samahcanread__'s reviews
935 reviews

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

dont say it
dont say it
DONT SAY IT

this would've been better if it was written by a woman

The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-time by Mark Haddon
Did not finish book. Stopped at 37%.

 it's pretty refreshing to see a book narrated by a teenager with asperger's syndrome, but i was finding myself no interested, and skimming through paragraphs

I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

it was pretty convenient that I watched the movie Inside by Vasilis Katsoupis staring William Dafoe in-between reading this book, because if you read the book, you will see some similarities between the plot of the movie and the how things took a turn when reaching the half point of the book. 

The premise of the book is simple; an unnamed young woman is going on a road trip with her boyfriend to meet his parents, while she is thinking about ending things. 

When I was reading the book, something felt off. The inner monologues of the main protagonist lacked the female gaze. I knew the book was written by a man, and there is a huge difference when it comes to translating the psyche of a female lead into words by a man or a woman. But reaching the plot twist at the end, it all made sense, it all wrapped up beautifully together, making things make sense in a way I didn't see coming. Another thing I liked about this book was how gripping it was. I binge read the last half of the book in three hours. I couldn't put it down. I was on the edge of my seat, wanting more.

This doesn't go without saying that the book didn't have its fault. I wasn't a fan of how the author took little breaks between action packed sequences of the book to drop some life lessons or inner monologues spewing philosophies. It undermined how high the stakes were when the protagonist is trying to survive, yet her mind was running a life lesson in the background.

The Parisian by Isabella Hammad

• 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? Yes

4.0

When Palestine is mentioned in fiction, it is usually around the time of Nakba or post-Nakba, telling the stories of Palestinians having their identity and lands stolen by an apartheid state. The reason The Parisian stands out is because it is a reminder of the rich culture of Palestine, a reminder that Palestine was never an empty land ready to be seized, as western media and zionism preaches. 

The story follows Midhat Kamal, a young Palestinian man from Nablus, on his way to Montpelier to study medicine. We follow his life as a student, as a young man trying to find his place in the world. We see how his identity clashes with his surroundings, and the struggle of fitting in. This is also a story about love, about missed opportunities, all of it taking place during WWI, where everywhere is brimming with political changes and tensions are high. 

From out vantage point looking back while reading this book, we know the annexation of Palestine happened, we know that Palestinians had their lands and culture and identity stripped away during the Nakba, we know about the never-ending violence that is happening right now on Palestinians lands by the occupation (literally, I'm writing this review while I'm reading about settlers marching into Palestinians villages and towns, lead by Israeli politicians, to cause chaos and violence). But reading this book is showing us what would've happened if Palestine was never occupied. It was a postcolonial nation trying to get it together and struggling to form a united nation after Ottoman and British colonization. It is sad reading about the hope of Palestinians and their small victories, knowing the outcomes and how things ends. 

It is refreshing to read a book that doesn't link Palestine to occupation, but instead, about the culture and the people and the mundane day-to-day struggle of normal citizens who are trying to make a place in this world, alongside our main protagonist, who is navigating the political changes in his nation with the turmoil of his soul

L'étranger by Albert Camus

dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

the book has one of the most iconics first line; a character confusing the date of his mother's death. From the begining, Meusault is presented as a main character with a dark view to the world, who is not concerned about what people think of him, and would rather die than conform to society's norms. 

The book takes a shift when Meursault commits a hiedious crime at the beach, starting a series of imprisonement and trials, in which he doesn't feel the depriving of freedom or the shift in his reality. He is more like a robot, going with his basic and logical thinking, that gets too cynical and too dark to relate to.

2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

adventurous challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Stanley Kubrik's 2001: a space odyssey is one of my favourite movies. i lost count of how many times i rewatched it. a impromptu visit to the bookstore gave me the discovery that there is a book behind the movie, and with no hesitation, i got it, to discover that the book was co-written by the man himself, stanley. 

if you are a fan of the movie and was confused by its open to interpretation ending (no, really, kubrik stated that he wanted the end to be open to everyone to speculate), the book goes more into details to understand the ending, it gets more into the psyche of each character, focusing more on their thoughts and feelings. 

this revived my love of sci-fi and i really need to get into that more

Golden Hill by Francis Spufford

adventurous dark informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

 for a book that i picked on a whim on vacation because the cover looked cool, it exceeded my expectations.

many things hooked me the moment i picked it up; the mysterious errand of Mr Smith, the tension between him and Tabitha Lovell, the city of New York in the 1700s that was a character prominent and alive in the story, the unexpected turns many events took, and most importantly, how the author took some times to break the fourth wall, and makes us feel like we were a character necessary for the story. 

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

adventurous challenging funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

 I would be lying if I said that reading this book was easy; I called upon the mercy of the audiobook on spotify (a great audiobook with multi-cast and very atmospheric). Otherwise, I wouldn't have to ended it on time and just slacked off.

Despite everything, I am so happy to have finished the series. This was a huge milestone I set for myself years ago when I received the bookset as a gift.

This was a journey, a great journey, as perilous as Frodo and Sam's through Mordor; my burden was the distraction of other books coming in my way when I am trying to read and the narration style of Tolkein. I can do with the extensive description of battles, but getting lost in how ruinous and old Minas Tirith looked? Not good for my ADHD brain.

I still need to know what happened to the Frodo at the end; what happened west, why didn't he stay.. I need to know what happened 

Babel by R.F. Kuang

challenging emotional informative reflective 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? No

5.0

ate and left no crumbs

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

adventurous emotional mysterious relaxing slow-paced

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

4.0

 is it shocking that a classic that stood the test of time made its way to be one of my favourite books? I hope you're not shocked, because the book has the recipe for everything i look for in a book; gothic vibes, flawed characters, intriguing mystery and social commentary on women limitation during the 1800s.

Having Jane Eyre in charge of narrating her life is very progressive, as many things can get lost in the accounts of so many milestone and would be different to be told from a man biographer's perspective. She is sure of her word, hardly persuaded by people around her, and especially the men she met in her life, and sure of foot and mind.

I really should compliment Jane Eyre's will and patience, because if a man kept harassing me and asking le over and over to marry him after i said no many times, i would punch him in the throa