justinlife's Reviews (916)

I think this is going to be a rating that will change periodically, depending on how I feel about it. With a book this size, there is so much to say so hopefully I can remember all the points I want to make about this book. 

I thought this book was amazing until around page 850. I mean, I loved everything about it. The story, the Murakami weirdness, his storytelling abilities, the interesting cast of characters, etc., all of it worked for me. Then, after about 850, I was done. Like, completely and totally done. One of the main characters got on my nerves so bad that it had an emotional impact on me. It's not like this character was doing anything different than before, I was just through with this character. Another reason I was done, was because I thought I was almost through with it. When adding this to good reads, I thought I had the 972 page version. When I got to around 800, I was stoked that I was almost finished. Then, I looked at the version I had and it was well over 1,100 pages. I was pissed. 

While this is an interesting story, it lost me when I realized how long it was. I wanted it to be over. I wanted a resolution. I wanted my sanity back. Like the characters in 1Q84, I was taken to a new world and was trying to get out! A bit dramatic, I know. 

Now, I think this book would have been more successful and I would have liked it more if he was able to remove 300+ pages. There were side stories that I didn't feel were relevant and distracted from the novel. This novel is huge and even 300 pages less would still have been something massive. 

That being said, if you've read Murakami before, you'll realize he has pulled out all his old tropes and uses them effectively. Mentions of non-Japanese food- check. 30ish year old man having a friendship with a teenage girl- check. Jazz music- check. Classical Music- check. Cats- check. All of his normal motifs are here and I loved how he pieced these together. I loved his meandering pace, something that I love from him in general. I love the way he includes the ordinary aspects of daily life in his books. 

My only hangup was that it was too meandering. It went on too long and needed to stop. I guess that's why it's separated into three books. If you were to pick up this book, I recommend taking a break between book two and book three. Get out of the world and re-enter it. Give yourself a break.

While it's been years since I've read the first two volumes, it didn't take long to catch up and follow the flow of the book. In this volume, we get the final chapter of a romance between a man and sentient robot. It's not a new concept, but I enjoyed the approach and the direction the series went. It felt fresh and real, particularly the slow advancement of communication technology. 

I think the art does a lot of the heavy lifting here. I appreciated the color choices and the world they created. The story is solid but it's weaker than her art. We've seen this story done before and can predict most of the beats, which isn't a bad thing. One part of the ending did take be by surprise and I was glad they did it that way. 

I would recommend this series for someone looking for a fun/weird/slightly dumb sci fi story that's both light and heavy. There's some interesting conversations about what is life and what is a soul. Come for the concept. Stay for the art. 

Monstress continues to deliver solid characters development, a strong plot, stunning art, and twists and turns that are enjoyable. 

In volume 6 we see Maika Halfwold and the old god Zinn make piece with their situation. We also see reunions from family. 

It’s a solidly volume of one of the best fantasy graphic novel series out.

Havana Gold has a lot going for it, but ultimately falls short with some weird writing choices and a plot that's just... ugh.

What I like about Havana Gold is that Padura is continuing to show us the internal workings of Mario Conde, his detective. We see a man that's both stuck in the past and afraid of a future yet to come while not really figuring out the present. He's both sensitive and arrogant. Insecure and introverted. He is sad and at times dramatically morose. He's also only 35. I want to be like "gurl, calm down. It's not that bad." I also enjoyed Padura's Havana. The prose was more interesting this time around than the last. We get some new characters that add flavor to the world Padura is creating. The novel takes place 6 weeks after the first book. We continue see the structure of Cuban politics and how everyday people navigate them. Josefina, Conde's best friend's mother, continues to provide her son, Skinny, and Conde with exceptional meals. When the detective asks, she says every time "stop being a cop." The way people survive and maintain friendships in this political regime was very fascinating to me.

If it was just a meditation of a man in Havana, coming to terms with his legacy and past, the book would have been more successful, but the plot, revolving around the murder of a lascivious teacher didn't do it for me. Also, the focus on marijuana as the worst thing to happen was a choice that feels very much stuck in the past. While the translation improved from the previous work, it still wasn't ideal. There were moments when I continued to ask myself, "why that?" There was one sex scene in particular that I don't think I'll forget, not because it was good, but because it was so bad. Lastly, the publisher had on the cover that this was the final chapter of the quartet when in fact it was the second.

If you choose to read it, it's a pretty simple read and Mario Conde is an interesting character. It's not a bad read. I felt it was just ok. The series itself is more interesting as a whole (so far).

After a 3 year hiatus, the space epic returns and the world is at peace. Like Monstress is the high fantasy graphic novel of your dreams, Saga brings the “out of this world” to science fiction. 

We find our space travelers recovering/surviving/living after the heartbreaking events of vol 9. We meet new characters and revisit some old ones. It’s great to see characters grow and play. Still told from the adult daughter’s point of view, the narrator knows way more than she’s letting on. That sense of foreboding adds to the visuals and reminds the reader that every good and bad thing has an ending and this too will pass. Vaughan puts his characters through hell.

While Vaughan does great work with the story and characters, Fiona Staples’ art adds so much. Her choices are incredible and she takes Vaughan’s words and makes them soar. I was worried if my rating would be higher b/c it’s been so long since it’s been out, but no. This volume is really good.

Another stunning volume to the Monstress series. Even though I haven't picked up this series in awhile, it felt like I knew what was going on without much effort. This is one of the best series out there. Takeda's art works so well with Liu's voice that it feels like an ethereal dream. This is high fantasy fantastic. 

