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3.5 stars.
TIP FOR POTENTIAL READERS: Try not to read the Goodreads synopsis. Likely you already have if you're reading this, but do your best to forget it. For me, I think it ruins the progression of the book and you'd be better off not knowing all that is coming.
That being said, this book is more of a character study than a plot-driven book...as you would probably expect for a book shelved as literary fiction. The Glass Hotel is a wandering story circling primarily (though sometimes heavily peripherally) around Vincent, who leads an eclectic life following the disappearance of her mother when Vincent is 13.
The plot is very random and disorienting with several moving pieces that slowly revolve around each other and come together. I enjoyed the intelligence in the writing and found the story interesting, but still a bit unfulfilling -- leaving me with something of an empty filling. I will admit though that I do find this situation fairly regularly in my reading of literary fiction, so lovers of this genre may not find this to be anything of an issue.
TIP FOR POTENTIAL READERS: Try not to read the Goodreads synopsis. Likely you already have if you're reading this, but do your best to forget it. For me, I think it ruins the progression of the book and you'd be better off not knowing all that is coming.
That being said, this book is more of a character study than a plot-driven book...as you would probably expect for a book shelved as literary fiction. The Glass Hotel is a wandering story circling primarily (though sometimes heavily peripherally) around Vincent, who leads an eclectic life following the disappearance of her mother when Vincent is 13.
The plot is very random and disorienting with several moving pieces that slowly revolve around each other and come together. I enjoyed the intelligence in the writing and found the story interesting, but still a bit unfulfilling -- leaving me with something of an empty filling. I will admit though that I do find this situation fairly regularly in my reading of literary fiction, so lovers of this genre may not find this to be anything of an issue.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
Okay...first of all, this might be the most beautiful cover I've ever seen. And, in what seems to be a bit of an anomaly, the writing and story are just as wonderful. I was definitely caught off guard by how much I enjoyed this book and how much I keep thinking about it and the way it's lessons apply to real life.
This is a strong commentary on so many social issues: patriarchy, prejudice, classism, racism, sexism, and so many other human constructs that serve only to further divide us. The story is feminist and strong, with characters from a bevy of backgrounds who are fighting to survive despite having lived through some horrendous situations. I love how well the narrative embraces multiple life pathways, elevates the characters above prejudice, and displays several cultures and ideologies, focusing hard on the fallibility and inconsistency of humans.
Deka's character is incredibly well-written, showing the change in her as she struggles to accept who she is, reconcile that with how she's been indoctrinated, and eventually rise to discover her own truth. This is such a great work for YA readers because of this display of character growth and serves as a great teaching tool via analogy.
The writing is beautiful, but blunt and captures heavy emotions in a plot with a well-moving pace. There is a blend of character driven and plot driven narrative that balances well and just kept me moving swiftly through the pages. The book is not perfect, but it still deserves a five-star rating. There are some places of awkwardness and a few instances of falling into the writing trope trap ("she released a breath she didn't know she was holding"), but it was still such a fantastic read. I can't wait for the sequel and already see this being a reread in the relatively near future. I just can't stop thinking about it and all the internal implications. A masterfully interwoven work of fantasy and realism. Gah. It's just beautiful.
Okay...first of all, this might be the most beautiful cover I've ever seen. And, in what seems to be a bit of an anomaly, the writing and story are just as wonderful. I was definitely caught off guard by how much I enjoyed this book and how much I keep thinking about it and the way it's lessons apply to real life.
This is a strong commentary on so many social issues: patriarchy, prejudice, classism, racism, sexism, and so many other human constructs that serve only to further divide us. The story is feminist and strong, with characters from a bevy of backgrounds who are fighting to survive despite having lived through some horrendous situations. I love how well the narrative embraces multiple life pathways, elevates the characters above prejudice, and displays several cultures and ideologies, focusing hard on the fallibility and inconsistency of humans.
Deka's character is incredibly well-written, showing the change in her as she struggles to accept who she is, reconcile that with how she's been indoctrinated, and eventually rise to discover her own truth. This is such a great work for YA readers because of this display of character growth and serves as a great teaching tool via analogy.
The writing is beautiful, but blunt and captures heavy emotions in a plot with a well-moving pace. There is a blend of character driven and plot driven narrative that balances well and just kept me moving swiftly through the pages. The book is not perfect, but it still deserves a five-star rating. There are some places of awkwardness and a few instances of falling into the writing trope trap ("she released a breath she didn't know she was holding"), but it was still such a fantastic read. I can't wait for the sequel and already see this being a reread in the relatively near future. I just can't stop thinking about it and all the internal implications. A masterfully interwoven work of fantasy and realism. Gah. It's just beautiful.
One of the original dystopians, Brave New World starts off incredibly strong, with great world-building and creative construction. However, I think it suffers somewhat from the current existence of the wave of dystopian novels that came out at the beginning of the millennium. It would have hit a lot harder and been much more immersive had I read it prior to 2000.
The concepts are clearly visionary, given that the book was written in 1932, and there are many good and valid points made regarding human nature, civilization, and society. The writing does demonstrate some failure to age gracefully, as it is laden with racist terms and ideas. These moments tended to rub me the wrong way and pull me out of the story as they can be quite particularly cringeworthy.
The ending is poignant and thought-provoking. This presence of so much information and discussion that made me consider thoughts and ideas beyond the pages was ultimately what gave this read a little weight and made me bump my rating from a 3 to a 4.
