stefo's reviews
45 reviews

A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

First part is absolutely fantastic, both in the existential dread aspect and "worldbuilding" one, even with drops of absurdist/black comedy. 
The second, not so much. You're wallowing in despair, yes, but to what purpose, you already understand how horrifying the idea of such stretched time is. Even with the cheeky hopefulness at the end it feels a bit unnecessary. 
Still, this is a great book, tad disturbing obviously, but very fast paced and "thrilling" in an odd way. Highly recommended if you dig the blurb. Won't take you much time either, so I think its very worth it.

Cleansed by Sarah Kane

challenging dark reflective sad fast-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

A difficult read not because of the shocking imagery but because of the sheer density of its contents (which are even hard to map out here in this tiny review). Dysphoria; suicide; sexual anxieties, this play has it all and yet it doesn't feel too edgy having in mind Kane's life: depression; multiple suicide attempts; hospitalization and then on top of all that needlessly harsh critical reception to her works.
Its also quite difficult giving this play a numerical rating. Everything coming out of this work feels entirely genuine and I find that amusing. Give this a read, you won't regret it.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.5

 Strong 7/10. I'm used to not liking American classics at this point, so actually enjoying this one was quite the surprise, its a simple story, with simple characters and in general is a good reflection of the time in which it was written and its common anxieties. Up until the end the story more or less felt like a good prologue to a larger book but I found the ending satisfying enough. Not to mention the narration I was listening to was great (Billy Howle). Recommended since its so concise. 

The Informers by Bret Easton Ellis

dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

 Why am I subjecting myself to more Ellis? Honestly because its easy (but not light) to consume and I have American Psycho and Lunar Park sitting on my bookshelf, waiting to be read once I'm ready to dive deep into Ellis' bullshit. Judging by the rating (even though the average rating on Goodreads doesn't really mean much) I didn't actually expect to enjoy this (enjoy is a strong word, more like "fulfil my morbid curiosity"). I did like the idea of a short story collection, especially with a writer who overstays his welcome most of the time, so most of the stories felt to the point and not too brooding or needlessly long. That being said, this is no genius book, this is yet another fucked up telling of urban legends, most likely real life inspired events and mostly believable 80's LA depravity, real fucked up shit. The blurb the audiobook had was "intense narrative that blurs genders, generations and even identities" and I guess I have to agree, it is precisely that. So far the best I've read by Bret and 7/10 isn't saying much but I'd take this any day over Less Than Zero. Read this if you wanna get an idea of what this guy is on about and for the love of God, don't go to LA. 

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

 For what its worth, this book isn't half bad, its certainly very brooding at times but also boring... I can somewhat see how one would hate this book but its not like its very long, yes it might feel long but in reality its much better that this story is packed as is. No need from the to comment on the characters since they are children after all but I wish there was more focus on different characters since we mostly stay with Ralph who is quite lame. There were some moments that I found disturbing but the book as a whole didn't really have a strong impact on me, which is fine. Overall, this is a surprisingly OK classic. 

Метаморфозата и Други Разкази by Franz Kafka

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky

challenging reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

 Cranky insecure troll man blabbering on about various themes, some profound, some pointless.
First part is certainly the better one, where the Underground Man criticizes various concepts like utopianism (pretty brave of Dostoevsky for its time considering... well... Russia). Second part feels like a completely different book, the Underground Man sharing these seemingly trivial but complex for him situations. I mostly didn't enjoy the second part, especially the part with Liza, it felt annoying, but I guess that was sort of Dostoevsky's point about this character and how he MUST exist in reality.
Ever since high school I've had this negative bias towards Russian realism and authors like Dostoevsky, but this was rather an alright novel, I'm sure most will enjoy it more than I did though. 

Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Bret Easton Ellis is a sick and depraved person, he knows this, its made apparent by the fact that Less Than Zero relates a lot to his teenage years in LA, It seems he sometimes projects himself through Clay, the main character of Less Than Zero and this here book. Clay is one of the most cruel characters I've ever read, he has no redeeming qualities and despite being aware of his wrongdoings he continues to be a self absorbed prick, he doesn't develop, in fact, he "declines". I'm trying to put into words my fascination with Ellis and his books, even though I don't fully enjoy them or think they're all that special, there's just something so bleak and depressing in them, its kind of impressive.
As far as the book goes its actually alright, I really liked the more meta commentary at the start and the "decline" of the awful characters from Less Than Zero. The story was tense even though I really didn't care for Clay, in fact the story became interesting because of the results of his apathy and self-absorbance.
All in all I'm left empty. Fuck you Ellis.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, Toxic relationship, Gore, Blood, Stalking, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Pedophilia, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism and Domestic abuse

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

1.5

"Дядо... Разкажи ни нещо друго, тази история е скучна..."
"Слушайте чада, слушайте. Тази си е най-интересната." 

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.5

 Втора книга подред, за която не знам как да се чувствам. Имах доста ниски очаквания след периодично изслушване и четене на по-негативни преживявяния на приятели и други, но не бих казал че "мразя" тази книга, бих предпочел да съм силно негативно афектиран честно казано, но не беше такъв случая с тази книжка. Разбирам съвременното мнозинсто, което мрази Холден и изключително неприятният му и досаден характер, но също така наистина ми стана малко тъжно за героя. Фактът, че след смъртта на брат си, Холден напълно отказва промяна и пренебрегва всичко около себе си, авторитетите не правейки нищо по въпроса (не че Холден създава приятна атмосфера за интроспективен разговор на първо място), е силно натъжаващ. Холден прикривайки тъгата си за мъртвия си брат започва да пренебрегва дори хората които са мили с него, това е преекспонирано от автора до абсурдни нива за съжаление, защото Холден излиза като женомразец и почти мизантроп в разказванията си. Единствените приятни моменти са тези със сестра му, която той наистина обича и иска да предпази, но това изгубено и ядосано момче просто не е много приятно за слушане, камоли за над 200 страници. 5/10 за опита и неприятния резултат.