dreynoldsbook's reviews
106 reviews

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

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challenging dark funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

There are some great lines in this novel and the imagery is very powerful. I didn’t really care what happened, however, because none of the characters were sympathetic, except maybe Jaki. The main protagonist was good company but not likeable. Imagine him as a straight man and all his young conquests women. 
Stoner by John Williams

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The prose is so clear and intense. It’s very well written. Stoner is very frustrating though. He’s so lackadaisical, things just happen to him. He doesn’t even make the decision to go to university, it’s made for him. Then he switches to English because of a kind of epiphany. But he could just as easily continued with agriculture you feel.

Sad. That’s the word that is always used to describe this novel. It’s sad because Stoner constantly gives into other people. When happiness is in his grasp he allows it to get away.

His relationship with his mentally ill wife is excruciating at times. Stoner always loses to her in the war that constitutes their marriage. Unfortunately it’s not just him that suffers but also his emotionally damaged daughter.

But if it was a poorer novel I probably wouldn’t be bothered so much by these things!
The Karamazov Brothers by Fyodor Dostoevsky

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Still a fascinating read. Maybe more so than when it was published. It tells us a lot about the  of Russia in the mid 19th century. 

So much of the book is concerned with psychology, especially mental ‘aberrations’ as the novel describes them. It seems every character is suffering. And so often they seem intent on self-harm. They work against their own interests and wishes. But often they just don’t seem to know what they want. So it’s still relevant in that way.

It’s a long book, sometimes hard work (The Grand Inquisitor I particularly struggled to fully absorb) it’s often thought provoking and quotable and mostly entertaining.

It’s a crazy ride!
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

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adventurous dark sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata

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funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Babel by R.F. Kuang

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 71%.
I got 380 pages in before I finally gave up although I lost interest before this. The characters were totally unbelievable, the magic aspect half-arsed and the story seemed more suitable to a YA novel. I suspect that a lot of the readers giving this glowing reviews are much younger than me and the novel wasn’t aimed at me.
Chess: A Novel by Stefan Zweig

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mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Bonjour Tristesse and A Certain Smile by Françoise Sagan

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The prose in these books is consistently brilliant, it’s subtle and very quotable. I love the contradictions and sudden changes of position by the main characters, which I found realistic.  

I think I preferred Bonjour Tristesse over A Certain Smile even though I didn’t find the characters in the former likeable. 
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

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reflective relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5