The concepts are clearly visionary, given that the book was written in 1932, and there are many good and valid points made regarding human nature, civilization, and society. The writing does demonstrate some failure to age gracefully, as it is laden with racist terms and ideas. These moments tended to rub me the wrong way and pull me out of the story as they can be quite particularly cringeworthy.
The ending is poignant and thought-provoking. This presence of so much information and discussion that made me consider thoughts and ideas beyond the pages was ultimately what gave this read a little weight and made me bump my rating from a 3 to a 4.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
I think the concept of the memoir was a good one and there were certainly some good stories regarding the author's life, along with how the dogs in her life played a part. However, this felt more like a collection of anecdotes than a true narrative memoir. As a result, things feel choppy, something that was increased by the tendency of the chapters to move back and forth through time in quick succession. This organization made the book often jerky, confusing, and disorienting, easily causing reader fatigue. I alleviated some of this issue by reading a portion of the book via audio. This approach also helped remove some of my problems with the sentence structure.
I did not realize prior to starting the book that this was actually the latest in a series of memoirs written by Jennifer Finney Boylan. Because I had not read the other books prior and this was my introduction to Ms. Boylan, the result was a read that had interesting moments and good emotional stories, but that still felt a little like scratching the surface or gathering up the leftovers.
I did still enjoy parts of the stories and could certainly identify with the ways that dogs can help to teach us about life and the things that are important. I just was disappointed that this didn't feel like more of an emotional investment. It felt like I was being held a bit more at arm's length and that I wasn't, unfortunately, really able to connect fully with the heart of the story.
I think the concept of the memoir was a good one and there were certainly some good stories regarding the author's life, along with how the dogs in her life played a part. However, this felt more like a collection of anecdotes than a true narrative memoir. As a result, things feel choppy, something that was increased by the tendency of the chapters to move back and forth through time in quick succession. This organization made the book often jerky, confusing, and disorienting, easily causing reader fatigue. I alleviated some of this issue by reading a portion of the book via audio. This approach also helped remove some of my problems with the sentence structure.
I did not realize prior to starting the book that this was actually the latest in a series of memoirs written by Jennifer Finney Boylan. Because I had not read the other books prior and this was my introduction to Ms. Boylan, the result was a read that had interesting moments and good emotional stories, but that still felt a little like scratching the surface or gathering up the leftovers.
I did still enjoy parts of the stories and could certainly identify with the ways that dogs can help to teach us about life and the things that are important. I just was disappointed that this didn't feel like more of an emotional investment. It felt like I was being held a bit more at arm's length and that I wasn't, unfortunately, really able to connect fully with the heart of the story.
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This has been a very divisive prequel, as I think often happens with any enjoyed series. However, I think rereading the original series prior to reading this is probably causing quite a few of the lowered ratings. Having distance between the original tales and this one allowed me to experience this as a near standalone, which I think let me enjoy it more. I didn't enjoy it as much as the original trilogy, but I still found it to be worth my time and I think it added to the depth of the world created...it could give me some new things to experience should I reread the trilogy down the road.
Is Coriolanus Snow an evil mess of a villain with no redeemable qualities based on prior reads? Yes. Absolutely. He's awful. Everyone is aware of that. But this was such an interesting experience in character work. The writing is just as great as the originals and the cast of characters is particularly fun. I liked being able to see more of the world. I enjoyed being able to return to the games and having a perspective on how things had evolved in the Capitol and Districts over the years between this book and the start of the original series.
Focusing on Snow was an interesting choice, but it did provide some great background information. Though I already knew what he would become, Suzanne Collins still had a way of making me...hopeful? It was a bit of a mind distorter (keeping it clean over here, folks). He had SO many opportunities to be something better. There were many, many times where he started to do something good and for the right reasons, but then just ultimately spun right back into psychopath mode. Snow is clearly quite intelligent and cunning and is a very well-crafted villain. My hat's off to Collins for managing what I thought was a good balance between an enjoyable story and a horrible person.
Is Coriolanus Snow an evil mess of a villain with no redeemable qualities based on prior reads? Yes. Absolutely. He's awful. Everyone is aware of that. But this was such an interesting experience in character work. The writing is just as great as the originals and the cast of characters is particularly fun. I liked being able to see more of the world. I enjoyed being able to return to the games and having a perspective on how things had evolved in the Capitol and Districts over the years between this book and the start of the original series.
Focusing on Snow was an interesting choice, but it did provide some great background information. Though I already knew what he would become, Suzanne Collins still had a way of making me...hopeful? It was a bit of a mind distorter (keeping it clean over here, folks). He had SO many opportunities to be something better. There were many, many times where he started to do something good and for the right reasons, but then just ultimately spun right back into psychopath mode. Snow is clearly quite intelligent and cunning and is a very well-crafted villain. My hat's off to Collins for managing what I thought was a good balance between an enjoyable story and a horrible person.
I enjoy an unreliable narrator, so this book was right up my alley. The read totally hurt my brain a little bit, but I liked it. Things are messy and confusing and seem to keep getting messier even as they are starting to unravel. It's a complicated concept with a lot of twists and turns. Some of the twists are easy to figure out and some are not. Some of them seem to exist just to add more complication and to make you question everything you might have figured out. There are also a few red herrings along the way that keep adding questions to the pile. It's SUPER convoluted and I found it gripping. I really enjoyed the writing style and didn't want to put it down. And while some find the ending disappointing, I found it intriguing and maybe just a little bit more complicating...