Book Review Dump*** (1 Viewer)

[totally_screwed]

hi just reviving this for a second, I finally read a book (I only read 2 books this semester I hate uni) will be reviewing the book I finished yesterday

I'm not gonna give Normal People (by Sally Rooney) its own review bcz 1. it's been a while, and 2. it was mid. I gave it 8/10 initially but upon reflection I would give 6/10 in hindsight it was too wattpaddy and the characters were embarrassing, still enjoyed it though

anyways today's review

#4
Title: The List
Author: Yomi Adegoke
First published: 2023
Pages: 367
MY RATING: 10/10 (subject to change, like most of my ratings)

so yeah when I finished reading this last night I was like woah phenomenal, definitely a page turner. the reviews online are brutal though LMAO. it's about two millennial small influencers, Ola (feminist journalist) and Michael (presenter, works in media) who are set to be married in a month when a "list" gets published online featuring the names and crimes of alleged males with a history of abuse/assault (males with media presence and fame - artists, football players, content creators etc.). all names submitted anonymously by the women victims (wait for the plot twist). Michael's name is on there - and so begins the end of a insta-famous black-couple-goals relationship, as Ola tries to figure out the truth about her fiancé and Michael tries to put off telling her why he's on the list. their professional and personal lives spiral, and they pretty much get heavily toyed with by internet trolls

just 2 ppl who are in love but are toxic for each other and their relationship mess becomes everybody's business due to their fame

I thought it was a fun read. apparently the author did a terrible job at writing the characters (tbh for their old age [31 and 29] both of them needed to grow up) and giving the weight that topics like abuse against women in the industry, deserve. but she slayed imo, worth the pennies I spent

 

[totally_screwed]

review

#5
Title: Prophet Song
Author: Paul Lynch
First published: 2023
Pages: 309
MY RATING: 10/10

this one's about a government that goes berserk and tyrannical, set in Dublin Ireland, and overnight the lives of normal families becomes a fight for survival and people go missing, detained for being "an enemy to the state" i.e. for no reason, sent to camps, tortured and executed, high school boys forced to abandon their dreams and join the military, rebel forces emerge, airstrikes, bombing, everything a war on civilians entails. many families swiftly cross borders and escape the mess before it gets worse, but other families are logistically and emotionally unable to

the story focuses on one such family, Eilish, and her 4 kids. her husband (trade unionist) is considered an enemy of the state due to the nature of his job and goes missing for good. the whole book is Eilish's very tragic and hysterical effort to protect her kids, something she's not entirely able to do

it was especially sad because this stuff happens/is happening in the real world and the families or people going through it have stories, complex identities like the one in this book, I loved the mix of literal and metaphorical detail it painted the warzone picture as something a lot deeper and destructive than the scenes we see on the news.

even if Eilish crosses borders and survives (book doesn't confirm), she is always gonna carry the intense burden of grief that came with losing everything.
.no spoilers

2023 booker prize winner for a reason

 

[Masaken]

review

#5
Title: Prophet Song
Author: Paul Lynch
First published: 2023
Pages: 309
MY RATING: 10/10

this one's about a government that goes berserk and tyrannical, set in Dublin Ireland, and overnight the lives of normal families becomes a fight for survival and people go missing, detained for being "an enemy to the state" i.e. for no reason, sent to camps, tortured and executed, high school boys forced to abandon their dreams and join the military, rebel forces emerge, airstrikes, bombing, everything a war on civilians entails. many families swiftly cross borders and escape the mess before it gets worse, but other families are logistically and emotionally unable to

the story focuses on one such family, Eilish, and her 4 kids. her husband (trade unionist) is considered an enemy of the state due to the nature of his job and goes missing for good. the whole book is Eilish's very tragic and hysterical effort to protect her kids, something she's not entirely able to do

it was especially sad because this stuff happens/is happening in the real world and the families or people going through it have stories, complex identities like the one in this book, I loved the mix of literal and metaphorical detail it painted the warzone picture as something a lot deeper and destructive than the scenes we see on the news.

even if Eilish crosses borders and survives (book doesn't confirm), she is always gonna carry the intense burden of grief that came with losing everything.
.no spoilers

2023 booker prize winner for a reason

This has been on my reading list for a while and is on my shelf, so happy to know it's actually really good I'll probably read it in the new year

