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shrutislibrary's reviews
190 reviews
Anne of Green Gables: A Graphic Novel by Mariah Marsden, L.M. Montgomery
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-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
5.0
A lush, charming and beautifully illustrated graphic novel that will wrap you in a warm, cosy blanket of Avonlea, Green Gables and its surrounding magic.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-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
5.0
July 26, 2020
Dear Charlie,
I hope you are doing really well in life wherever you are. Yesterday night, I finished reading your letters to your friend to whom you decided to confide about a year of your high school life in the early 90s. You have a real gift with words, charlie, and I wish I could write like you! you will be a 44-year-old man as per my calculation since in 1992 you were 16 but I could be totally wrong since math never made much sense to me either, just like you.
I have so many things to say to you, charlie and so let me begin by saying thank you for writing those very candid personal letters to a total stranger. You are so brave to gather up the courage to pour forth your most intimate thoughts, fears, longings, friendships, insecurities, and your worst nightmares into those pages. Thank you for making me privy to your life experiences during a particularly difficult phase in your life and making me feel a part of them and not feel like an intruder. As a 22year old, I have similar agitations and uncertainties in life like you did at 16. and I don't know where it's headed. So you & I aren't much different.
My favourite part of the book was the Christmas present unwrapping with all your friends. I loved the part when Patrick gave you a suit and Sam gave you the new old typewriter. I teared up throughout your letters because I felt sad but at that moment I was happy kind of sad.
I'm so over the moon that you have shared the list of your favourite songs. I will begin by listening to each song in your winter playlist and then start all over again. I will read to kill a mocking bird, and on the road and every other book Bill gave to you to read over the year and which you shared with Sam and Patrick.
I remember you saying, "It's strange because sometimes, I read a book, and I think I am the people in the book." It really stuck with me what you said cuz I feel like I'm you and I'm living your life in the letters of this book.
You said in one of your letters that you wrote them because you needed someone who would just listen. Well, I am listening, charlie and I am always here for you, no matter what. You taught me to be present and to participate in my life and it starts right here with this letter of gratitude. You will always be in my heart, Charlie.
Love always,
your friend.
Dear Charlie,
I hope you are doing really well in life wherever you are. Yesterday night, I finished reading your letters to your friend to whom you decided to confide about a year of your high school life in the early 90s. You have a real gift with words, charlie, and I wish I could write like you! you will be a 44-year-old man as per my calculation since in 1992 you were 16 but I could be totally wrong since math never made much sense to me either, just like you.
I have so many things to say to you, charlie and so let me begin by saying thank you for writing those very candid personal letters to a total stranger. You are so brave to gather up the courage to pour forth your most intimate thoughts, fears, longings, friendships, insecurities, and your worst nightmares into those pages. Thank you for making me privy to your life experiences during a particularly difficult phase in your life and making me feel a part of them and not feel like an intruder. As a 22year old, I have similar agitations and uncertainties in life like you did at 16. and I don't know where it's headed. So you & I aren't much different.
My favourite part of the book was the Christmas present unwrapping with all your friends. I loved the part when Patrick gave you a suit and Sam gave you the new old typewriter. I teared up throughout your letters because I felt sad but at that moment I was happy kind of sad.
I'm so over the moon that you have shared the list of your favourite songs. I will begin by listening to each song in your winter playlist and then start all over again. I will read to kill a mocking bird, and on the road and every other book Bill gave to you to read over the year and which you shared with Sam and Patrick.
I remember you saying, "It's strange because sometimes, I read a book, and I think I am the people in the book." It really stuck with me what you said cuz I feel like I'm you and I'm living your life in the letters of this book.
You said in one of your letters that you wrote them because you needed someone who would just listen. Well, I am listening, charlie and I am always here for you, no matter what. You taught me to be present and to participate in my life and it starts right here with this letter of gratitude. You will always be in my heart, Charlie.
Love always,
your friend.
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Mental illness
Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"I didn’t want to be his eyes on my world. I wanted to be seen. I wanted him to see me with his own eyes. I wanted him to draw me."
There are times when you finish reading a book and you willingly let it engulf you, let it immerse you in its words, its entirety, its cruelty, its beauty and its in-between spaces that are empty and cold. Bathe in its uncomfortable silences and glory in its lack of closures. Because life is absurd and wild and lacks any inherent meaning or has answers to comfort you.
"Winter in Sokcho" is one such work of art that demands you to surrender yourself wilfully and let yourself be submerged in the weight of the crashing waves. Let it drown you and set you free.
Set amidst the dead of winter in an otherwise touristy small seaside town called Sokcho in South Korea, "Winter in Sokcho" begins with a new resident checking in one of its many guesthouses- an impatient French artist Yan Kerrand, as cold and impassive as the very landscape around him. Working at this dilapidated guesthouse is our nameless narrator, receptionist, cook, laundrywoman - all in one - a 24-year-old half-Korean half-French woman - the one struggling to carve out a space for herself in this in-betweenness of her identity.
