PROS: entertaining, fast-paced, with a twisty plot that unravels from one thing to another. I loved how author3.5
good soup, but not anything impactful
PROS: entertaining, fast-paced, with a twisty plot that unravels from one thing to another. I loved how authoring was incorporated into the plot! And I enjoyed Cosimano’s writing style, it fit the book very well (and I’m definitely learning adult contemporary writing is far better than YA contemporary!). Language occasional, romance closed-door (though there is only a bit of romance really). Also, the Finlay-and-Vero dynamic was EVERYTHING.
CONS: Finlay makes some morally questionable and reckless decisions that the entire plot revolves around, and it doesn’t seem like she truly regrets them (you really have to view this book as a lot of entertainment, not with any profound or inspiring meaning). I also found the book to not deliver well on its promise to be “funny”. It could be calledhumorousbecause some of the dialogue between characters gave me a chuckle, but this read to me as a contemporary novel with suspense and mystery elements (not a comedy in any way)....more
And that isn’t exactly a compliment, considering 98% of my dreams are confusing, distant, and chock-full of personaThis book read to me like a dream.
And that isn’t exactly a compliment, considering 98% of my dreams are confusing, distant, and chock-full of personal embarrassing moments. Okay, don’t worry— the last part is not applicable to this book… but replace that with an “imaginative world”, “witty writing” and “very, very slow”, and you have my summary of this story. _________
2 STARS • IMAGINATIVE, PHILOSOPHICAL, SLOW-MOTION
An Overview: This book begins when the curious Dr. Ransom arrives at the wrong place at the wrong time, leading to him being abducted by two maniac scientists. He soon finds out they are on a spaceship going toward a new planet called Malacandra (not to be confused with that thing in your body, Mitochondria), and his abductors (the idiotic and intimidating Weston and Divine) plan to use him as a human sacrifice. Ransom quickly flees once they arrive at the planet, delving deep into the mysterious, alluring, and peaceful world alone.
The Pros: The world C.S. Lewis has imagined on the planet Mars is incredibly creative, brilliant, and rich in meaning (though, as you’ll learn if you read the postscript, he actuallydidn’tcreate this world by himself; the entire story is based on the “true story” of Dr. Ransom, who had a vision that this happened to him). Nonetheless, I enjoyed learning about the diverse and interesting alien species, far different than most stereotypes of aliens I’ve encountered.
Lewis’ writing, as always, is savory with candor, wit, and illustrious words. The mystical setting told through his sensible voice is an authentic combination you won’t match anywhere else.
Also, the themes of this book arelayered upon layered.In class, (this was a school assignment) my class had incredibly profound discussions from this book. What is an alien? What is a person? Is it scientifically and/or theologically possible this world actually existed/exists? Is it possible this world is an alternate reality of ours, or there are multiple universes, where humans look differently from ours? Did Lewis view this world as paradise, or a better world than ours, or just different? And I’m not at all suggesting Lewis is telling us intelligent life exists out in space— possibly, but probably not. I don’t know, and I currently don’t see how — at least theologically — this view could be plausible. But it definitely got me thinking and considering ideas, which has high value in itself.
The Cons: Now that I got the nice, pretty things out of the way— I’ll be honest. I found this book incredibly boring the entire way, and especially toward the end.
The fascinating philosophical and theological themes and ideas were bogged down by an un-suspenseful plot, which read like a wildlife documentary of peaceful mammals that do nothing but eat and sleep all day. Thiswouldhave worked, and been interesting, if I cared about the characters.But I didn't(read more on that below.) Ransom was that dry documentary host who is fascinated by the everyday, mundane tasks of these creatures in their culture. And look, if this truly happened, I could see myself wanting to know everything about this new intelligent species, no matter how boring and unrelatable they are. I love learning about new cultures! But the things Ransom and the aliens did and how they engaged with each other felt so uneventful, filler, and lack of connection to the “main plot” whatever that truly was. (This includes Ransom learning their language, which was interesting for some time, but ended up being basic and, again, not brought into the “plot” at the end.)
