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spriteluver's reviews
76 reviews
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
5.0
actually speechless. yall dont even GET IT. this is one of the best books i have EVER read. EVERYONE should aim to make a book as dense and fruitful as this. EVERY PAGE is rich and important and beautiful and AAAAHHHHHHH
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
fuck, man. this is a book worth crying over. so beautifully constructed, taking you along this journey and constructs everything---esther's life as well as our own---to a perfect, melancholy, chilling fallout that resonates 60 years later. the amount of women who relate to the narrative to this day proves that the bell jar does indeed hang over our head, trapping the noxious gases of our current societal systems until we choke on our oppression. the synopsis finds plath's description of esther's insanity as "completely real and even rational, as probable and accessible an experience as going to the movies," as if the other depiction of insanity is the absolute truth. sometimes insanity is a reminder of the completely irrational world we live in. it's something we've become desensitized to. take teenage girls giggling and sneering at sylvia's suicide, or finding the female suicide in classic novels as something beautiful and sacred...constantly trying to redefine their own stance in society as something palatable or humiliating even in death. who stays sane in a system that has violently upheld itself for centuries while millions die at its brutal hands? it's even worse when you don't recognize the bell jar that remains, instead finding it as only inner turmoil, some wicked curse among the self. external forces---even neglect---are equally important in considering the modern psyche of the american individual, that depressed hopelessness that's consumed the generation. it's something modern psychology and therapists hardly keep up with, even when evolved from insulin therapies and electroshock treatments. and thus the bell jar is as much a modern tale of womanhood as it was in the sixties.
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
5.0
as many of the reviews here state, this is not an easy book to get through. i read this book sporadically from july to february, transitioning from home to college in the meantime. it's wild to think how much i grew INTO the book as i read it. as its themes matured, so did i, which brought the messages to such a personal and empathetic level i never could have imagined. that was part of what made it hard to read; some parts were so personal i could hardly breathe as i devoured the pages whole. dostoevsky always drags me in like that, but this was so different compared to crime and punishment. in his questions regarding love, family, and psychology, i questioned it too, but in versions of my life. im not religious at all, but this book had so much to offer with that empathy and perspective. 'the grand inquisitor' is one of the best things i've read in my life (and yes, ivan spoke deeply to me). something about his writing and ways just clicks with me. i sense the references and themes before he states it overtly, which is just so like...he GETS it...WE SEE EACH OTHER! im glad i took my time to read it, even though it still brings so much pain to relate to it. but we prevail, and do so with love!!
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
hopeful
lighthearted
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? Yes
3.25
DNF. couldnt get myself through the book, as it was sort of boring and not as romantic as i thought it would be. i WILL read it in again and finally enjoy it, but the first try was unsuccessful. i'll stick with the dark classics for now.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, Tatiana M. Holway
dark
sad
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
5.0
wow. WOW. heathcliff was a bastard, but damn did i sympathize for him throughout the book; same for catherine earnshaw. i've never read such complexities in fiction before! and there's so much compassion in the narrative and how these characters are portrayed, with people becoming products of their environment and social class and whatnot.
just so hauntingly beautiful---seriously some of the best writing to this day. man, i'm pretty much speechless. if you're considering reading this book, just go ahead and do it; it'll be nothing like you expect, but wonderful all the same.
just so hauntingly beautiful---seriously some of the best writing to this day. man, i'm pretty much speechless. if you're considering reading this book, just go ahead and do it; it'll be nothing like you expect, but wonderful all the same.
The Stranger by Albert Camus
dark
reflective
sad
fast-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
4.0
The writing of this book is so gorgeous, countless pages and sentences astounded me with their beauty. The narration is so complex with so little, especially near the end of the book when the character is pondering his fate. His voice becomes clearer, more analytical, and desperate—a totally different style than the relaxed pace with which he usually recounted events. He never gave himself credit for the emotions he felt. But really it's hard to decipher emotions; happiness and sadness and indifference can seem the same if you feel them equally with body and mind, especially if you navigate the world mostly through physical existence rather than emotional intelligence. I admit that I struggle finding what emotions I feel and giving the right responses, like crying at a dog's death or feeling empathy for others, but then again, everyone has their own way of feeling. It's wild to think that the narrator's seemingly normal reactions to life events were used against him, as if at any moment our complexities can paint us as monsters.
