vhindy's Reviews (27)

It’s hard for me to explain why I liked this book as much as I did.

Most of the substance of this story is implied and so I have to use my own interpretations.

McCarthy continues to prove why he might be my favorite author. Amongst the dark and dreary novel, often times with little going on other than traveling, I love how he makes the scenes feel more than that.

It’s said that this novel is rich with symbolism but on a first read, I was just getting through the story. I still have lots of open questions about the book but at the heart of it is one man who is doing his best to run away from his sins and finds himself constantly confronted with them, even when innocent. And on the other hand, we find the his sister who has a good heart and is met often with the kindness of strangers but never finds what she seeks.

I’ll need to keep analyzing this one because there’s a lot there, especially a lot to understand better what the trio represent and what they are to Culla.

Good book, gruesome ending. Worth checking out if you like McCarthy.

Pretty straightforward book ranging for informative to self important.

There was some good info in here about how humans respond to good stories. Ones i enjoyed in particular were surround the reason why the most compelling characters are flawed and why that intrigues us to them. I also enjoyed a deep dive into what makes plot and how our brain projects our own inter selves onto stories and characters

My major criticism for the book comes from the way it approaches ever situation with a strictly scientific view ignoring anything that makes us human like the spiritual. It takes this secular atheistic bland view of humanity which caused me to roll my eyes in many situations. I’m not saying that a book needs to examine this to be compelling but the way it comes across is so self aggrandizing and it rings a bit hollow with the philosophy for large portions of the book.

Easily the best non fiction book I’ve read so far.

We have the unique experience of getting a trained writer, who is also knowledgeable in mountaineering taking on the world’s highest peak in the midst of a disaster.

We know right from the start, things will get bad but to who and how remain the piece we have to resolve ourselves.

I thought the book was excellent at maintaining suspense and taking the audience along the journey with the author. 

He holds no punches. The ugly moments are portrayed the fatal mistakes are laid bare but the humanity of each person is respected. We are constantly reminded how difficult the conditions are and the mental and physical toll the mountain takes on the people there make it impossible for us to judge them. In fact, I could easily see myself making and repeating bad decisions that were made on the way up.

There were incredibly sad and heartbreaking parts, inspiring moments, and frustrating moments throughout the book.

Truly a great book and one of my all time favorites.

Truly a book of epic proportions in terms of scope and story! 

This one took much longer than I anticipated (about 5 months) and in same ways I think I failed the book because of it. 

There’s a lot of characters here and many subplots. It’s well written in that all of the characters serve some purpose (even if some are stronger than others) and even being familiar with the story and film going into it. I still found the book to surprise me and introduce new characters I wasn’t expecting.

It’s worth the read. Some of the story here is written as good as anything else I’ve ever read. The beginning in particular,

where Dante’s is arrested

up to meeting the Abbe is great.

There are other parts where the story would be improved in impact by shortening it and leaving out extraneous details. That said, there wasn’t any part of it where I would say I didn’t enjoy the book at least.

It’s not terribly deep for most of it but there are some nuggets of wisdoms and spiritualism which I enjoy in my books.

I wasn’t sure how I like the ending but even closing it and thinking on it, I found it held a great affect on me than I anticipated. It’s a very good book and is worth reading.

Robin Buzz made a great translation here.

I have one major criticism:

That is the treatment of Mercedes. She in many ways was tortured for more than the other deserving men. She was just as much a victim to their conspiracy and treachery as Dantes was. I didn’t like the idea that she was unfaithful when she believed him to be dead and gone forever and she got married in the future to a man who was also close too? Come on now. The story was set up so well for a reconciliation, for the Count to save her from her poverty and he just doesn’t? That’s wild to me. Maybe more akin to the morals of the time than no but that bothers me.

I like Haydee, but she deserves wealth of a younger man, like Albert, who is also screwed in this scenario through no fault of his own.

One point I will say is I am glad that Dumas got it right and ended with

Morrel and Valentine together. Valentine may have been my favorite character and most moral of any in the book. I thought Dumas would try to present Morrel to Haydee at the last moment for some forced joy but was glad he saved her

Give it a read. It’s by no means perfect but I’m finding that I will miss these characters and story now that I’m done.

I think this is the most unique book I’ve ever read.

I took a bit after I finished it to contemplate my feelings on it but ultimately it’s undeniably great.

Each of the 4 chapters is written from a new perspective and there’s so much of it that is a visceral experience. Some mundane scenes that you just become absolutely immersed in.

I think of all the sections the first two were easily the most challenging to understand and but were the most rewarding. 

I’ve never read anything quite like Benjy and his purity and then just the sadness you feel for him by losing the one person who ever truly was family to him. In Quentin’s section, I found it even more difficult but it evened out after awhile and had some of the most emotional scenes within the book. I didn’t think I’d like Quentin but I do and I did.

For both of these characters you felt like they were victims of their family.

Jason becomes a central figure in the back half of the book and the guy is just absolutely a

disgusting person. Some of the things he does, while not outright violent are so cruel and dark hearted that they just leave this awful taste in your mouth.

I didn’t find many of the people that likable in the book but I felt for the ones that were. Dilsey, Quentin (both of them somewhat though less so for Miss Quentin, until you find out why

Jason

hates her so much. Caddy is a tragic character that it’s hard to remember that she is the cause of her own issues even if it’s too much and Benjy of course.

Anyways, I may be rambling but there’s truly great writing throughout and while challenging it’s very worth it. Definitely rereadable as well.

The only reason it’s not a 5 star completely is because I feel like I needed a bit more at the end to tie it up more. It felt a bit incomplete. But it’s great and definitely is a must read. 

