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tits_mcgee's reviews
180 reviews
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Who is Gatsby?
Fitzgerald creates a wonderful atmosphere, tapping into the glamour and elegance of the roaring 20's with prose that marches to the beat of jazz parties and the stench of cocktails and cigars.
"In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars."
In this age of flash cars, bond salesmen and debauchery, our narrator Nick Carraway is an optimistic but outside observer, initially disconnected from the follies of his exuberant neighbours, Nick is introduced to a Mr. Jay Gatsby and that is where our journey of intrigue begins.
Gatsby is our mysterious rags-to-riches millionaire; the party host who seemingly never shows up at his parties; a charming yet deceptive romantic whose successes are matched only by his obsession with reigniting old love.
This book is a failed love story, one of disillusionment and false hope, of materialism and showboating, but ultimately it is a story of the American dream and of how unobtainable it really is. Our Mr. Gatsby has made his money and become as impressive as can be, but it leaves him unfulfilled and lonely. It is a life lesson I am personally addicted to reading, the sort of existential dread that keeps me up at night while tugging at my heart strings.
I loved this book and I will read it again someday.
"So we drove on toward death through the cooling twilight."
10/10
Fitzgerald creates a wonderful atmosphere, tapping into the glamour and elegance of the roaring 20's with prose that marches to the beat of jazz parties and the stench of cocktails and cigars.
"In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars."
In this age of flash cars, bond salesmen and debauchery, our narrator Nick Carraway is an optimistic but outside observer, initially disconnected from the follies of his exuberant neighbours, Nick is introduced to a Mr. Jay Gatsby and that is where our journey of intrigue begins.
Gatsby is our mysterious rags-to-riches millionaire; the party host who seemingly never shows up at his parties; a charming yet deceptive romantic whose successes are matched only by his obsession with reigniting old love.
This book is a failed love story, one of disillusionment and false hope, of materialism and showboating, but ultimately it is a story of the American dream and of how unobtainable it really is. Our Mr. Gatsby has made his money and become as impressive as can be, but it leaves him unfulfilled and lonely. It is a life lesson I am personally addicted to reading, the sort of existential dread that keeps me up at night while tugging at my heart strings.
I loved this book and I will read it again someday.
"So we drove on toward death through the cooling twilight."
10/10
1984 by George Orwell
challenging
dark
informative
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? No
5.0
đ A book that transcends literature and has become synonymous with paranoid conspiracy. đ
I love 1984, its flavour of dystopia is scary yet eye opening, it does what all great books do: teaches us about the world and ourselves.
This is my second time reading it, and although I fell in love the first time, around 12 years ago, it became something more than a "good book" on this re-read. Perhaps it's because I'm a little bit older and more interested in how the world works, or perhaps I've become more cynical and this book aligns with my paranoid outlook more so than when I was a teenager.
Everyone should read this book. It is sad, scary, well structured and well paced. Whether you are anti-government or not, I think this book will grab you by the throat and never let go.
10/10
I love 1984, its flavour of dystopia is scary yet eye opening, it does what all great books do: teaches us about the world and ourselves.
This is my second time reading it, and although I fell in love the first time, around 12 years ago, it became something more than a "good book" on this re-read. Perhaps it's because I'm a little bit older and more interested in how the world works, or perhaps I've become more cynical and this book aligns with my paranoid outlook more so than when I was a teenager.
Everyone should read this book. It is sad, scary, well structured and well paced. Whether you are anti-government or not, I think this book will grab you by the throat and never let go.
10/10
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick SĂźskind
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Patrick SĂźskind: a name synonymous with mystery among the literary crowd; a reclusive man, one who rejects any kind of literary award and declines interviews. Get the feeling this guyâs an eccentric? Yeah, me too, and the feeling only amplifies when you read his novel: Perfume (Das Parfum).