I didn’t find the end anything revelational, to say the least.(view spoiler)[ Meet the cool ruler of the world! Chill! He’s a little boring too, sweet! Cool ruler chides Ransom for being a coward. Aw, nice! Cool ruler humiliates the “villain” who was stupid and uninteresting from the beginning! How exciting! Ransom chooses to return home, and in the BIGGEST conflict that’s happened the entire time (they’re stuck in the ship! They’re gonna die!!!!), Ransom wakes up… from a dream. (At least that’s what I read. I wasn’t really sure because it was confusing) Wow. What in the nick of time! How utterly convenient!(hide spoiler)]
The characters were truly the worst part of this for me. They all fell flat. (Maybe you might see why)
• RANSOM: naturally curious and philosophical, though not curious enough for it to be contagious. Coward and oblivious idiot, though referred to as “remarkable” because he has enough wit to seem mildly intelligent. But otherwise, a completely perfect uninteresting cracker. • WESTON/DIVINE (they’re practically the same): blockheads, not scary in the least, motivated by greed, control, development, etc. • EVERY ALIEN: peaceful, cordial, polite, etc.; act all the same *but different*
And listen, I get, the point was that these aliens were mostly unflawed, as their world is not as sinful as Earth. Makes sense! But “perfect people/creatures” won’t act like perfectly pleasant and polite little beings. They can still be funny, and loud as well as quiet, and… you get my point, right?? That’s why I was extremely disappointed to find I wasn’t attached to any of the new creatures, who I expected would be instantly lovable and interesting.
Plus… Lewis is doing here was is very difficult to do: write a story in a world where there is next to no conflict. I admire him for trying, but for me it fell flat.
The Conclusion: Complex, rich in themes, discussion, and wit, it is easy to see why this book intrigues many readers. But for me, the dragging and conflict-less plot, bland and cloned characters made this, unfortunately, a tiresome story for me....more
The plot line, characters, and themes of this book were compellingly written and co3 STARS • THOUGHT-PROVOKING, CHARACTER-DRIVEN, FLUFFY ___________
The plot line, characters, and themes of this book were compellingly written and complex; however, they were out shadowed by unnecessary details that just fluffed up the story to 400 pages. And the fact that Forster took the pain to describe so much information that he never tied into the plot or characters significantly caused me to lose trust with him which are me lose interest in what was going on.Seriously,this book could be cut down to 200 pages and have just as much depth without the side comments that caused it to drag.
That being said, I have read FAR more boring books (*cough cough*Father Brown), and it was overall a medium-pace book that kept me engaged because of the character insights and impactful meaning (plus: I always love some legal drama, of course). Also, some of Forster’s writing, like the descriptions of India in the first chapter, is poetic and alluring.
By day the blue will pale down into white where it touches the white of the land, after sunset it has a new circumference—orange, melting upwards into tenderest purple. But the core of blue persists, so it is by night. Then the stars hang mine lamps from the immense vault. The distance between the valut and them is as nothing to the distance behind them, and that farther distance, though beyond color, last freed itself from blue.
Ultimately,what made this book get more than 2 stars but thechallenging and memorablediscussion it raised in my class (this was a school read). We discussed the culture differences of the English to India and individualism vs peace at all costs; the division of religions in India that was displayed in the book; the racial conflicts and whether England’s position was justified. So even though we barely discussed the plot at all, my class had one of our best discussions.
I would have to call it a must-read for that very reason —- but also I highly recommend you read this through a book club or along other people. You will get far more out of it! ____________
TW // Mention of sexual assault, but not described (mild); CW // Xenophobia (prejudice), racism, racial slurs, some sexism...more
Everyone loves this book but for entirely opposite reasons.
Why? I think it’s fundamentally because Orwell mainly opposes what we all hate (if you havEveryone loves this book but for entirely opposite reasons.
Why? I think it’s fundamentally because Orwell mainly opposes what we all hate (if you have any care for the betterment of society)— totalitarianism.
And then, he *seemingly* leaves up the critique of political systems for people to decide. Or so it seems, as some people quote this book as outrightly anti-communist/socialist (because those are the same thing, right?), and then other people quote this as outrightly anti-capitalist.
But, I think Orwelldideither have a purpose to refute one of those political systems, or he didn’t want to refute either at all.
I encourage everyone after this book to read it with an open mind, and then research about it. You can disagree with Orwell, of course! But make sure youknowwhat he’s actually saying before you agree/disagree.