 

[Masaken]

on the plus side i have finished reading all of ishiguro's books @totally_screwed - best author fr

 

[totally_screwed]

This has been on my reading list for a while and is on my shelf, so happy to know it's actually really good I'll probably read it in the new year

YAY lmk ur thoughts once u finish, I will say the syntax can be hard to follow, I struggled at first, like sentences get rlly long and stream of consciousness-y but that's what makes the chaos in Eilish's mind more vivid. I'm sure you'll like it

 

[its_ace21]

YAY lmk ur thoughts once u finish, I will say the syntax can be hard to follow, I struggled at first, like sentences get rlly long and stream of consciousness-y but that's what makes the chaos in Eilish's mind more vivid. I'm sure you'll like it

Whyd u turn ur profile to private i wanted to tell u smth

 

[totally_screwed]

on the plus side i have finished reading all of ishiguro's books @totally_screwed - best author fr

no way im so glad there's an actual ishiguro stan around

what's ur top 3

 

[totally_screwed]

Whyd u turn ur profile to private i wanted to tell u smth

I got emo bcz the brats on here call me old
ill turn it on

 

[Masaken]

no way im so glad there's an actual ishiguro stan around

what's ur top 3

ishiguro is king. idc what the haters say he deserved that nobel prize

1. remains of the day cos i'm #basic like that but honestly i think it's one of the greatest works of fiction written at one of the few books where i felt upset/sad for the narrator at the end after bro fumbled the bag with his life to just focus on his obsession with duty and sense of self that ends up with him deceiving himself. i'm not articulating it particularly well here but the whole book is a tragedy and i worship this book on a daily basis

2. the unconsoled. i thought i was gonna hate this book because of how dense and confusing it was at times but everything sort of came together in the end and you realise that it's not really ryder's story but moreso the story of a general character who starts off as a boris and then a stephan and then a ryder and then a brodsky. it was kinda infuriating at parts cos u realise that if ryder just stops at the right place at the right time he'll be able to find some sort of fulfilment or satisfaction but he just doesn't, but it made me admire ishiguro more for that

3. @its_ace21 will probably roll her eyes at this but i'd say buried giant. i really like medieval + fantasy themes so the setting was good and this is probably also one of my favourites because of how it explores memory (like all of ishiguro's books) but also the added exploration of how history is revised through querig the dragon and her breath and how it affects the britons and the saxons (probs biased cos my artist of the floating world hsc essay is about historical revisionism and denial but to see this theme again in another ishiguro book... yummy) the love story is ehhh for me icl but i loved how we slowly and progressively saw that axl and beatrice's love carried a lot of resentment and hatred in it that got erased because of the dragon. also i just really like the boatman character as well

 

[totally_screwed]

ishiguro is king. idc what the haters say he deserved that nobel prize

1. remains of the day cos i'm #basic like that but honestly i think it's one of the greatest works of fiction written at one of the few books where i felt upset/sad for the narrator at the end after bro fumbled the bag with his life to just focus on his obsession with duty and sense of self that ends up with him deceiving himself. i'm not articulating it particularly well here but the whole book is a tragedy and i worship this book on a daily basis

2. the unconsoled. i thought i was gonna hate this book because of how dense and confusing it was at times but everything sort of came together in the end and you realise that it's not really ryder's story but moreso the story of a general character who starts off as a boris and then a stephan and then a ryder and then a brodsky. it was kinda infuriating at parts cos u realise that if ryder just stops at the right place at the right time he'll be able to find some sort of fulfilment or satisfaction but he just doesn't, but it made me admire ishiguro more for that

3. @its_ace21 will probably roll her eyes at this but i'd say buried giant. i really like medieval + fantasy themes so the setting was good and this is probably also one of my favourites because of how it explores memory (like all of ishiguro's books) but also the added exploration of how history is revised through querig the dragon and her breath and how it affects the britons and the saxons (probs biased cos my artist of the floating world hsc essay is about historical revisionism and denial but to see this theme again in another ishiguro book... yummy) the love story is ehhh for me icl but i loved how we slowly and progressively saw that axl and beatrice's love carried a lot of resentment and hatred in it that got erased because of the dragon. also i just really like the boatman character as well

