paulaks's Reviews (171)

"I'm glad I read it, I'm glad it's over." 
Wuthering Heigths.. where do I begin.. Emily Brontë wrote one of the most unique books I have read in a long time. Let me share some thoughts:
- It has such a slow and dense writing while having beautiful detailed prose ( if not poetry-like) making for a rough reading experience. As said in the beginning, I'm glad it's over since both the writing and plot make it hard to read.
- What a great representative novel for gothic literature and the "dark romance" period. In Germany there is a so called "Dark / Black romance" sub genre for the romantic literary period. Why does this fit so well? It is haunting, spooky, eerie, dreamy and discuss the human psyche in a pessimistic light. Let me reiterate: this is NOT a modern romance. Please look up the romantic period to clarify prejudices before going in.
- The topic. It's like reading about a car crash where you can't look away. This is a generational tale discussing abusive influences, revenge and social norms during the victorian era. The themes were basically taboo and you wonder what made Emily write this novel. This could be a reflection of people around her but she had to be a more pessimistic person. 
- The characters. Please be attentive at the beginning. Emily doesn't gift you anything, so she will not explain character relations more than once. The characters are awful and disturbing without a moral compass. They are jealous, violent and mentally and physically sick most of the time. What a fascinating thing to read about, I guess..!? Heathcliff and Catherine are the main influences and both get kids with similar names and behaviours. The only one I rooted for was Nelly the servant.
- The perspective. Nelly is the servant and describes her experiences. This is GREAT. The more you think about it, the more it makes sense. She is like the reader, because of her social status she doesn't have any power to disrupt the things happening. She wants her people to be safe and treat everyone with respect but sadly, her influences are little.
- Weather. The weather is one of the most atmospheric and aesthetic things ever! Amazing. Plus, the weather represents the current state of life and mood the characters have. It's for a reason that most of the time the weather is dark. 
- Parallel. Multiple parallels to analyse here and that's why I need to reread it once in my life. My favorite was the fact that the second half mirrored the first half. A cycle of abuse. Just a fun thing I noticed.

To conclude,
This was not a fun read (gotta get my light fluffy romance ready for a palette cleanser). Subjectively, this is a two or three star. However, the more I sit with it, the more I am fascinated by the uniqueness and themes of the novel. I get why you love it, I get if you hate it. Being part of the (deserving) literary canon, I currently land on 4 stars.

I loved the concept and writing in this book! Really engaging and the circumstances in this world set up an interesting plot. The plot overall was fine. I enjoyed it but felt that the focus was on the wrong things. Personally, I would have loved more opportunities for the side characters and the ending. The MC Sophia and the evil King did their job to get the story forward but because of that lacked originality and consistency. 
I did not see the plot twist coming which is why the ending was fun to read. Definitely a more fast paced story.
I think the books strengths and weaknesses level out to a well-meant 3.5 stars! It works as a feminist YA fantasy but nothing more than that.

Probably the hardest classic I have read so far. If one would have needed an editor, Dickens is be the number one. He just kept on "yapping".
The characters were the standout for me! Deeply multilayered with complex moral compasses. My favorite have to be Biddy, Herbert and Joe. Estella is one of the hardest to understand which made her special in her own way.
I loved the little sprinkles of Dickens's humour. Got me smiling and laughing a few times. 
The title and message of "Great Expectations" is what you can guess quite easily. Struggling with high goals, prejudices and money. Straightforward but leaving a deep mark.

Why only 2.75 stars?
It's confusing and often times boring to read than engaging. The pacing was slow and really inconsistent. I struggled to keep up with plot lines that move without any kind of structure. Don't even need to mention the amount of NAMES that kept me guessing who I'm reading about now. The format is "old" and privileged. Today, this kind of messy storytelling with unnecessary long parts wouldn't be awarded the same way it was years ago. With the exception of Sarah J Maas who does get away with the same, so maybe my thesis is wrong... 

The journey was rough and subjectively unejoyable but the characters and message does stick to you, to a point where I was rooting for little Pip to finally find joy and content. 

Exactly what I needed: a lighthearted, holiday, friends to lovers romance with a touch of comedy. Holiday Romance was a realistic romance that spans over ten years - the protagonists only meeting once a year to fly to Ireland together. On their tenth flight they have to take a longer route and spend more time together. I loved the flashbacks and time with their families. The ending felt a little rushed but overall I enjoyed it! 