What drew Kerrand to this remote and insignificant town half the world away from his home in Normandy that too in the middle of winter when there is nothing to do ever and things are just slow, unmoving and freezing? Struggling to finish the last book in his 10 book comic series, Kerrand landed aimlessly at Sokcho. Looking for inspiration for his comic hero to end his journey and letting go is proving to be the hardest challenge for him. What he needs is a fresh pair of eyes, someone to show him the sights of Sokcho, the real Sokcho- not the one glistening and camouflaged to draw the tourists, but the one that is hidden in plain sight, the less-frequented lanes, beaches and mountaintops- where not even our narrator has been.
The novel is all about the gaze: both within and without, both gazing at oneself from someone else's eyes and seeing the world through that someone's eyes and finding (or losing) yourself in this struggle. Throughout the 100 pages, right from the start the narrator and Kerrand constantly pervade each other's spaces- snatching glances, cutting stares- him entering her kitchen and subjecting her to his strong gaze while she cooks and does laundry, her furtively watching him when he is drawing till the long hours at night in his room. At first, she says "He looked straight through me, without seeing me." But in the end, he sees her for who she is and has to lose himself to do so. Sartre said "Hell is other people": to the nameless narrator, Kerrand is her Hell and she his Muse.
There are times when you finish reading a book and you willingly let it engulf you, let it immerse you in its words, its entirety, its cruelty, its beauty and its in-between spaces that are empty and cold. Bathe in its uncomfortable silences and glory in its lack of closures. Because life is absurd and wild and lacks any inherent meaning or has answers to comfort you.
"Winter in Sokcho" is one such work of art that demands you to surrender yourself wilfully and let yourself be submerged in the weight of the crashing waves. Let it drown you and set you free.
Set amidst the dead of winter in an otherwise touristy small seaside town called Sokcho in South Korea, "Winter in Sokcho" begins with a new resident checking in one of its many guesthouses- an impatient French artist Yan Kerrand, as cold and impassive as the very landscape around him. Working at this dilapidated guesthouse is our nameless narrator, receptionist, cook, laundrywoman - all in one - a 24-year-old half-Korean half-French woman - the one struggling to carve out a space for herself in this in-betweenness of her identity.
What drew Kerrand to this remote and insignificant town half the world away from his home in Normandy that too in the middle of winter when there is nothing to do ever and things are just slow, unmoving and freezing? Struggling to finish the last book in his 10 book comic series, Kerrand landed aimlessly at Sokcho. Looking for inspiration for his comic hero to end his journey and letting go is proving to be the hardest challenge for him. What he needs is a fresh pair of eyes, someone to show him the sights of Sokcho, the real Sokcho- not the one glistening and camouflaged to draw the tourists, but the one that is hidden in plain sight, the less-frequented lanes, beaches and mountaintops- where not even our narrator has been.
The novel is all about the gaze: both within and without, both gazing at oneself from someone else's eyes and seeing the world through that someone's eyes and finding (or losing) yourself in this struggle. Throughout the 100 pages, right from the start the narrator and Kerrand constantly pervade each other's spaces- snatching glances, cutting stares- him entering her kitchen and subjecting her to his strong gaze while she cooks and does laundry, her furtively watching him when he is drawing till the long hours at night in his room. At first, she says "He looked straight through me, without seeing me." But in the end, he sees her for who she is and has to lose himself to do so. Sartre said "Hell is other people": to the nameless narrator, Kerrand is her Hell and she his Muse.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia
Almond by Won-pyung Sohn
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
"I have almonds inside me.
So do you.
So do those you love and those you hate.
No one can feel them.
You just know they are there.
This story is, in short, about a monster meeting another monster. One of the monsters is me."
Have you ever met a 'monster' and stopped to think about what made them the way they are? Or are you one of those who has always skirted past such monsters in cold deserted streets hunched up against the dusty floor, not stirring to either offer help or ask how they are?
Translated from the Korean by Joosun Lee, 'Almond' begins with our narrator Yungae retelling the events starting from his birth, his boyhood days to his early teens.
These lines from the prologue set the tone for rest of this incredibly compact, quick paced novel about a boy who feels no emotions, who is incapable of any feeling or empathy. The disease is called Alexithymia which renders Yunjae's amygdala (the 'almond' in his brain) imperceptible to human emotions like love, happiness, anger, or pain. He can't react if someone physically injures him.
Throughout his childhood, Yunjae has been prepared by his mother & later his grandma to 'normalise' his behaviour and to put on an act of showcasing emotions in everyday situations even if he feels none, in order to blend in with the kids at school.
