know my wife, Janice, was gone. "What happened?" asked my dad. "My fault," I said, "forgot to lock the door."
-Clowning was Daryl's profession, cooking was his passion. Stella thought he was perfect. She liked to laugh and never learned to cook.
-Sheila liked Ken in the same way she liked a Filet-O-Fish sandwich when she was thinking of lobster. He was right here, right now.
-I used my second wish to undo the first. Your body sprang back to life. The third wish I'm keeping, in case you get out of line again.
-Tired of being wanted for her looks, Kim shaved her head before the blind date. Ted dressed like a tramp, hiding his wealth. Both ran.
-After our date, we went home and found your place had been robbed. It made me feel bad about all the times I thought about robbing you.
-You asked for flowers and I brought flowers. You asked for dancing and I danced. I asked for your love and you gave back the flowers.
-The fire felt good. It drove away the thoughts of you as it caressed my skin. I hoped there was no afterlife from which to remember you.
-Psst! It's me...I mean you, from the future. Don't worry, it works out. You'll be wrongly convicted but meet your true love in prison.
-I held her pretty hand, intertwining my fingers with hers. Enjoying the moment, then putting it with the rest in the freezer.
-Mark's foot had swollen to twice its normal size. His health insurance company was sympathetic, they sent him larger shoes.
I think Ernaux's writing is amazing and I hope to read more of it in the future. My rating is purely personal rather than a judgement of the work - I haven't experienced the kind of relationship to produce this kind of jealousy. I imagine if I ever do (though I don't hope for such emotional torture), I will return to this book, reread it and rate it higher. Right now to me, it's like a hyper realistic painting that looks excellently made but I don't know what the subject is. But one passage stood out to me because I could relate to it almost too well:
"In conversation, he would sometimes toss out an incidental “Didn’t I tell you?” which he would follow up, without waiting for a reply, with the retelling of an event that had occurred in his life in the preceding days, the announcement of some news concerning his work.
This false question instantly deflated me. It meant that he had already told whatever it was to the other woman. She was the one who, because of her proximity, was the first to hear everything that happened to him, from the trivial to the essential. I was always the second—at best—to be informed. This opportunity to share, in the moment,
what is happening, what one is thinking, which plays such a big role in the comfort of couples and in their longevity—I was deprived of it.
“Didn’t I tell you?” placed me in the sphere of friends and of people one sees from time to time. I was no longer the first and indispensable trustee of his daily life. “Didn’t I tell you?” reminded me of my function as an occasional ear. “Didn’t I tell you?” was the same as: I didn’t need to tell you."
"In conversation, he would sometimes toss out an incidental “Didn’t I tell you?” which he would follow up, without waiting for a reply, with the retelling of an event that had occurred in his life in the preceding days, the announcement of some news concerning his work.
This false question instantly deflated me. It meant that he had already told whatever it was to the other woman. She was the one who, because of her proximity, was the first to hear everything that happened to him, from the trivial to the essential. I was always the second—at best—to be informed. This opportunity to share, in the moment,
what is happening, what one is thinking, which plays such a big role in the comfort of couples and in their longevity—I was deprived of it.
“Didn’t I tell you?” placed me in the sphere of friends and of people one sees from time to time. I was no longer the first and indispensable trustee of his daily life. “Didn’t I tell you?” reminded me of my function as an occasional ear. “Didn’t I tell you?” was the same as: I didn’t need to tell you."
It's definitely one of the most beautifully peculiar things I have ever read. I appreciate the book for its novelty and creativity. The writing was easy to read but neither too simple nor too embellished - just a goldilocks kind of lovely.
I couldn't predict at all where it headed and every couple of pages, my reading was interrupted by my own sighs, gasps and other expressions.
I know nothing about the background or intent behind this book. Is the narrator as unreliable as they come or is this supposed to be a touching yet bizarre one-of-a-kind maybe-or-maybe-not love story? I enjoy how the unanswerable question lingers in my mind
You can read the story literally or allegorically, and either way will lead to a unique, interesting reading experience. If you appreciate the original grimness of Grimm's tales and were fond of Aesop's fables when you were younger, this might be an interesting read for you. I took off a star because some of the descriptions and imagery didn't come together well enough in my imagination which could be my fault rather than the author's. For lack of better terminology, I wish there were smoother transitions as the plot and characters progressed and evolved. The ending was rushed and rather than stunned, it left me unsatisfied; a couple more paragraphs or pages would have been perfect. But otherwise, I am glad I read this unique book.
One thing's for sure - between this novella and Fox 8 by George Saunders, I am never looking at foxes the same way again.
I couldn't predict at all where it headed and every couple of pages, my reading was interrupted by my own sighs, gasps and other expressions.
I know nothing about the background or intent behind this book. Is the narrator as unreliable as they come or is this supposed to be a touching yet bizarre one-of-a-kind maybe-or-maybe-not love story? I enjoy how the unanswerable question lingers in my mind
You can read the story literally or allegorically, and either way will lead to a unique, interesting reading experience. If you appreciate the original grimness of Grimm's tales and were fond of Aesop's fables when you were younger, this might be an interesting read for you. I took off a star because some of the descriptions and imagery didn't come together well enough in my imagination which could be my fault rather than the author's. For lack of better terminology, I wish there were smoother transitions as the plot and characters progressed and evolved. The ending was rushed and rather than stunned, it left me unsatisfied; a couple more paragraphs or pages would have been perfect. But otherwise, I am glad I read this unique book.
One thing's for sure - between this novella and Fox 8 by George Saunders, I am never looking at foxes the same way again.