German born, Patrick comes from a family of literary talent. His educaational background is in medieval and modern history which he studied in the early-mid 70âs before breaking off his studies to pursue a career in writing. He relocated to Paris, and made his first claim to success with The Double Bass in 1981, with his best selling novel Perfume being published just four years later. Heâs yet to write another novel, which serves the aura of mysteriousness in a way I find satisfyingly apt, as though he stepped out of the shadows to show us some particular thing before slipping back to the abyss from whence he came. Okay, a bit dramatic perhaps, but you canât blame me, I am merely a victim of SĂźskindâs seductive voodoo. Like the protagonist (and I use that word lightly) in Perfume, SĂźskind has become a godlike entity.
Perfume is a truly unique book, one that will stay in my memory banks for as long as Pigs remain flightless. Its darkly satirical cruelty makes American Psycho look like a childrenâs book. I bloody love how dark and strange it gets; let its weird evil spirit infect me, let my dreams be haunted by Jean-Baptise Grenouilleâs perversions and cruelty, because Iâm addicted to the dark and creepy and SĂźskind can do such a thing in a way that is wholly tasteful and complex, like Camille Saint-Saens Danse Macabre, or Hieronymus Boschâs The Garden of Earthly Delights.
His evocative prose creates a reading experience that combines the grotesque with the majestic. SĂźskind pulled me into his rich atmospheric settings, conjured smells and sights and feelings on a level that most authors can only dream of conjuring. He has a way of tapping into my very soul, mesmerising me with a story so bizarre, so surreal and yet it speaks of very real, very human experiences, aspects of our nature that perhaps we hide away from ourselves like our perpetual struggle with identity and place, how much power and control we truly have in a world that sees us as a status or a burden, and dare I say it, what it means to be human.
Jean-Baptise Grenouille . . . our hero who came from zero, a classic bildungsroman tale with a dark, evil backbone. Grenouille is a conduit, initially for observations of societal rejection, a conduit for our inane resentment towards people we donât understand, but eventually he transforms into a conduit for how we value people with status and renown, and for how much power we give to those in possession of such things. A hero then not by classic definition but by manner of how his cruel achievements teach us of ourselves, teach us of our own cruelty and of our weakness.
A book that everyone should read, one that I believe will go down in history as the literary equivalent of Kurt Cobain â he came, he saw, he blew our minds away and left a legacy of mystery and intrigue.
German born, Patrick comes from a family of literary talent. His educaational background is in medieval and modern history which he studied in the early-mid 70âs before breaking off his studies to pursue a career in writing. He relocated to Paris, and made his first claim to success with The Double Bass in 1981, with his best selling novel Perfume being published just four years later. Heâs yet to write another novel, which serves the aura of mysteriousness in a way I find satisfyingly apt, as though he stepped out of the shadows to show us some particular thing before slipping back to the abyss from whence he came. Okay, a bit dramatic perhaps, but you canât blame me, I am merely a victim of SĂźskindâs seductive voodoo. Like the protagonist (and I use that word lightly) in Perfume, SĂźskind has become a godlike entity.
Perfume is a truly unique book, one that will stay in my memory banks for as long as Pigs remain flightless. Its darkly satirical cruelty makes American Psycho look like a childrenâs book. I bloody love how dark and strange it gets; let its weird evil spirit infect me, let my dreams be haunted by Jean-Baptise Grenouilleâs perversions and cruelty, because Iâm addicted to the dark and creepy and SĂźskind can do such a thing in a way that is wholly tasteful and complex, like Camille Saint-Saens Danse Macabre, or Hieronymus Boschâs The Garden of Earthly Delights.
His evocative prose creates a reading experience that combines the grotesque with the majestic. SĂźskind pulled me into his rich atmospheric settings, conjured smells and sights and feelings on a level that most authors can only dream of conjuring. He has a way of tapping into my very soul, mesmerising me with a story so bizarre, so surreal and yet it speaks of very real, very human experiences, aspects of our nature that perhaps we hide away from ourselves like our perpetual struggle with identity and place, how much power and control we truly have in a world that sees us as a status or a burden, and dare I say it, what it means to be human.