This volume's story isn't my favorite, but we do get growth from the old god and the half wolf. We see people trying come to terms with who they are while also recognizing that war means making difficult choices. Sometimes not making them can cause even more pain. 

Overall, Monstress is a series that I think people should read and get into.  The art takes the storytelling to a new level and each volume it just shines even more. 

The beginning of a four part detective series set in Havana following the character, detective Mario Conde, suffers from a bad translation. The story is about a former classmate who goes missing and who's married to the woman that Conde, also known as The Count, had a crush on in high school. Because the missing person is a high ranking member who is responsible for big money and business, Conde has to find the person as soon as possible.  

That's the plot and it's a slim one. What we get is a story that introduces us to Havana in the late 80s/early 90s. We see what life under Castro is like. We meet characters and personalities who are all trying to survive and find a way in this world. There's nostalgic moments from Conde's high school years, showing the new government and how the young people interact with it. 

Padura does a great job of representing Cuba and Havana in a light that feels honest. The book feels more like a mood or rather the environment is more important to the story. Like we need to understand the place from his point of view before we can appreciate the story. 

The book feels more like a character study than a detective novel.  We see a man struggling with a career he didn't want. We see him struggle with loneliness, the future, the deprivation of society, his place in the government, and his insecurities. 

We see Cuban society for what it is, not what it's either romanticized or demonized as. It's incredible in some ways that this made it out of Cuba b/c in my mind, it doesn't paint the best picture. Class still exists, corruption seems common, and the politics of Cuba (the government's watching each neighborhood) feels more oppressive than I thought. It's a bit refreshing. These topics are common in capitalist/democratic societies, so it's good to see it explored here. 

Now to the translation. It's pretty bad. There are times where it feels like the person who translated it knows nothing of Cuban or Latin culture. There are things that are missed when translated exactly. For example, the terms "gordo" or "arroz con pollo". You wouldn't say "Fatman" or "chicken rice". You'd just say "Gordo" or "Arroz con pollo." People will know when reading what it is and what it means. It was super frustrating when reading. I would like to see this re-translated by someone like Edith Grossman. Someone who knows the culture and the language and knows how to make it come across. 

Overall though, the book was interesting and when I got in it, it went by quickly. 

So like, there’s a plague right? And like these seven sisters are like “look, we can stay here in Florence with all the poors or like leave the city and like have a good time. But like since we’re women we can’t do it alone, how about those three guys that are into us? Like what if we take them w/us? But like we’re like all unmarried and shit and people will judge, but like let them. We’re gonna live by our morals!”

So sets the scene for the Decameron. To escape death 10 young folk go the countryside with their staff to get away from the plague and be merry and have fun. WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT ESCAPING A PLAGUE WOULD BE RELEVANT AGAIN?! To pass the time in the afternoon, each person must tell a tale based on a theme set forth by that day’s ruler (they each take turns as king and queen). 100 tales are told over 10 days. 

Taken as a whole, the tales speak to the sexual politics, morals, and corruption of the time. The characters tell stories including many corrupt clergymen and unfaithful spouses that it leads me to believe that as much reverence as the church and marriage now hold, maybe it wasn’t the case. I mean he goes in on the church!

The stories are incredible. It’s truly impressive how many euphemisms Boccaccio came up about sex and sexual organs. Some of the stories were SAUCY! That’s Ragú, momma. People were fornicating all up in this book. 
Others were sweet and at times sad. There were at least three instances of a heart being ripped out which was somewhat surprising. 

This is a good book if you’re looking to get insight on the role of women in the Middle Ages. At times it felt contradictory but I think that continues to this day. A woman’s purity is valued but it all seems like a game. Like it’s all fine unless you get caught. Which, honestly, still rings true. Women are still property and at times are abused in ways that, at the time, probably might not have been considered abuse, but now we know and can be “the fuck?” Consent isn’t  always important in some of these tales. 

Overall I enjoyed this. The meta fiction aspect is fun. Who is telling which tale? Are we getting insight into that character or is this just another way the author is getting his point across? Am I really to believe that these young people ain’t screwin after sitting in the sun reading letters to Penthouse?!

This was my least favorite of the series so far. For some reason, the art and the story weren't as cohesive as they were in previous editions. At times, it felt like they were working against each other. It also gave me the feeling that I've read many of these ideas before in his other works. I enjoyed the Furies and the Fates and the role they played in the overall story. 

Lyta's journey for revenge which leads to Dream's final act wasn't nearly as interesting as I was hoping. There were times where it felt like pieces were missing- like who hired Loki and Puck, what was with the Desire and Rose Walker scene, etc.  It felt a little discombobulated. 

Overall though, Gaiman is a great storyteller. Even if he revisits some of these ideas in later works, it's still fun to watch him do what he does. I wish the art worked for me, but it made it difficult to continue and to get into.

This book manages the difficult feat of being both ahead of its time and firmly rooted in the time it was published. bell hooks does a great job starting a conversation about love and I think its influences are currently seen throughout society. While some of the paths she takes to come to the conclusions she makes are difficult to read and her strawman arguments flawed, the end point was still powerful and worth considering. The paths was unnecessary to say what she needed to say. This is most noticeable in the greed chapter. There's a lot of great points and she does a fantastic job relaying her ideas, but the way she chooses to defend her ideas are frustrating and at times, insulting.  

If you are someone who is in a male/female relationship and/or seeking one, I think you'd get a lot out of it, particularly the last half. When she discusses romantic relationships, I didn't feel there was space for queer relationships, but rather focusing on the male/female dynamic. I felt the lack of inclusive (and frankly some of her advice) to be disappointing.