Christened with all kinds of names like a freak, a robot, a weirdo - he is affectionately called 'monster' by his grandma. But what happens if this solid support system is uprooted by an unforeseen tragedy? Yunjae must learn to survive and adapt in a cruel and unforgiving world, navigating the dark seas of emotions all alone. In this journey of self actualisation, he will come across some unexpected friends, a lot of bullies, a monster- another monster like him that will bind them together in an inseparable bond.
'Almond' is a story replete with beautiful descriptions of Seoul set against the backdrop of changing seasons in the streets, but is also haunted by the memories of sickness & tragedies. The ending will make you feel warm, teary & hopeful in unlikely friendships and about 'monsters' who can be saved. #ipreview via @preview.app
So do you.
So do those you love and those you hate.
No one can feel them.
You just know they are there.
This story is, in short, about a monster meeting another monster. One of the monsters is me."
Have you ever met a 'monster' and stopped to think about what made them the way they are? Or are you one of those who has always skirted past such monsters in cold deserted streets hunched up against the dusty floor, not stirring to either offer help or ask how they are?
Translated from the Korean by Joosun Lee, 'Almond' begins with our narrator Yungae retelling the events starting from his birth, his boyhood days to his early teens.
These lines from the prologue set the tone for rest of this incredibly compact, quick paced novel about a boy who feels no emotions, who is incapable of any feeling or empathy. The disease is called Alexithymia which renders Yunjae's amygdala (the 'almond' in his brain) imperceptible to human emotions like love, happiness, anger, or pain. He can't react if someone physically injures him.
Throughout his childhood, Yunjae has been prepared by his mother & later his grandma to 'normalise' his behaviour and to put on an act of showcasing emotions in everyday situations even if he feels none, in order to blend in with the kids at school.
Christened with all kinds of names like a freak, a robot, a weirdo - he is affectionately called 'monster' by his grandma. But what happens if this solid support system is uprooted by an unforeseen tragedy? Yunjae must learn to survive and adapt in a cruel and unforgiving world, navigating the dark seas of emotions all alone. In this journey of self actualisation, he will come across some unexpected friends, a lot of bullies, a monster- another monster like him that will bind them together in an inseparable bond.
'Almond' is a story replete with beautiful descriptions of Seoul set against the backdrop of changing seasons in the streets, but is also haunted by the memories of sickness & tragedies. The ending will make you feel warm, teary & hopeful in unlikely friendships and about 'monsters' who can be saved. #ipreview via @preview.app
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
I mean that clifchanger-who could've sensed it coming, right? But I felt a hunch that something like that was being hurled my way. When there is so much drama, tension and nail biting action in a book such as SoC does, you are not surprised by anything anymore. You grow numb to the surprises and twists. The ending was not quite what I expected to be but the characters and the mood makes it a solid 5 stars. It will be interesting to see how the sequel wraps up the main storyline and what fate awaits each of the Crows. The characters and the way their back stories are written is really compelling and is what keeps the pace of the story rolling forward like a boulder.
I haven't even watched the show yet but I could perfectly envision all the cast members donning their respective characters' little quirks and traits playing in my mind. I mean I literally get it why Kaz is most people's fav lol. It is his amorality, brooding cynicism and a dangerous edge masking his inner layer of vulnerability that makes him human. This is what makes everyone go weak.
I haven't even watched the show yet but I could perfectly envision all the cast members donning their respective characters' little quirks and traits playing in my mind. I mean I literally get it why Kaz is most people's fav lol. It is his amorality, brooding cynicism and a dangerous edge masking his inner layer of vulnerability that makes him human. This is what makes everyone go weak.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder
Two Stories by Sally Rooney
"He thought that his life was just about to start happening then. He thought that he was poised tantalisingly on the brink, and that any day—or even any minute—the waiting would end and the real thing would begin."(Colour and Light)
I gather that Sally Rooney is a hit or miss author for many people. Some people love her work and some love to hate her characters. I find that I am poised tantalisingly(to put it her way) in the middle of this spectrum. My experience with Sally Rooney has been one of utter bafflement because I never seem to make up my mind about her. Last summer I read 'Normal People' which I gave a generous three stars. I understood the appeal of the book and the discussions it provoked but again I couldn't begin to care for any of the characters. Maybe I will re-read the book this summer and finally finish watching the series and re-evaluate my feelings for the book. And do I intend to read 'Conversations with Friends' as well before the series comes out.
'Two Stories' is an anthology of, well, two stories 'Mr. Salary' (published in a slim Faber and Faber volume, 2016) and 'Colour and Light' (published in The New Yorker, 2019).
I listened to the audiobook this morning to have a quick read. 'Colour and Light' is available on The New Yorker's website with the author herself narrating the story.
