Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from January, 2022

Flatland (A Romance of Many Dimensions) by Edwin A. Abbott

"Akin to Gulliver's Travels , only told from the eyes of a Square existing in a two dimensional world who's suddenly shown that there's more to the world and his very existence than he could ever have thought possible, it was an interesting but confusing read, definitely unique. That's really the only way to describe it." 2 Stars Pros:  Entirely unique, I can honestly say I have never read any book quite like it/The commentary on social hierarchies is still relevant to this day, that there will always be "levels" and "classes" in society.  Cons:  The idea of Flatland, after you sit with it for awhile, actually made a strange kind of sense but at the same time, I was constantly left feeling as I'd just walked into the middle of a conversation about Mathematics that went so far above my head, it wasn't even conceivable.   Full Review:  Told from the point of view of a middle class Lawyer, A. Square, we are introduced to Flatland. It i

I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb

"A deep study of what makes us who we are, nature versus nurture. The struggles we face when defending our family, both loving and feeling so frustrated with them at times, not always knowing which way is up. It was a deep, emotional read but it was worth it and I'm really glad I finally read it." 5 Stars Pros:  A deep study of family ties, how we're all different, how we all struggle and in the end, what makes us who we are.  Cons:  Though Dominick's frustrations are understandable, he, at times, can come off as a real jerk/The ending was all rather convenient but it worked, it felt right and I'm glad it ended the way it did.   Full Review:  As a way to try stop the impending war of Desert Storm, one October afternoon, Thomas Birdsey, a paranoid schizophrenic, walks into the Three Rivers Public Library, asks that his sacrifice be enough and promptly amputates his own hand. The aftermath and struggle that his brother Dominick must go through to try and play da

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke.

"At times eerie and intriguing while at others tedious and tiresome, this was a hard novel to describe. I both wanted to see what would happen but at the same time the book itself was just so big that it became cumbersome to even read at times. This was very much a "middle of the road" type book, neither hated nor loved, lodged someplace very much in between." 3 STARS Pros:  There were parts where it was eerie, unsettling, dark and gloomy. Mainly the points with the land of Faerie, these bits were what kept me reading, in hopes that something would happen and something eventually did.  Cons:  The driving story, for me, was what would happen with the Faerie with the thistle down hair and how that would all wrap up but the fact that it took 800+ pages to do was just...unnecessary/The end notes, though interesting at points, giving life to the history of magic in England in a practical, logical way, didn't add much to the story.  Full Review:  Mr. Norrell is the o