benedettal's reviews
395 reviews

Im so sorry Sylvia :( I wasnt in the right state of mind when I read this, and I already struggle with poetry, so I couldnt completely appreciate it. Her pen is sublime as ever, but the poems are deep and layered, which requires a lot of attention. Will have to read again.

What an amazing and quite original read! Thirst Trap revolves around a group of three friends at the verge of thirty, in Belfast, trying to piece their lives back together after the tragic passing of their fourth friend, with whom they’d had tense relations in the months leading up to the accident.

I found this to be a very candid portrayal of how confusing and erratic life can be at this stage, juggling work and relationships that should at this point be definitive, but still feeling stuck in the past and overall immature. The characters are relatable and likeable, though far from perfect. I especially appreciated how they don’t get a neat happy ending, they remain their flawed selves who indulge in crazy parties and binges, and that’s okay. They’ve just made peace with that and want to forgive themselves for past mistakes, but it’s a process.

I enjoyed the Belfast setting, you can tell that the city was written into the book quite deliberately and with a lot of love, which is always nice to see. The author’s voice is witty and fun, which makes for great narration of some really funny/absurd episodes. Really makes for a fun read, rich with irony, despite dealing with some heavy subjects. Really recommended. 

Oh this was such a treat! Best Agatha Christie Ive read yet. The setting is fantastic, the characters are brilliant, and the unfolding of the mystery is super entertaining. I don’t usually follow murder mysteries to try and guess who did it, but this felt even more impossible to guess. The way it all came together was just really fun.

Will be honest about this, this book didn’t do it for me until the very end, and after I learnt that it’s based on a true story for the most part.

This is a very unique story about Japan, set in the 17th century focusing on a supposed diplomatic mission on behalf of christianity. The journey across the world is fascinating, although the narrative more so focuses on the state of mind of the samurais involved in the mission, alternating with the pov of the missionary accompanying them. The clash of cultures and the complete shock experienced by the samurais is fascinating to behold, it begs a lot of questions of conscience and duty. It also doesnt shy away from exposing some of the inconsistencies of the Catholic church at the time. 

I found the ending very powerful and indeed the strongest part of the novel. When the twist is revealed, the entire narrative takes on a completely new face. It’s heartbreaking really, but of course makes perfect sense. I was really pleasantly surprised. Overall very recommended as a way to learn about an obscure page of Japanese history.

Oh the feels!! Hitting right at the sorest points of the Trojan war, and what a great continuation of the first novel in the series!

The focus on Andromache, Cassandra and the new character of Rhea (which gives us insight into Ajax - love that!!) is very original in the landscape of myth retellings, and it’s truly amazing. 

This novel is a lot more tragic than the previous one, as hope slowly drains amongst the Trojans with time passing. Focusing on the pov of the women - including Helen of course - drives the tragedy home even more. It’s a lovely retelling of the traditional myth, only really departing from it as pertains to Rhea, which works amazing bc it doesn’t impact the core story too much, only adds to it. I always appreciate it when the liberties taken make sense, and the last plot twist is genuinely heartwarming and moving. I’ll miss these characters, it’s been such a lovely journey. 

Perfectly okay, kinda funny but not Shalespeare’s finest work. The comedies , I find, often have an issue with being slightly unfocused, although the premise of the men struggling with their oath to stay away from women is a good one. Im just not a huge fan of all the switcheroo plot points in general, so in that sense I found the play a little weak.

Rarely do I stumble upon such unsettling little books. This was truly a great example of that. A woman is stuck on November 18 for nearly a year, so she documents her efforts from day 1 to try to figure what’s wrong, change the course of her repetitive life, and eventually accept her condition. It’s very cleverly done, the story took some unexpected turns for me and the constant groundhog day effect is both frustrating and extremely fascinating. Im excited to read the sequels.

A near excellent biography. Focusing on the relationship between John and Paul does a great job at covering the incredible story and legacy of the Beatles without getting overbearing, like more comprehensive biographies tend to do. Naturally we are blessed with an insane amount of material from these two and the people close to them, so it’s relatively easy to reconstruct a likely narrative of the events, which helps the author, but he still did a great job at tying it all together by focusing on the songs they sang and then wrote together, and later individually and about each other. As I said, it helps that the story is already so fascinating, from the trauma bonding from the eventual legal battles to the tragedy of John’s death. I loved learning the details of it all. I also really appreciated the fact that the book isn’t overly speculative, considering that there are lots of conspiracy theories about these two. It limits itself to describing a very unique male friendship that ran extremely deep, which is coincidentally strained by both men falling in love with their future wives and abandoning their shared passion in their band. It is also an interesting and imo honest account of the Beatles’ breakup, highlighting everyone’s role - the accountants’, George’s, and perhaps more indirectly Yoko and Linda’s. It’s a coming of age story for the ages if you ask me, and it’s baffling that it’s not fiction. Super easy to read, moving and poetic, as John and Paul deserve. Loved it.

Loved the concept of this novel, the idea of beauty dominating one’s life as such strong guiding force. It reminded me of a much better version of Saltburn, with the rich family setting and the outsider protagonist, but minus the ignorance and ill intentions. I also really appreciated the exploration of sexuality in the 80s, the raw and sincere portrayal of gay men’s struggles with acceptance and aids. It’s a great contribution to literature on hedonism, and out of the very few booker prize winners Ive read I have to say this was probably the best. Only issue was that it was a bit too wordy at times, although the prose is overall beautiful. 

This book continues to be just a transcendental experience at every read. 

Thus was my first time reading it in English, and the first in a while too, so I wasn’t able to spot the bits that were changed from this draft to the official one that was published. I can’t say the homoerotic parts that were supposed to be more prominent here were as explicit as I expected, but still, there is such intense tension between Dorian and any other male character who’s even just remotely mentioned. 

Much as in the mainstream version, the writing is absolutely superb and inebriating throughout. The slow corruption of the young Dorian Gray is so wonderful to read. I also had a much better appreciation of the section discussing Dorian’s obsession with Against Nature having read the latter. I just love the style so much.

And the content is no lesser, I mean I’m probably repeating my old review but the way this is a mixture between a confession, a cautionary tale and the depiction of a dream life. Escapism above all. Wish Oscar Wilde had written more novels.