Jean-Baptise Grenouille . . . our hero who came from zero, a classic bildungsroman tale with a dark, evil backbone. Grenouille is a conduit, initially for observations of societal rejection, a conduit for our inane resentment towards people we donât understand, but eventually he transforms into a conduit for how we value people with status and renown, and for how much power we give to those in possession of such things. A hero then not by classic definition but by manner of how his cruel achievements teach us of ourselves, teach us of our own cruelty and of our weakness.
A book that everyone should read, one that I believe will go down in history as the literary equivalent of Kurt Cobain â he came, he saw, he blew our minds away and left a legacy of mystery and intrigue.
The Gap Into Conflict: The Real Story by Stephen R. Donaldson
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
An intense character focussed romp with a refreshing structure and perspectives not usually seen in the sci-fi genre, A Gap into Conflict follows an anxiety riddled rapist as he exploits a female police officer using brain-controlling technology. Yeah . . . itâs as messed up as youâre thinking.
Man, this book gets dark fast and holds that tone with a tight grip through the whole story. For the most part, this book feels like the antithesis of the normal sci-fi tropes. There is no âheroâ, no glory and no epic plot, instead we get a short but focussed study of psychotic and erratic behaviour and some grimly delicious world building that leaves you in the dark about the broader picture.
Certainly not a book for everyone, but if you like fucked up characters and unique reading experiences then I definitely recommend this. I think my rating of it is going to be a strong 8/10, but itâs a difficult one to score, it feels a bit like watching dark-web nonce porn and saying âyeah thatâs good shit.â
So . . . 8/10, I think.
Man, this book gets dark fast and holds that tone with a tight grip through the whole story. For the most part, this book feels like the antithesis of the normal sci-fi tropes. There is no âheroâ, no glory and no epic plot, instead we get a short but focussed study of psychotic and erratic behaviour and some grimly delicious world building that leaves you in the dark about the broader picture.
Certainly not a book for everyone, but if you like fucked up characters and unique reading experiences then I definitely recommend this. I think my rating of it is going to be a strong 8/10, but itâs a difficult one to score, it feels a bit like watching dark-web nonce porn and saying âyeah thatâs good shit.â
So . . . 8/10, I think.
Light in August by William Faulkner
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A Southern Gothic masterpiece. Faulkner is one of those authors who can captivate you with his prose no matter what the subject, but his descriptive, complex and intelligent sentences lend themselves harmoniously to the bleakness and poverty stricken post-war deep south, creating an atmosphere that Iâm completely addicted to.
Light in August introduces us to a varied cast of characters ranging from the stoutly optimistic yet naive, to the hysterical, to the depraved and downtrodden. The character writing is some of the best Iâve ever read, it was a real joy to follow their meandering plots that act more like individual themes to illustrate the injustices and ugliness of Deep South racist culture, a topic that Faulkner is clearly passionate about.
Itâs easy to lose yourself in the depth of Faulknerâs themes and metaphors, the racism, the identity, the faith, but donât let that deter you from enjoying this book for the moody, beautifully written feat of literary genius that it is; you can easily read it, if you choose to do so, for its setting and superb character writing.
âMemory believes before knowing remembers. Believes longer than recollects, longer than knowing even wonders. Knows remembers believes a corridor in a big long garbled cold echoing building of dark red brick sootbleakened by more chimneys than its own, set in a grassless cinderstrewnpacked compound surrounded by smoking factory purlieus and enclosed by ten food steel-and-wire fence like a penitentiary or a zoo, where in random erratic surges, with sparrowlike childtrebling, orphans in identical and uniform blue denim in and out of remembering but in knowing constant in the bleak walls, the bleak windows where in rain soot from the yearly adjacenting chimneys streaked like black tears.â
10/10
Light in August introduces us to a varied cast of characters ranging from the stoutly optimistic yet naive, to the hysterical, to the depraved and downtrodden. The character writing is some of the best Iâve ever read, it was a real joy to follow their meandering plots that act more like individual themes to illustrate the injustices and ugliness of Deep South racist culture, a topic that Faulkner is clearly passionate about.
