sandaru's reviews
187 reviews

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

3.75

Again pretty amazed by Roald Dahl's storytelling ability and the imagination for stories like this. The characters were funny and comical and very wittily written. Towards the end the story got a bit boring and the ending could have been better but I am not complaining about it. It was all fun and amusing. Specially the songs in the story with the witty rhymes and words. The audiobook narrator James Acaster did a great job in changing his voice for different characters. I felt like a child listening to it. 

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

challenging emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

One of my favourite plays ever written. The story is so simple yet complex. The characters and their characteristics are very relatable and realistic in the most raw simplistic way. Specially the characters of the fathers and sons and their relationship. 
"Salesmen never hit rock bottom" the main character coming from a profession where he was always on the road, making money in good days only to live the end of your life in disappointment, exhaustion and without the money because all he did was spending money on the house, the mortgage, and the family. The loss of identity once you lose your profession is something common I have seen in men. Probably in women too. 

Linda's character too indicate how a lot of women are in patriarchal families. Getting scolded for speaking over, being cheated on or kept in the dark on that detail. She enables her husband unrealistically with her blind loyalty and faith towards him.

The children being pressured to show the parents that they are successful making them feeling pathetic and exhausted in their own time. I love the character development. They are not so different from each other as individuals but all their characters speak much familiarity with family lives and parents. 

The BFG by Roald Dahl

adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

4.5

Truly a funny little story I would always remember. The audiobook narrator did an amazing job with his performance: changing up his voice and tone for each character and also for making it sound super comical in the BFG's parts. Loved it and recommended to children and adults alike. 

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

The last time I read this I gave this 5 stars. The story was mesmerising and haunting. And to this date it's still haunting for me. I also thought it was insulting of me to read this because this holds one of the biggest controversial stories related to Christianity, which is not even an ares I am well well-informed in but got to say the story in this is my type: full of mystery, climaxes and twists.  I love Robert Langdon stories. It feels like reading mysterious treasure hunts. 

The last time I read this, I considered how captivating the story was I gave it 5 stars but this time I have a better grading system, this the 4.25 stars.

One difference I felt compared to last time was the characters were unrealistic in my current sense. Too good to be true kind of characters and of course I personally do not believe the controversy in this story which also affects one of the main characters family. It was a good story but character writing-wise not the best of what I have read. 

And also this time and the last time alike I found it hard to read some parts about the religion that are too intricate for me personally. However how Brown used the historically accurate facts and symbolism was amazing and mind boggling. I think that is the best part of the story.

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.5

A clever and creative story. Eventhough I was familiar with the story and the characters I haven't read the book until now. Really enjoyed reading this. There were parts I was laughing super hard specially the lost boys were funny without trying because of their child-like innocence and ignorance but Wendy was irritatingly stupid sometimes but that too was comical at times. The concept and the writer's storytelling ability were definitely noteworthy. Specially how the story was told in the format of reading a tale by someone(the writer? Or even the reader) I think this story would have been a great bedtime story to be read by someone. The format and the story setting both are suitable for such occasion)

 However I wondered at times if the story or the vocabulary were fitting for the children. The use of syntax and some use of words were at times suprising and confusing (difficult vocabulary, complexed sentences and also the inappropriate words like "orgy", unless back then the word had a different meaning to it) 

Birthday Stories: Selected and Introduced by Haruki Murakami by Haruki Murakami

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

2.5

Wasn't the best but this is not completely Murakami's work. It's a collection of stories on theme of the setting of birthday he curated or sometimes translated. I read this for my 32nd birthday. The stories are short and fast paced so you can quickly read them but some of them are really weird and off putting. Most of them the stories were a sad and depressing like when it is about how children grow up and parents grow old. Or even stories about infidelity or secrets. Some are really interesting will give you moments to think about. Overall not a bad book to read on anyone's any brithday to be honest. 

I specifically loved Murakami's story. I think that was my favourite.

A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen

funny lighthearted reflective medium-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? Yes

3.25

I was questioning why the play is called "The Doll House" until the last 20mins of it, and it made perfectly clear why. Ibsen was not playing around about the title. 

I listened to the audiobook narrated by a cast so it was like listening to an actual play on stage, with soun effects and audience reactions. There were funny dialogues and scenes that were light-hearted and made the story more entertaining. The main character who is portrayed as a foolish spoiled woman who knows nothing about the world. Just like a doll. The final 20mins gives her the revelation why she is that way.

The whole story revolves around a woman trapped without her knowing in a patriarchal society finally coming to understand the women's place in the society and marriage which baffles her.

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

inspiring reflective slow-paced

2.25

I wanted more about writing in this book and less about running. I mean yes this is more like a memoir for Murakami but I think would have been great if it was less about running. 

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This is one of the best books I read this year. 

I thought I would never enjoy it for these type of books usually teach you nothing. I was very wrong. It was amazing character building by the author. How I my bias changed back and forth between the two main characters and ended up hating them both at the end. Not every author could do that obviously. It takes a lot of emotional approach a reader has to invest in these characters. There was something real about these unreal characters of the story.

The shifting duo POV writing style I have seen through Murakami's writing is one of my favourite writing styles. Murakami uses that with 3rd person POV which avoids confusion as little things the characters don't notice could be noticed by the readers. But first person narrative in this story made it personal, easy to describe what was going on in the minds of the two main characters as that was really really important to understand whys and how's. Also timelines between their narratives were at first not parallel but as the story was becoming undone, their timeline POVs became parallel which I thought was really smart of the author to do so. 

I did not like the ending. I felt like all the climaxes was building up for something big for the great ending but it did not happen. I wanted something to happen to them both but it did not. That was how invested I was in the characters. 

The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

4.25

The famous Peter Rabbit with wonderful illustrations is one of the the books I couldn't read as a kid but I wish I did. Finally I got my hands on the physical copy. It was written hundred years ago by Beatrix Potter for a sick young kid. It's very easy to read fun to look at the illustrations and also it's a cosy book. This year I have made it my goal to read Children fiction at least one each month, as a studying method for a personal project that I am working on. This was my March read.