Check it out

This is my second Epic poem after The Divine Comedy and I feel like I can easily put them in a similar category especially since they have such similar themes.

You can’t deny the artistic achievement that Milton accomplished and you can’t deny its influence.

There are parts that are genuinely moving. The humanity of Adam and Eve, the victor of Christ and the Angels against their foes in the battle of Heaven. The immediate aftermath of the Fall where Satan and his Devils just look around like “what just happened”. The bitterness and misery of the Devil.

I loved the themes of Paradise Lost.

Something I was surprised about is that this is always pitched as a “sympathy for the Devil” work and I found that kinda odd. The character of Satan is so pathetic and miserable and like a petulant child throughout the entire work it’s hard to root for him.

That being said he is the most interesting character here even if I found him unsympathetic.

As for my final ranking, in 2025, it’s a tough read. The language is old. The pace is slow and it’s extremely stylized. I could see myself return to the work, but it’s still more of a challenge to read with reading parts. Definitely glad I read it (and can say I have lol).

Give it a shot! I highly recommend either reading it aloud to yourself or finding an audiobook to read it to you as you read along, I think it enhances the experience and makes it much more approachable.

Before I started this book, I didn’t think I’d ever use a 4.75 stars but here we are. I always thought that if I ended up liking a book enough that it got to the point of a 4.75 stars I would just give it the 5 stars. I think this is the perfect book for it.

Rebecca is so great. Everything about it. From the beginning pages, to the last sentence wraps you in this claustrophobic, paranoid, mess. You are in a world where you feel like you are constantly looking over your shoulder. Always expecting the very worse to happen and it’s gripping and makes for a novel you can just eat up.

We see our narrator go through various stages in the novel, from youthful, naive girl to someone who is fully embroiled in a

murder and cover up.

The paranoia and dread just ooze off the pages and makes more an extremely compelling read. It managed to surprise me multiple times and I was thoroughly entertained the entire way through. I highly recommend.

Now to address the 4.75. This book had a high ceiling and it immediately became a candidate for a 5 star read which I try not to hand out freely. I wanted to rate it as one but there was just something missing from it in the initial read that I felt like I wanted to see. 

I want to be clear this is extremely minor.  This is a nearly flawless book, but there’s a few more things I would have liked to see particularly around the climax and finale to give it that final push. That extra “X factor” that my other 5 stars bring it to a perfect book.

Can’t recommend the book enough. It’s a classic for a reason.

This one was just okay for me. I read the LoTR first so it was nice to get the background of the journey of Bilbo prior to the events of LoTR but I could tell it was a much simpler story aimed at a younger audience.

Maybe I read it too close to the main series but I’m finding myself ready to move on to another author. 

It has a lot of charm and it’s nice seeing some do the names we do, but I couldn’t help but feeling like I wanted a bit more from it as an adult.

I still found the storyline with Smaug to be the best part of the book.

We get introduced to Smaug and he’s an immediate threat. He’s mysterious and all powerful and the conversation we have between him and Bilbo is tense and very well done. My issue is we then get a GoT-esque quick ending with a single area taking down a legendary destructive dragon. I just found it a bit underwhelming.

Other than that, you can’t not find the charm in the LoTR universe but this one was fine for a single reading for me. Not sure I’ll return to it. 

One of the more surprising books I’ve read. I did not anticipate liking it but there’s a lot of human nature in this book and because of that I find the characters to be extra intriguing.

The story is centered around societies norms and the constant struggle against the weight of expectations and an individuals desire. This is taken in the form of the

Newland Archer and Ellen Olenska

and their romance, or forbidden romance.

I found myself identifying with Archer throughout most of the book until he became more and more

erratic

towards the end. He seemed to be so obvious in his actions and thoughts but no one seemed to notice. Least of all his wife.

The last two chapters really take this book up another level for me. We have the

party in which Archer slowly realizes that everyone suspects him and Ellen of an affair that really hasn’t happened. Archer plans to leave everything behind and chase Ellen. But is stopped when he finds out May is pregnant. 

He then lives an entire life as a devoted husband and father. He gives up on youthful dreams and devotes himself to the responsibility of old. Only to find himself in a situation years later after their spouse’s death where he can see her and rather than take the opportunity he would rather live in his imagination.

The key scene for me is where he finds out from his son just how much May his wife understood him despite seemingly being aloof and loved him anyway and more so because she knew his desires and he cast them aside because in her words, she asked him too when those words were never spoken.

I can’t help but feel that also played a role in him not visiting Ellen in the end. May surprised him in a way he didn’t think was possible. That and he was never a brave man and would prefer to live in his fantasies rather than explore them.

Either way, a fantastic book. I’m not a romance reader but this explores human nature at a deeper level and the lounging and regret that is found within in it.

I’m finding myself quite sad to leave the behind the series.

It took me a lot longer to finish than I expected. Sometimes the reading could be slow for me but it felt like I went on the journey with them and I’m grateful to have done it.

This book from the outset was easily going to be my favorite. From the beginning everything had been building up to the final battles of Mordor and the rejoining of the 3 different groups and it didn’t disappoint.

The destruction of the King of the Nazgûl’s

was in particularly moving.

You could also feel the weight of every step as

Frodo and Sam made their way through Mordor and finally destroyed the Ring.

The most surprising part to me was how much I enjoyed everything after the Ring was destroyed. I saw there was still a good chunk of the book left and wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it but I think those sections worked wonders for me in terms of solidifying the characters when they could finally be at peace.

The last scene in particular was moving. 

Overall a really great series and glad to have finally made the jump in. Highly recommended to anyone to read it in addition to watching the films.