Itâs easy to lose yourself in the depth of Faulknerâs themes and metaphors, the racism, the identity, the faith, but donât let that deter you from enjoying this book for the moody, beautifully written feat of literary genius that it is; you can easily read it, if you choose to do so, for its setting and superb character writing.
âMemory believes before knowing remembers. Believes longer than recollects, longer than knowing even wonders. Knows remembers believes a corridor in a big long garbled cold echoing building of dark red brick sootbleakened by more chimneys than its own, set in a grassless cinderstrewnpacked compound surrounded by smoking factory purlieus and enclosed by ten food steel-and-wire fence like a penitentiary or a zoo, where in random erratic surges, with sparrowlike childtrebling, orphans in identical and uniform blue denim in and out of remembering but in knowing constant in the bleak walls, the bleak windows where in rain soot from the yearly adjacenting chimneys streaked like black tears.â
10/10
Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor
adventurous
dark
funny
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
4.5
What? A southern gothic with lashings of zany absurdity and humour?
Tis combination I wouldnât have thought would work, but Flannery OâConnor has proved me wrong because this book was fantastic, and the audiobook narrator Bronson Pinchot was entirely complementary to OâConnorâs prose, conveying perfectly that whimsical comedic tone.
OâConnor writes with a crisp, sharp tongue, with memorable characters and location writing that is similar in mood to Faulknerâs, though with a less complex writing style, one that is more straight shooting and charismatic, less of the loooooong (though beautiful) sentences.
The atmosphere is all there, and although the book is humourous itâs still very immersive and I was addicted to her southern flavour â a flavour that Iâve become a little bit obsessed with after reading Cormac McCarthyâs Outer Dark.
Indeed I read Outer Dark right before reading this, and then went on to read Faulknerâs Light in August, and of the three I would say OâConnorâs is the most accessible and also the most plot oriented. Where Outer Dark might be more about the mood and cruelty of the deep south, and Light in August might be more about persistence, hysteria and racial identity in a post-war economy, Wise Blood leans more on amplifying the grotesque to elaborate on her metaphors and compel the story forward in a more palatable way, mostly themed around religion and religious identity â or rather, anti-religious identity.
âThere are all kinds of truth ... but behind all of them there is only one truth and that is that there's no truth.â
Donât let the religious themes put you off though, reading this book is fun and easy and puts me in the mind-frame of watching cinema. I recommend the audiobook on Audible.
âLater he saw Jesus move from tree to tree in the back of his mind, a wild ragged figure motioning him to turn around and come off into the dark where he might be walking on the water and not know it and then suddenly know it and drown.â
9/10
Tis combination I wouldnât have thought would work, but Flannery OâConnor has proved me wrong because this book was fantastic, and the audiobook narrator Bronson Pinchot was entirely complementary to OâConnorâs prose, conveying perfectly that whimsical comedic tone.
OâConnor writes with a crisp, sharp tongue, with memorable characters and location writing that is similar in mood to Faulknerâs, though with a less complex writing style, one that is more straight shooting and charismatic, less of the loooooong (though beautiful) sentences.
The atmosphere is all there, and although the book is humourous itâs still very immersive and I was addicted to her southern flavour â a flavour that Iâve become a little bit obsessed with after reading Cormac McCarthyâs Outer Dark.
Indeed I read Outer Dark right before reading this, and then went on to read Faulknerâs Light in August, and of the three I would say OâConnorâs is the most accessible and also the most plot oriented. Where Outer Dark might be more about the mood and cruelty of the deep south, and Light in August might be more about persistence, hysteria and racial identity in a post-war economy, Wise Blood leans more on amplifying the grotesque to elaborate on her metaphors and compel the story forward in a more palatable way, mostly themed around religion and religious identity â or rather, anti-religious identity.
