crybabybea's reviews
239 reviews

I just can't. Almost 50% of the way in and nothing happened and every page feels like a chore. I was so so excited for this but it just didn't work for me.

The main character is interesting but she doesn't have any internal conflict; I don't mind a character that is strong-willed and sure of themselves, but they need soooome sort of internal pressure to make them interesting. The result is that Anequs ends up serving almost as a plot device to move the other characters forward. 

The plot is nonexistent, we are just at school, going to class, then going to lunch, then sometimes going out to the coffee shop or going shopping or to a party. And repeat. There are no stakes. The character's main goal is to pass the final examination to become a licensed dragoneer, and the reader never wonders if she won't be able to make it because she doesn't struggle with anything. Again, it's fine to have a character be a natural at things and be intelligent and powerful, but there's nothing that makes the plot feel intriguing.

Actually all of this would be fine but the writing style and worldbuilding is just. Ugh. We get worldbuilding via one of two sources: from sitting in a lecture or from dialogue between characters. Either way results in lengthy paragraphs of explanation that feel like reading a textbook. On top of that, the magic system is just basic chemistry with some words changed around, and the world is a fictionalized version of North America if it were colonized by Germans/Norse? There's just nothing special to make the infodumpy world-building worth it.

I know I just complained for 5000 words but fr if you liked Babel, I think you would like this. They both didn't work for me for pretty much the exact same reasons, and they both tackle similar themes of colonialism and racism in a historical time period. It was kinda like Babel but if Robin spoke his mind and slapped people every time someone was racist instead of trying to fit in. 

I'm torn because this was written really beautifully, and it worked well with the themes that the author was trying to present. It really felt like sitting around a campfire and listening to a great storyteller; the writing was poetic and lyrical and full of analogies and metaphors that really made me think. But at the same time, the writing style got in the way, especially during the middle third of the book. 

For me, the beginning and end were very strong, but it slowed down in the middle where the author sort of repeated the same themes using different stories and observations. I think this would be 5 stars for me if it were just slightly less overwritten in some areas. I still took away a great deal of not only information but inspiration and a new perspective to look at the world.

 I enjoyed some essays more than others, naturally. There were some that I was personally interested in and others I didn’t really care about. As with all essay collections written by multiple authors, some were better written than others. I felt like the book itself was cohesive, the essays worked well together and it made sense why certain myths were chosen. I liked the structure of “here’s a myth, here’s the truth, and here’s my evidence to back it up”. 

But. I'm not really sure who this book is for. I don't think it's far-left enough that it's alienating to more moderate thinkers, but I don't think moderate or right-leaning thinkers would be inclined to pick this up, nor would it really change their minds. On the other hand, I don't think left-leaning people who have read books in similar topics will really gain a lot of, if any, new information. It’s a nice primer and it’s a cool idea to have all of the related essays collected in one place. I guess you could read this before Thanksgiving to brush up on your debate points. 

Most easily lovable main character ever? This goes by super quick with a little bit of a mystery involved, but the star of the show is of course the rogue robot that calls itself Murderbot, and its sardonic, awkward narration. Seriously Murderbot is so shy and awkward that you can't help but love it. I felt the other characters weren't as fleshed out as they could have been, but obviously they weren't the focus of the story. A fun read with a unique narrator and voice.

Deeply nuanced and personal, as expected from bell hooks. She is such a great thinker, I'm always impressed by the different perspectives she brings to her writing. She connects quotes from her own personal reading to mass media to socialization to religion to politics. Because of this, she can sometimes veer off into things that seem like far stretches or conclusions that were jumped to, but as someone who doesn't believe in the phrase "It's not that deep", I always enjoy her analyses on unexpected topics.

I appreciated the way she broke down masculinity, and how she lays out the way patriarchy damages men, which in turn damages women. It's a sort of top-down approach that usually gets missed; every feminist knows the patriarchy damages women, but most people don't think about how it damages men as well. It's also clearly written with so much love, for men and women, and in that way, bell hooks lives up to practicing what she preaches.

Despite all the good I think it offers, I felt like it only scratched the surface of masculinity, but hooks gives us a great starting point, a new lens to apply when talking and thinking about masculinity. It is a product of its time though and therefore lacks a more diverse perspective regarding gender identity and sexuality; trans men, gay men, lesbians, and gender non-conforming men are all interesting pieces of the puzzle when talking about masculinity and patriarchy.

A fairytale-esque little coming-of-age story. The book addresses some heavier themes, such as classism, the societal pressure to conform and fit in, and chosen family. The story comes across as almost whimsical, viewed through the rose-colored perspective of childhood. The choice to tell the story from a child's point-of-view added a great tone to the story and left a lot up to the reader to interpret. 

Although told from the perspective of twelve-year-old Miguel, the story's center of gravity is his uncle, Ramón, an eccentric man who lives according to his own whims, much to the dismay of his family and the community around him. Ramón is almost like a character in a fable; hazy rumors surround him and his quirky one-line philosophical musings stay with those he interacts with. 

Of course, not everyone is accepting of a hermit who lives in a billboard, so when the rumor mill turns increasingly hateful, Ramón makes an easy scapegoat to pin everything on. With the perspective of a child who doesn't quite understand the depth of social politics (he, like any other kid, only goes to the housing council meetings for the free sandwiches), it leaves room for the reader to reflect on the consequences of choosing to go against the grain.

María José Ferrada's writing is lyrical, poetic, and the translation by Elizabeth Bryer is done with love and care. It's the kind of book I'm so grateful was translated, but also the kind of book I'm so sad that I will never be able to read and absorb in its mother tongue.

Obviously, the symbolism of birds are sprinkled throughout in thoughtful ways that only add to the contemplative tone.

I found the pair of main characters to be incredibly fun, and it made the story easy-going and quick, though the actual events of the story are actually quite tragic.