So, expect an actual review after I follow my own advice above^^:)...more
I rate this four stars for the raw facts that it’s an important satire essay by a brilliant satirist who raised his voi4 STARS • SATIRE AT ITS RIPEST
I rate this four stars for the raw facts that it’s an important satire essay by a brilliant satirist who raised his voice against the tyranny and injustice in his society.
This essay only came when pigheaded England refused to listen to Jonathan Swift when he protested through essays of straightforward, plain logic. That’s when Swift realized he had toagreewith them first, then exaggerate their reasoning, and let it blow up in their faces. He crafts this using the deep and often-misunderstood techniques of irony, sarcasm, and wit to produce a satire that isundeniably unforgettable,if it can’t be called anything else.
So, did this make an impact on my life, though? Oh yeah. Did it raise important questions and deep discussions among my peers? Absolutely. Do I think it’s a must-read for everyone, at some point in their life? Yes.
But is it repulsive?Yep.Of course it is. And I honestly hope you find that it is absolutely horrendous. Because that’s the entire point of (most) satire:It’s supposed to feel wrong.
So will I ever read this again? Haha.Absolutely not.
But Iwillreflect upon it when I need to feel the disgusting taste of tyranny and discrimination, and the desolation yet desperation of the poverty-stricken. This essay will remind you not to numb to such things, but use the natural revulsion you feel as fuel to stand up against injustice. ___________
*Again*, It is all for satirical purposes, but FYI.....TW // Cannibalism, child abuse...more
FIVE STARS!!!! ————— My first Dickens novel, and it was incredible.
Go into this book like I did: knowing nothing of the plot. Maybe not even with anFIVE STARS!!!! ————— My first Dickens novel, and it was incredible.
Go into this book like I did: knowing nothing of the plot. Maybe not even with any expectations (if so, stop reading my review now. It will definitely give you expectations;))
My review below doesn’t describe any of the events, it just talks about how well done the mechanics are. (And spoiler-free, as always!)
PLOT.It doesn’t matter to me if some people thought the plot was “recycled” or the ending “cliche”. First of all, of course it shared similarities to other great stories — there’s a reason cliches are overdone: because they WORK. But at the same time, nothing of this novel felt “over recycled” to me. Maybe some of it was copied from Dicken’s other books —— I wouldn’t know, and so then it doesn’t matter. The thing that mattered to me was everything was connected, from the beginning to the end. Nothing was wasted. There was foreshadowing, there were allegories. And, it had some of my favorite plot elements: political drama, court cases, family heritage reveals, and of course: the ending. I love that kind of ending. It was beautiful and heartbreaking and satisfying and thrilling at all once. AND, I LOVE when an author takes a phrase or word sprinkling it throughout the book, and connecting it to the end. I won’t say what those words are so new readers can discover them for themselves… but readers of this book, you know what they are.
WRITING.Every word of Dickens was also intentional, moving towards the ending while immersing the reader into the present actions Was his writing hard to get into at the beginning? Yes. But it’s always hard for me to start a story anyways. By the end of the book, I LOVED his writing style, and it didn’t slow me down at all. (Hey, maybe this book made me smarter!) There are some absolutely incredible quotes and descriptions and writing techniques… ahhh it’s so good.
CHARACTERS.Every character in this story was unique and dimensional. Dickens assigns a couple phrases to each character that stays significant to them and defines them. Some of the greatest character arcs and redemptions I’ve ever read are in this book. One of the most interesting villains. Everyone is important — so pay attention to every character, no matter how hard it is to keep track at them at times. After finishing this book, I immediately wished I could read it again (though I’ll wait a bit probably) just because I wanted to see the characters from the beginning knowing the end. That’s rare for me. Most books, I know exactly what the characters are like every step of the way. But in this book, I knew there must have been bits and pieces I didn’t think were significant and forgot — but actually contributed to their arc, redemption, and personality.
This is a book I know i will keep discovering new things every time I read it. The story lives on far past the words on paper and far beyond when the words end. ––––––– TW // Character with mental illness because of imprisonment, sexual assault (mentioned, not described), character watches child die, character carelessly runs over child with carriage, and child executed by guillotine, antagonist plans to kill a child. Imprisonment & separation of loved ones, death of loved ones. CW // Violence (descriptions of blood, war, death & murder, suffering, guillotine), poverty, one character is at one time an avid alcoholic.As long as this content won't trigger or harm you, know that the powerful themes of redemption, justice, and love will seriously outweigh the darkness in this book....more
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