Wow. Purple Hibiscus revealed itself to be a thought-provoking, emotionally loaded and character driven coming of age story. 

With a palette of diverse characters ranging from highly flawed to justice seeking, you will find yourself immersed in this Nigerian family. Whatever you expect, you will find it and way more. I applaud Adichie to being able to fit so many themes into one concise plot. To name a few: Religion, power dynamics, abuse, capitalism, friendship, politics, feminism, freedom and democracy. 

Everyone is flawed in a way, however no one has such a big power role than the abusive father. He has to be my least favourite character while paradoxically fighting for free journalism and donating. Eat the rich, I guess. 

If this sounds interesting to you, go for it. Definitely not a light read but it was a hundred percent worth it. 

Great overview that's very nice to look at and read in. Definitely makes for a good present for a Taylor Swift fan :) The only flaw I see is the blind praise that's given. Especially calling her a "passionate activist" might be a bit naive if not an overstatement. There is no morally correct billionaire, period. But besides that, it was accurate and detailed. I loved the song breakdown and wished they included the taylor's version songs.

The content sounded intriguing but after 100 pages I still don't understand what's going on. There are too many characters with not enough explanation. I don't like to dnf but I really don't vibe with this book.

Nachdem ich den ersten Teil schon fantastisch fand, hat mich der zweite Teil von Enaiats Geschichte auch überzeugen können. Das Buch erinnert mich daran, warum ich lese. Sich durch tolles Geschichten erzählen in eine komplett andere Situation zu denken und Empathie dafür empfinden zu können ist so wichtig. Und so schön. Zwar ist das Buch nicht nur schön, sondern auch traurig, macht wütend, belehrt und bringt mich zum Lachen. Beide Biographien haben einen große Wirkung hinterlassen, deshalb die 5 Sterne Bewertung (keinesfalls eine Wertung der Geschichte, denn ich kann kein Leben basierend auf Texte bewerten).

I read this play for school in the original (older) German language which made this a not so enjoyable experience. 
First of, I understand what Lessing was trying to do. The motives and themes are clear and everything revolves around it. Sometimes it feels inauthentic because of that. The charactes and situations felt forced just to get the wanted result. Besides that, most of the characters were stereotypical and one-dimensional. Except maybe Daja and the monk. I really gravitated towards them since there actions were surprising and left room for interpretation. They weren't perfect. I also liked Al-Hafi, he was the needed comedic relief even though I think Lessung didn't intend to. It cracked me up how he appeared two times and was missed the complete second half. *Random dialogue* oh, where is Al-Hafi? That's the randomness I like. The end was fine, everything felt wrapped up, no complaints. 
However: If you think that this play is still important (message wise or for basic reading) and you want people to read it, preferably GET it, you might need to give it a more modern translation. Please. I understand the importance of the original, that's why people study German literature. But for a student and normal reader it would be much more accessible if you give it a new edition. I'm talking accessibility here, reading this is not accessible at all. I had to look up words and read into some history afterwards. That's my take. I'm open for discussion and might change my view but after my first read that's all you get. 2.5 stars.

That's THAT romantasy! If you're looking for one, there you go. 
Enjoyable characters and a romance plot which becomes more of the focus during the second half. I have to give it to Carissa how every single character just feels so complex and three dimensional. She doesn't hand you out a cliché paired with a trope-y romance. You really have to figure them out.
To the fantasy: this should have been five stars and it's my fault. PLEASE use the glossary. I beg you. The world *technically* is interesting and deep but for a romantasy she really picked out a harder system. I was confused, to say the least. But it's my fault. When I saw the glossary at the end after finishing the book I could cry. That's peak dumbness. 
However, I think during some parts of the competition there could have been more description when it comes to where we are. To give you an example, the contestants spawn somewhere, there are evil creatures, they fight and over. WHERE ARE THEY? What's going?! That's where I missed some writing which you could cut during other chapters that tend to be a bit too descriptive.

To conclude, read it. Use the glossary and you should have a fun experience - keeping in mind it's a romantasy, so it might suffer from trying both.