What a beautiful story. I think some of it went over my head, but of course I've always been pretty existentialist, so maybe some of it was just natural to me. The part about the man and his dog really got to me in a way I can't explain :')
What a beautiful story. I think some of it went over my head, but of course I've always been pretty existentialist, so maybe some of it was just natural to me. The part about the man and his dog really got to me in a way I can't explain :')
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
5.0
11/10, 6/5, A+++, etcetera. so profound and relatable today, especially in communist circles where rehabilitation and human motivation to do evil outside of capitalism is still discussed. it is so amazing to read talking points i hear today and even recognize new ways in which they are considered because of industrialization and such. and don't even get me started on how beautifully this is written! i lost myself in raskolnikov's thoughts as he isolated himself from the world around him and fell deeper and deeper into his darkest self. his mania and depression were accurately depicted, i could feel my heart race and mouth dry as his did! dostoyevsky, you are AMAZING!!
(also, crazy to admit that anna karenina and crime and punishment parallel each other in interesting ways, whereas anna karenina is among extremely wealthy people and crime and punishment reveals the poverty and communist thought at the time, but still reach similar conclusions near the end on love and a will to live after a life of despair (bipolar in raskolnikov's and nihilism in levin's case), basically painting two portraits of a very separated time period because of imperialism and class differences! crime and punishment says things more blatantly than anna karenina imo because the experiences are much more relatable and grounded to poor ppl today, i've known people like katerina ivanovna, we all have honestly. however, editing this review in retrospect, i don't think i credited anna karenina enough for its satire and critique of wealthy structures. there is a lot to be said about both books, and i am so glad to have the unique experience of reading them closely together!!)
(also, crazy to admit that anna karenina and crime and punishment parallel each other in interesting ways, whereas anna karenina is among extremely wealthy people and crime and punishment reveals the poverty and communist thought at the time, but still reach similar conclusions near the end on love and a will to live after a life of despair (bipolar in raskolnikov's and nihilism in levin's case), basically painting two portraits of a very separated time period because of imperialism and class differences! crime and punishment says things more blatantly than anna karenina imo because the experiences are much more relatable and grounded to poor ppl today, i've known people like katerina ivanovna, we all have honestly. however, editing this review in retrospect, i don't think i credited anna karenina enough for its satire and critique of wealthy structures. there is a lot to be said about both books, and i am so glad to have the unique experience of reading them closely together!!)
Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn
fast-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
3.75
brianna should NOT be 16. i really think this series would reach its full potential if it was catered to young adults/people just entering college. also, the pacing is totally off for the majority of this book. those are my main criticisms that weight a lot for my review. there is a lot of beauty in this series, but a lot of it is shrouded by the YA-ness of it all. this is proof that i wasnt rlly in the headspace to read a sequel to a book i read over a year ago...
on a positive note, i really love bree. i think shes a great protagonist. though bree's issues def have more depth, she reminds me a lot of buffy summers from buffy the vampire slayer, aka my fave character from my favorite tv show :) i love bree's relationship with alice. i love how hurt and flawed she is. she rlly just needs room to breathe, and the book lets us know. tracy is very empathetic w her and thats the most beautiful part of this series. probably my fave YA protag, i wish nothing but the best for her!!
on a positive note, i really love bree. i think shes a great protagonist. though bree's issues def have more depth, she reminds me a lot of buffy summers from buffy the vampire slayer, aka my fave character from my favorite tv show :) i love bree's relationship with alice. i love how hurt and flawed she is. she rlly just needs room to breathe, and the book lets us know. tracy is very empathetic w her and thats the most beautiful part of this series. probably my fave YA protag, i wish nothing but the best for her!!
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
3.75
I'm sitting here just wondering how anyone can even come up with this kind of stuff, like!? I agree with another review that emphasized that the description of the surroundings relying on all senses rather than sight was really good. Area X is like an experience more than a place you can picture, you know? I definitely think the narrator is autistic, and some of the insight she had on her loneliness and interests were really relatable. I like how little is given to the reader, it's an excellent type of worldbuilding (or what's opposite of it). I don't know if I'll continue reading the series, though... However, the use of language is really great. Some sentences were intentionally hard to read or just overwhelming to comprehend, which was excellent. Again, Vandermeer's mind is intimidating. Like, howwww?
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
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
3.5