bengriffin's reviews
2677 reviews

The trouble with magic-realism writing is that the beautifully langorous sentences can take forever to read. If not balanced just right the sprawl can become quite suffocating and a battle to get through. Luckily, Saramago mostly gets it right, and whilst I did make slow progress at times, I very much enjoyed the novel. At around 200 pages it feels just the right length to keep it streamlined and prevent it getting bogged down. There's a lot of interesting themes and ideas in here but the book particularly shines when it zooms in during the second half to focus on death and her escapee. The interactions and thoughts of death are beautiful, and I don't think I can recall a more tender, warm and fragile incarnation of her/the concept. This book is likely to stay with me for a long time.

Like Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything this book manages to balance solid scientific knowledge with accessibility, dodging both wishy-washy vagueries and overly complex science. It has plenty of fascinating stories about the elements and their discoverers and was easy to digest and compelling to read. Highly recommended.

A fun, enjoyable little read. Not quite sure what everyone else absolutely loved about it, but it works well as homage and is definitely entertaining.

An enjoyable distraction which confirms my desire to not go to Morocco. The combination of travelogue and sketchbook compliment each other well, and his pictures of trees are great, but apart from that I don't have a lot to say.

An endearing lead character and funny throughout but ultimately didn't grab me or affect me all that much.

I love the way Bulgakov writes and his tone especially. This book is a bit more direct and scathing than Master and Margarita, and you will need to read up on your Russian history to fully appreciate it [which I don't think I do] but it's still a darkly enjoyable read regardless.