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elizabethmercas's reviews
134 reviews
Crime And Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
extraordinary.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.25
I loved it the first time I read it a couple of years ago in middle school, but I think I have simply grown out of it. I detested the writing style and I honestly think that the Romanian translation (the one I read some time ago) was so much more readable. I felt that the author was trying wayYyyy to hard to be quirky and unique and it really took me out of the narrative; I also didn't get well along with the curse words in German - like, we get it, the action takes place in Germany but it was so tiring and so QuiRKy i wanted to puke.
I want to donate my copy to another 12 year-old and never see it again.
I don't think I regret re-reading it, I'm just disappointed that I didn't love it like I expected to.
I want to donate my copy to another 12 year-old and never see it again.
I don't think I regret re-reading it, I'm just disappointed that I didn't love it like I expected to.
Mama Noapte by Kurt Vonnegut
dark
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Exceptionala cartea. Imi doresc sa citesc mai multe din romanele lui Kurt Vonnegut - m-am indragostit de stilul sau de a scrie
P.S. traducerea de Rodica Mihăilă (cea pe care am citit-o) e dementiala
P.S. traducerea de Rodica Mihăilă (cea pe care am citit-o) e dementiala
Dublul by Fyodor Dostoevsky
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.25
Nu stiu daca voi descoperi vreodata o carte mai prost scrisa decat Dublul...
Avea dreptate Dostoievski cand a spus ca a cam sfeclit-o cu romanul acesta.
Avea dreptate Dostoievski cand a spus ca a cam sfeclit-o cu romanul acesta.
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
1.5
could have been better. poorly written
but at least it was entertaining.
but at least it was entertaining.
Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I really loved this book!
It felt more like a journey to the past than a mere Sunday afternoon lecture and I thoroughly enjoyed Boccaccio's writing style.
highly recommend it :)
^It made me want to learn Italian to read it in it's original language
It felt more like a journey to the past than a mere Sunday afternoon lecture and I thoroughly enjoyed Boccaccio's writing style.
highly recommend it :)
^It made me want to learn Italian to read it in it's original language
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
5.0
(real rating: 4.5 *)
I liked the book and I probably would like to read it again some day. I deem the ending poetic based on the mere fact that it gave me a vague sense of closure which I thoroughly enjoyed.
The plot was at times so alluring and the language likewise and then it felt as if it relapsed into a faint sense of blandness which was rather difficult to snap out of.
In the end, though in the novel there were bits that were somewhat monotonous I am glad I did not give up, for I would have missed such a great experience.
PS: Thanks to some 5* reviews on Goodreads I managed to motivate myself and read the last 300 (or nearly so) pages of the book in 2 days.
bisous,
E.
I liked the book and I probably would like to read it again some day. I deem the ending poetic based on the mere fact that it gave me a vague sense of closure which I thoroughly enjoyed.
The plot was at times so alluring and the language likewise and then it felt as if it relapsed into a faint sense of blandness which was rather difficult to snap out of.
In the end, though in the novel there were bits that were somewhat monotonous I am glad I did not give up, for I would have missed such a great experience.
PS: Thanks to some 5* reviews on Goodreads I managed to motivate myself and read the last 300 (or nearly so) pages of the book in 2 days.
bisous,
E.
Invitația la vals by Mihail Drumeş
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
reflective
sad
slow-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? It's complicated
3.5
real rating: 2,5 * - 3,5*
I honestly do not know how to feel about this book. There were bits that I liked, parts that I disliked and chunks that I tolerated for the sake of reading...
I feel like I am full of contradictions: I liked the language, but thoroughly disliked the overly long descriptions; the book more often than not tired me, but I still couldn't stop reading it (I have to admit that I had really great expectations(no pun intended) for this book).
This novel depicts the dawdling decay into debauchery of Emma Bovary. Emma's sentimental readings give her an inauthentic vision of life's potential and an eternal dissatisfaction with what she has. Rodolphe, her first lover, mimics romantic discourse in his seducer's letter of rupture, reducing words to empty husks, vehicles of lies, in the same way that Léon, the besotted, blue-eyed lawyer's clerk, can spout only poetic clichés, viewing his lover solely through current stereotypes (see part 3, the odalisque bathing)...
Although, something I really liked was Emma's ever changing description: early on in the novel her eyes appear to be 'brown', then 'black in the shadow and deep blue in the daylight', afterwards simply 'blue' and so on. From what I have gathered, Flaubert was the least careless writer imaginable and it seems as though he is subverting a conventional part of any character description - but to what end? Is it to make Emma yet more ungraspable, and therefore even closer to reality? Or is it to make a possible bonding experience between her and the reader somewhat harder (or just for the fun of confusion, lol)?
I honestly do not know how to feel about this book. There were bits that I liked, parts that I disliked and chunks that I tolerated for the sake of reading...
I feel like I am full of contradictions: I liked the language, but thoroughly disliked the overly long descriptions; the book more often than not tired me, but I still couldn't stop reading it (I have to admit that I had really great expectations(no pun intended) for this book).
This novel depicts the dawdling decay into debauchery of Emma Bovary. Emma's sentimental readings give her an inauthentic vision of life's potential and an eternal dissatisfaction with what she has. Rodolphe, her first lover, mimics romantic discourse in his seducer's letter of rupture, reducing words to empty husks, vehicles of lies, in the same way that Léon, the besotted, blue-eyed lawyer's clerk, can spout only poetic clichés, viewing his lover solely through current stereotypes (see part 3, the odalisque bathing)...
Although, something I really liked was Emma's ever changing description: early on in the novel her eyes appear to be 'brown', then 'black in the shadow and deep blue in the daylight', afterwards simply 'blue' and so on. From what I have gathered, Flaubert was the least careless writer imaginable and it seems as though he is subverting a conventional part of any character description - but to what end? Is it to make Emma yet more ungraspable, and therefore even closer to reality? Or is it to make a possible bonding experience between her and the reader somewhat harder (or just for the fun of confusion, lol)?
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
It definitely was a challenging read, but interesting nonetheless. Makes me want to read more of her works.