UR LITERALLY SO COOL WTFFFF +million aura bro

that's a GOATED top 3 and I really love your reflection on each

im so glad you love The Remains of the Day bcz it's in my top 3 too, and is such a work of art, stephens is a beautifully tragic character

 

[its_ace21]

ishiguro is king. idc what the haters say he deserved that nobel prize

1. remains of the day cos i'm #basic like that but honestly i think it's one of the greatest works of fiction written at one of the few books where i felt upset/sad for the narrator at the end after bro fumbled the bag with his life to just focus on his obsession with duty and sense of self that ends up with him deceiving himself. i'm not articulating it particularly well here but the whole book is a tragedy and i worship this book on a daily basis

2. the unconsoled. i thought i was gonna hate this book because of how dense and confusing it was at times but everything sort of came together in the end and you realise that it's not really ryder's story but moreso the story of a general character who starts off as a boris and then a stephan and then a ryder and then a brodsky. it was kinda infuriating at parts cos u realise that if ryder just stops at the right place at the right time he'll be able to find some sort of fulfilment or satisfaction but he just doesn't, but it made me admire ishiguro more for that

3. @its_ace21 will probably roll her eyes at this but i'd say buried giant. i really like medieval + fantasy themes so the setting was good and this is probably also one of my favourites because of how it explores memory (like all of ishiguro's books) but also the added exploration of how history is revised through querig the dragon and her breath and how it affects the britons and the saxons (probs biased cos my artist of the floating world hsc essay is about historical revisionism and denial but to see this theme again in another ishiguro book... yummy) the love story is ehhh for me icl but i loved how we slowly and progressively saw that axl and beatrice's love carried a lot of resentment and hatred in it that got erased because of the dragon. also i just really like the boatman character as well

buried giant was alright it was annoying in some ways...

 

[totally_screwed]

buried giant was alright it was annoying in some ways...

ik u were icked out by the princess thing LMAO

 

[Masaken]

UR LITERALLY SO COOL WTFFFF +million aura bro

that's a GOATED top 3 and I really love your reflection on each

im so glad you love The Remains of the Day bcz it's in my top 3 too, and is such a work of art, stephens is a beautifully tragic character

ono walked so stephens could run

 

[jane1820]

yea im joking pls dont think about reading ugly love im still traumatised

the only book that traumatised me so bad (i didnt read any book after it for 4 month) was 'A Million Kisses In Your Lifetime'
im still traumatised of 2000 onward books like its not even funny (the last book i read was Frankenstein and now The Handmaid's Tale)

 

[its_ace21]

the only book that traumatised me so bad (i didnt read any book after it for 4 month) was 'A Million Kisses In Your Lifetime'
im still traumatised of 2000 onward books like its not even funny (the last book i read was Frankenstein and now The Handmaid's Tale)

Booktok books are so bad, i like hate reading them tho (goodreads rating is not gonna go any higher @Masaken )

 

[MoeyNeeds90+]

the only book that traumatised me so bad (i didnt read any book after it for 4 month) was 'A Million Kisses In Your Lifetime'
im still traumatised of 2000 onward books like its not even funny (the last book i read was Frankenstein and now The Handmaid's Tale)

"handmaids tale"
madam touch up on ur taste please

 

[jane1820]

Booktok books are so bad, i like hate reading them tho (goodreads rating is not gonna go any higher @Masaken )

thats the thing i didnt rlly think it thro i was like 'oh new recommendation lets go' biggest regret of my life
i'm so happy that i'm a burrower and not a buyer because if i bought that book i would've deadass cried

anyways a quick review about Frankenstein
7/10
i cried at the end - even tho i knew how it was gonna end (it was predictable) i still cried maybe bc i got attached to the character (i imagined victor hot)
i like the structure of the book - it's a recount i didn't realise that until the very end so slay

 

[jane1820]

"handmaids tale"
madam touch up on ur taste please

i'm just reading a list chatgpt wrote for me because i don't trust anyone's book recommendations after AMKIYL

 

[MoeyNeeds90+]

i'm just reading a list chatgpt wrote for me because i don't trust anyone's book recommendations after AMKIYL

allow me

 

[MoeyNeeds90+]

@its_ace21 loved my book rec's so much she forgot to read the book itself