'Mr. Salary' begins at the Dublin Airport, where Sukie, a 24 year old grad student returning 'home' from Boston is being picked up by her kinda sugar daddy, Nathan, the titular Mr Salary. The story focuses on their relationship, the complicated and long past they share with snippets of flashbacks to Sukie's family background. Nathan, a 40 year old techie and related to Sukie's family, offers to house and 'adopt' Suki when she begins college on a debt. From there on, what started as a temporary co-dependent arrangement dragged into a 'three-year-long-thing-without-a-name' . An interaction occurs, one that sparks Sukie to see her life for truly what it is - a hollow space she inhabits, without a sense of purpose and direction. She feels estranged from her own life, living in the corners and shadows, not knowing where she'll go.
'Colour and Light', her most recently published story follows the strange interactions between two characters, Aidan, a country boy working at a local hotel in an Irish village by the coast and a woman he sees in his brother, Declan's car one day. What follows is several weeks of snatched conversations and buildup of tension between Aidan and Pauline, the woman he sees outwardly like people around her see her as : a somewhat vaguely successful(it's not revealed explicitly if she is or isn't) screenwriter in this rundown part of Ireland, minding her business. Meanwhile Aidan doesn't know the nature of the relationship between Pauline and his brother, who she refers to as a 'car friend'. Are they lovers? Friends? Passing acquaintances? Pauline is a figure coloured in mystery. These questions are never answered in a truly Sally Rooney fashion.
I think I need some time and another listen to process the ending of both these stories because Rooney is notoriously good at open and abrupt, unresolved endings between her characters. I don't think I have deciphered yet what the meaning is behind the stories but the quote I have added above resonates with me a lot and has made me ponder. Rooney is cunningly skilled at making you self-introspect and forcing you to put yourself in the shoes of her characters, whom you might find to be utterly intolerable or unlikeable but their actions spark a fire of reflection within yourself - are you really all that better or different than them? Would you have acted differently if you found yourself in these precariously muddy situations such as the characters? I am still figuring that one out for myself.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I gather that Sally Rooney is a hit or miss author for many people. Some people love her work and some love to hate her characters. I find that I am poised tantalisingly(to put it her way) in the middle of this spectrum. My experience with Sally Rooney has been one of utter bafflement because I never seem to make up my mind about her. Last summer I read 'Normal People' which I gave a generous three stars. I understood the appeal of the book and the discussions it provoked but again I couldn't begin to care for any of the characters. Maybe I will re-read the book this summer and finally finish watching the series and re-evaluate my feelings for the book. And do I intend to read 'Conversations with Friends' as well before the series comes out.
'Two Stories' is an anthology of, well, two stories 'Mr. Salary' (published in a slim Faber and Faber volume, 2016) and 'Colour and Light' (published in The New Yorker, 2019).
I listened to the audiobook this morning to have a quick read. 'Colour and Light' is available on The New Yorker's website with the author herself narrating the story.
'Mr. Salary' begins at the Dublin Airport, where Sukie, a 24 year old grad student returning 'home' from Boston is being picked up by her kinda sugar daddy, Nathan, the titular Mr Salary. The story focuses on their relationship, the complicated and long past they share with snippets of flashbacks to Sukie's family background. Nathan, a 40 year old techie and related to Sukie's family, offers to house and 'adopt' Suki when she begins college on a debt. From there on, what started as a temporary co-dependent arrangement dragged into a 'three-year-long-thing-without-a-name' . An interaction occurs, one that sparks Sukie to see her life for truly what it is - a hollow space she inhabits, without a sense of purpose and direction. She feels estranged from her own life, living in the corners and shadows, not knowing where she'll go.
'Colour and Light', her most recently published story follows the strange interactions between two characters, Aidan, a country boy working at a local hotel in an Irish village by the coast and a woman he sees in his brother, Declan's car one day. What follows is several weeks of snatched conversations and buildup of tension between Aidan and Pauline, the woman he sees outwardly like people around her see her as : a somewhat vaguely successful(it's not revealed explicitly if she is or isn't) screenwriter in this rundown part of Ireland, minding her business. Meanwhile Aidan doesn't know the nature of the relationship between Pauline and his brother, who she refers to as a 'car friend'. Are they lovers? Friends? Passing acquaintances? Pauline is a figure coloured in mystery. These questions are never answered in a truly Sally Rooney fashion.
I think I need some time and another listen to process the ending of both these stories because Rooney is notoriously good at open and abrupt, unresolved endings between her characters. I don't think I have deciphered yet what the meaning is behind the stories but the quote I have added above resonates with me a lot and has made me ponder. Rooney is cunningly skilled at making you self-introspect and forcing you to put yourself in the shoes of her characters, whom you might find to be utterly intolerable or unlikeable but their actions spark a fire of reflection within yourself - are you really all that better or different than them? Would you have acted differently if you found yourself in these precariously muddy situations such as the characters? I am still figuring that one out for myself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer
Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0