âThere are all kinds of truth ... but behind all of them there is only one truth and that is that there's no truth.â
Donât let the religious themes put you off though, reading this book is fun and easy and puts me in the mind-frame of watching cinema. I recommend the audiobook on Audible.
âLater he saw Jesus move from tree to tree in the back of his mind, a wild ragged figure motioning him to turn around and come off into the dark where he might be walking on the water and not know it and then suddenly know it and drown.â
9/10
Outer Dark by Cormac McCarthy
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The kind of book that floods your innards with nihilistic, existential dread, and makes you thank the author for doing such a thing with grace. If the word âmoroseâ was a book, thisâd be it.
âIve seen the meanness of humans till I dont know why God aint put out the sun and gone away.â
Enter a landscape that is cruel and grey and full of despair; see its people: a dreamlike cast of beaten down southern American folk, racist and poor, desperate and evil, diverse and believable, whose quirks and flawed characteristics filled me up with joy like a wholesome home cooked pie and a cool beer on a chilly afternoon. Oh man, I loved how nasty these people were.
I am addicted to Cormacâs southern gothic flavour, his ability to capture a mood left me in awe, I could read his writing all day long. His prose is a sharp thing, fully controlled and subtly emotive; the atmosphere injected into this book is thick and immersive and yet no word was overly flowery or abstract. The whole thing had a tone of calm indifference despite the violence, it was as though the author was simply observing something heâd seen a million times before, unflinching at the cruelty and depravity of his world; this gave me a reading experience that only McCarthy can conjure so expertly.
In a strange way, I felt myself comforted by the grim setting, as though the beauty of his prose pierced through the moroseness, a feat not easily achieved when a plot follows such absurd amounts of abuse and poverty stricken civilization. Cormac doesnât hold back either, this book is as bleak as hell and full of violence. If youâre the kind of person who needs trigger warnings before reading a book, well . . . maybe sit this one out.
âIn a world darksome as this'n I believe a blind man ort to be better sighted than most.â
One of the best books Iâve read this year, and one that has set me on a path of southern gothic obsession.
10/10
âIve seen the meanness of humans till I dont know why God aint put out the sun and gone away.â
Enter a landscape that is cruel and grey and full of despair; see its people: a dreamlike cast of beaten down southern American folk, racist and poor, desperate and evil, diverse and believable, whose quirks and flawed characteristics filled me up with joy like a wholesome home cooked pie and a cool beer on a chilly afternoon. Oh man, I loved how nasty these people were.
I am addicted to Cormacâs southern gothic flavour, his ability to capture a mood left me in awe, I could read his writing all day long. His prose is a sharp thing, fully controlled and subtly emotive; the atmosphere injected into this book is thick and immersive and yet no word was overly flowery or abstract. The whole thing had a tone of calm indifference despite the violence, it was as though the author was simply observing something heâd seen a million times before, unflinching at the cruelty and depravity of his world; this gave me a reading experience that only McCarthy can conjure so expertly.
In a strange way, I felt myself comforted by the grim setting, as though the beauty of his prose pierced through the moroseness, a feat not easily achieved when a plot follows such absurd amounts of abuse and poverty stricken civilization. Cormac doesnât hold back either, this book is as bleak as hell and full of violence. If youâre the kind of person who needs trigger warnings before reading a book, well . . . maybe sit this one out.
âIn a world darksome as this'n I believe a blind man ort to be better sighted than most.â
One of the best books Iâve read this year, and one that has set me on a path of southern gothic obsession.
10/10
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"What's it going to be then, eh?"
There's no doubting that this book is a masterpiece, pertinent to the conversation about free-will vs totalitarianism, and a solid observation of youths attraction to crime.
"Is it better for a man to have chosen evil than to have good imposed upon him?"
