bella_mckinnon's reviews
53 reviews

was just pretty meh, couldn’t connect with any of the characters well. didn’t interest me

Great collection of essays by Russell – really enjoyed the way he articulated his ideas, just about every line is quotable as either a novel, or on its own, intelligent, well thought-out idea. 

Excellent poetry collection of Sylvia Plath. Poignant, impactful, wrenching language. Powerful poetry that I just feel. I just feel it. It's truly amazing stuff.  

La Bal:
* well-written
* sharp, intense, fierce
* related to the angsty teen struggle of a child who despises their parent, thought it was clear and on-the-nose
* Antoinette’s lines about being so alone and knowing that things will get better one day while acknowledging her current situation is hopeless, was also painfully relatable and i though sensitively done
* good wit about the story
* sweet touch with the ending, on a surprising empathy and increased understanding of a petty woman going through her own struggles and projecting them on others
* good, enjoyable, quick read
* 5/5

Snow in Autumn:
* sharp, harsh
* paints vivid image of a cold, desperate, bleak living for a struggling family 
* tragic
* loved the historical setting, their pov of the impact of the Bolsheviks
* excellent vivid descriptions of everything from the weather, to feelings, to despair, to human faces, and so on
* enjoyed the continuation of what seems to be a pattern in Nemirovsky’s works; sharp, straightforward characters hardened by lifetimes of misfortune
* as a lover of history, I pondered on this for a while “Death. He wasn’t afraid of it. But to leave this earth in the turmoil of a revolution, forgotten by everyone, abandoned…It was all so absurd…” — thought this was really interesting. It’s true we learn more about the drama of the revolutions and then how Bolshevism led to Lenism, Trotskyism and Stalinism, then the USSR and all that…amidst all that drama, we forget about the indivisible stories of the people who were immediately affected by the Bolshevik revolutions and later Russian history. Loved this line of thought.
* harder to follow than La Bal as there were more characters and the names were foreign to me so they took longer to get to, but this is no complaint really, just need to read a little bit more methodically
* really enjoyed, good read again — I feel like Nemirovsky could have had a lucrative career had she not been lost to us due to the horrific events of the Holocaust. Really tragic, she had immense potential.
* 4.75/5

Well written and a very engaging read. I related a lot to Helen's character, and her, plus her father Morris, became my favourites. However, partly due to my affinity for Helen, and mostly due to, I think, basic empathy, I found it really hard to read about Helen getting constantly 

raped and/or sexually assaulted by the men in her life.

 I felt so much for her, and I did not enjoy the ending of the story that 

suggested she might begin to trust Frank or rekindle a relationship with him in future, despite his constant harassments and assaults against her, and his generally immoral character.

 I feel  very conflicted about the story because it was so well-written in my opinion, and I appreciated reading it. But I felt so much for Morris and especially Helen that the constant injustice they faced was hard to read. Gritty and real though. Tough read, but I'm glad I read it.

Firstly some good things: the chapter subheadings helped to keep me on track when reading this (as I got lost at times); there were some humorous parts like when Moses got scammed at the fair, etc.

Reasons I didn't really enjoy it all that much though: I thought the writing dragged on in parts and that this book could have been even shorter; there is, due to the time this was written, blatant sexism throughout which is just unappealing for me to read; the story had me thoroughly disinterested shortly after I started reading; the tone was at times arrogant and I couldn't really sympathise with the main characters; the poems that feature every now and then were uninspired and predictable; it wasn't even that funny? or perhaps I just didn't pick up on a lot of it due to Goldsmith and I being from times and cultures almost 300 years apart; and interestingly, while the book boasts the Christian morality of the vicar, I rarely noted how exactly it helped him to be resilient amidst all his struggles – it was clear he was religious, i.e he had long sermons, claimed 'philosophy was weak' and religion superior, and so on, but I didn't get much else. I would have liked to have learned more about how his faith helped him. 

Overall it wasn't my favourite read, wouldn't read it again.

Excellent book. Incredibly comforting when my depressed mind tricks me into catastrophizing and being pessimistic about life. 

Was initially interested by the topic, but the writing took a lot of the intrigue out of Victorian sexuality for me. Just honestly lost interest in the general work, finding a few things every now and then interesting, but not enough to finish the second half of the book.

Great letters by Seneca on living according to Stoic virtues. Helps me a lot. Not a light read though, I can’t read this when I’m tired. Some letters I lost the point of, and didn’t think were really worth the read, like the ones on Scipio’s villa; not helpful from a philosophical standpoint but it would be interesting if you’re into architecture or ancient buildings, etc. Good read though.

New review 19/10/2023: 
I find more value in it now than I did last year. I disagree now that letters weren’t worth the read just because I personally didn’t connect with them. It has helped me more now than it did last I read it. I have a feeling this pattern will continue the more I grow and get out of these letters.