Burgess has conjured something special here, an ultra violent nightmare dystopia full of fighting, rape, and mindless bloody burglaries; the weird thing is, the real horror show begins when the criminal protagonist undergoes an experiment to transform his menacing disposition into one that is civilised.
The prose is an insane playground for Burgess, while it is humorous and does a good job of obscuring the violence, I found it difficult to get on with it; the language Burgess invented, "Nadsat", was just too bizarre for me to enjoy, although I did fully appreciate its uniqueness.
"Then, brothers, it came. Oh, bliss, bliss and heaven. I lay all nagoy to the ceiling, my gulliver on my rookers on the pillow, glazzies closed, rot open in bliss, slooshying the sluice of lovely sounds. Oh, it was gorgeousness and gorgeosity made flesh."
A book that I won't be forgetting anytime soon, and one that I imagine is many peoples number one book of all time; for me though, while I appreciate its genius, the prose was too difficult to chew through so I can't bring myself to rate it too high.
8/10
There's no doubting that this book is a masterpiece, pertinent to the conversation about free-will vs totalitarianism, and a solid observation of youths attraction to crime.
"Is it better for a man to have chosen evil than to have good imposed upon him?"
Burgess has conjured something special here, an ultra violent nightmare dystopia full of fighting, rape, and mindless bloody burglaries; the weird thing is, the real horror show begins when the criminal protagonist undergoes an experiment to transform his menacing disposition into one that is civilised.
The prose is an insane playground for Burgess, while it is humorous and does a good job of obscuring the violence, I found it difficult to get on with it; the language Burgess invented, "Nadsat", was just too bizarre for me to enjoy, although I did fully appreciate its uniqueness.
"Then, brothers, it came. Oh, bliss, bliss and heaven. I lay all nagoy to the ceiling, my gulliver on my rookers on the pillow, glazzies closed, rot open in bliss, slooshying the sluice of lovely sounds. Oh, it was gorgeousness and gorgeosity made flesh."
A book that I won't be forgetting anytime soon, and one that I imagine is many peoples number one book of all time; for me though, while I appreciate its genius, the prose was too difficult to chew through so I can't bring myself to rate it too high.
8/10
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? / A Scanner Darkly - Folio Society Edition by Philip K. Dick
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-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
A trippy masterpiece, one of my favourite books ever by one of the most prophetic authors to have lived, and it only gets better when you re-read it.
Dick plays with the neurons in your brain, mixes them up, makes you paranoid; eventually you lose your grip on reality, unsure of what is real, just like the protagonist of this book: Bob Arctor â a narcotics agent so deep undercover and tripping so hard on drugs that he falls under his own scrutiny, his mind fragmenting to the point that he doesnât realise he is his own suspect.
The prose is a deliberately evolving reflection of Arctorâs state of mind; he navigates through the plot as Substance D slowly takes a hold of him, causing paranoia and decay of the brain, and thus the prose style follows that deterioration, getting weirder and weirder until eventually the whole book is one phantasmagorical stupor.
Dick handles the topic of drugs masterfully, taking parts of his own life and dumping them onto the pages for us all to see, which meanders around a plot to make it coherent. Really though, it is an autobiography; a confession; a tale of human beings existing in a world that rejects any kind of mental damage.
âThere is no moral in this novel; it is not bourgeois; it does not say they were wrong to play when they should have toiled; it just tells what the consequences were.â
The character interaction in is pure gold, rich and relatable (if youâve ever been a stoner or a junky). The characters descent into oblivion, their often hilarious ramblings - thatâs what this book is about.
The book its self is dedicated to a bunch of people Dick knew, many of whom have died or suffered horrible consequences from drug addiction. A Scanner Darkly doesnât hold back either, you can tell these people are real and so are the consequences, though it is thoroughly garnished with Dickâs dark sense of humour and enough whimsy to keep the darkest of horrors at bay.
Everyone should read this book. It is marketed as a sci-fi novel, but really it deserves to be uncategorised, it is a character study, slice of life type of deal, one that fans of any genre can appreciate.
10/10
Dick plays with the neurons in your brain, mixes them up, makes you paranoid; eventually you lose your grip on reality, unsure of what is real, just like the protagonist of this book: Bob Arctor â a narcotics agent so deep undercover and tripping so hard on drugs that he falls under his own scrutiny, his mind fragmenting to the point that he doesnât realise he is his own suspect.
The prose is a deliberately evolving reflection of Arctorâs state of mind; he navigates through the plot as Substance D slowly takes a hold of him, causing paranoia and decay of the brain, and thus the prose style follows that deterioration, getting weirder and weirder until eventually the whole book is one phantasmagorical stupor.
Dick handles the topic of drugs masterfully, taking parts of his own life and dumping them onto the pages for us all to see, which meanders around a plot to make it coherent. Really though, it is an autobiography; a confession; a tale of human beings existing in a world that rejects any kind of mental damage.
âThere is no moral in this novel; it is not bourgeois; it does not say they were wrong to play when they should have toiled; it just tells what the consequences were.â
The character interaction in is pure gold, rich and relatable (if youâve ever been a stoner or a junky). The characters descent into oblivion, their often hilarious ramblings - thatâs what this book is about.
The book its self is dedicated to a bunch of people Dick knew, many of whom have died or suffered horrible consequences from drug addiction. A Scanner Darkly doesnât hold back either, you can tell these people are real and so are the consequences, though it is thoroughly garnished with Dickâs dark sense of humour and enough whimsy to keep the darkest of horrors at bay.
Everyone should read this book. It is marketed as a sci-fi novel, but really it deserves to be uncategorised, it is a character study, slice of life type of deal, one that fans of any genre can appreciate.
10/10
Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
funny
reflective
slow-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
5.0
Notes From Underground
Dostoevsky takes the unspoken flaws of the human experience and amplifies it through the unreliable narration of a forty year old civil servant thinking back on his twenties in order to evaluate his own motivations, a kind of therapy session or a psychologists examination of human self awareness; the result of which is an existential crisis in book form, written superbly with the kind of satire I like best, one that is both mocking of our behaviours and also a deeply revealing.
The civil servant lays his most personal fears and desires into this journal-esque novella; drunk on his bitterness, jealousy and spite, he recounts two events that happened to him in his twenties, in one of which he is trying desperately to gain social status with some old acquaintances who despise him and another where he is talking with a prostitute whom he both admires and is repulsed by.
Though only a short book, the emotions and motivations surrounding these two events contain topics that transcend its time. It may be a 19th century Russian prose, but its philosophies and readability are as contemporary as they are classic.
âHow can a man of consciousness have the slightest respect for himselfâ
I would recommend everyone read this book, especially those excited by existentialism or psychology. Itâs really quite funny too, doesnât feel outdated or alien.
10/10
Dostoevsky takes the unspoken flaws of the human experience and amplifies it through the unreliable narration of a forty year old civil servant thinking back on his twenties in order to evaluate his own motivations, a kind of therapy session or a psychologists examination of human self awareness; the result of which is an existential crisis in book form, written superbly with the kind of satire I like best, one that is both mocking of our behaviours and also a deeply revealing.
The civil servant lays his most personal fears and desires into this journal-esque novella; drunk on his bitterness, jealousy and spite, he recounts two events that happened to him in his twenties, in one of which he is trying desperately to gain social status with some old acquaintances who despise him and another where he is talking with a prostitute whom he both admires and is repulsed by.
Though only a short book, the emotions and motivations surrounding these two events contain topics that transcend its time. It may be a 19th century Russian prose, but its philosophies and readability are as contemporary as they are classic.
âHow can a man of consciousness have the slightest respect for himselfâ
I would recommend everyone read this book, especially those excited by existentialism or psychology. Itâs really quite funny too, doesnât feel outdated or alien.
10/10