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elizabethmercas's reviews
134 reviews
Emma by Jane Austen
challenging
lighthearted
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
2.0
It's excessive length made it tideous. 💅
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
Although I did not cry my heart broke into a million pieces. I think I am now too tired to process what just happened (it's 2am on a Friday) and I fear that tomorrow may pretty much bring the sorrow of realization to me.
The ending made me smile.
The needed to be reunited in the underworld. I wouldn't have had it otherwise.
The ending made me smile.
The needed to be reunited in the underworld. I wouldn't have had it otherwise.
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
wow.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
Did not finish book. Stopped at 67%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 67%.
I hated the writing style of this book to the max. I wanted to like it. I read over half of it. Just couldn't.
The erection descriptions and the sex scenes were a bit too much and in bad timing.
maybe someday I will give it another try ;)
The erection descriptions and the sex scenes were a bit too much and in bad timing.
maybe someday I will give it another try ;)
Baltagul by Mihail Sadoveanu
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.25
se putea si mai rău, dar nici bine nu a fost..
Moromeții I by Marin Preda
challenging
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
„În Câmpia Dunării, cu câţiva ani înaintea celui de-al Doilea Război Mondial, se pare că timpul avea cu oamenii nesfârşită răbdare; viaţa se scurgea aici fără conflicte mari.“ Ceea ce urmează în roman contrazice această imagine. Timpul este viclean, răbdarea nu e decât o formă de acumulare pentru o nouă criză. La sfârşit, când drama Moromeţilor este narată şi, prin ea, imaginea vieţii liniştite spulberată, prozatorul revine asupra notaţiei de început: „Timpul nu mai avea răbdare.“ Este una dintre multele imagini ale simetriei în literatura lui Marin Preda, plină de evoluţii închise, de ample mişcări în cerc, şi vrea să dea o idee despre rotaţia procesuală a vieţii după o lege statornică şi misterioasă care acţionează şi în natură. Chiar demersul epic se înscrie în fatalitatea acestei repetiţii.
De cartea asta simt ca imi era cel mai frică - dar am spus sa las prejudecățile deoparte si sa adopt un punct de vedere cat mai obiectiv. Pana la urma e bine sa începi cu ceea ce nu iti place ~ iar cartea a fost mai bună decât ma așteptam.=))
Dacă nu iei totul prea în serios si încerci sa te gândești mai des la bac te descurci.
*A ajutat probabil si faptul ca am citit-o in tandem cu Anna.
De cartea asta simt ca imi era cel mai frică - dar am spus sa las prejudecățile deoparte si sa adopt un punct de vedere cat mai obiectiv. Pana la urma e bine sa începi cu ceea ce nu iti place ~ iar cartea a fost mai bună decât ma așteptam.=))
Dacă nu iei totul prea în serios si încerci sa te gândești mai des la bac te descurci.
*A ajutat probabil si faptul ca am citit-o in tandem cu Anna.
Moromeții by Marin Preda
challenging
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
„În Câmpia Dunării, cu câţiva ani înaintea celui de-al Doilea Război Mondial, se pare că timpul avea cu oamenii nesfârşită răbdare; viaţa se scurgea aici fără conflicte mari.“ Ceea ce urmează în roman contrazice această imagine. Timpul este viclean, răbdarea nu e decât o formă de acumulare pentru o nouă criză. La sfârşit, când drama Moromeţilor este narată şi, prin ea, imaginea vieţii liniştite spulberată, prozatorul revine asupra notaţiei de început: „Timpul nu mai avea răbdare.“ Este una dintre multele imagini ale simetriei în literatura lui Marin Preda, plină de evoluţii închise, de ample mişcări în cerc, şi vrea să dea o idee despre rotaţia procesuală a vieţii după o lege statornică şi misterioasă care acţionează şi în natură. Chiar demersul epic se înscrie în fatalitatea acestei repetiţii.
De cartea asta simt ca imi era cel mai frică - dar am spus sa las prejudecățile deoparte si sa adopt un punct de vedere cat mai obiectiv. Pana la urma e bine sa începi cu ceea ce nu iti place ~ iar cartea a fost mai bună decât ma așteptam.=))
Dacă nu iei totul prea în serios si încerci sa te gândești mai des la bac te descurci.
*A ajutat probabil si faptul ca am citit-o in tandem cu Anna.
De cartea asta simt ca imi era cel mai frică - dar am spus sa las prejudecățile deoparte si sa adopt un punct de vedere cat mai obiectiv. Pana la urma e bine sa începi cu ceea ce nu iti place ~ iar cartea a fost mai bună decât ma așteptam.=))
Dacă nu iei totul prea în serios si încerci sa te gândești mai des la bac te descurci.
*A ajutat probabil si faptul ca am citit-o in tandem cu Anna.
Podul de lut by Markus Zusak
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
Oh, but how could I know what was awaiting me! I have to admit that when I started reading this book I hated it. It was dreadful – at least the first fifty pages, if I recall were torture for me to read and I thank myself that I did not give up. One day I woke up and decided to give this book one more chance: just a few more pages, and if when I am to reach 100 I still despise it, then I will not try any harder in the near future. But I did not have to try hard, because after the next five pages the book started to tell it’s story, and a marvelous story it is!
Penelope’s death and especially Carey’s were two key events in Clay’s life, that help our protagonist mature over the course of the book and rise stronger when hit by the unfortunate events of life. A strange but pleasant feeling it was when I felt like Carey, although written just for Clay’s character development, really just seemed like a character of her own – which made it a great deal harder when Markus Zukak, juggling with death, made her an unwanted visit; and he made so for good reason: to show the readers how the characters in his story, mostly boys, dealt with the ultimate loss of life, and how they, but especially Clay, reacted to a slow death, like the one that Penelope suffered versus a rapid and abrupt death akin Carey’s.
I really like the way the story was told, and to be quite honest I cannot imagine it any way different – the parallel between past and present is like a metaphor referring to the bridge that clay rises with the help of his father throughout the story: given that the past was too painful for any of the boys to revisit it before this bridge was risen, and along it the fact that the bridge signifies the way from a lost father to his children and to reconciliation and kindness, a ‘deck’ that clay was willing to build over known or unknown mistakes … a ‘deck’ that once existed in the warp of the Dumbar family past in the form of Penny, and collapsed with her..
Great book, with lots of meanings, hidden at first clance .
Penelope’s death and especially Carey’s were two key events in Clay’s life, that help our protagonist mature over the course of the book and rise stronger when hit by the unfortunate events of life. A strange but pleasant feeling it was when I felt like Carey, although written just for Clay’s character development, really just seemed like a character of her own – which made it a great deal harder when Markus Zukak, juggling with death, made her an unwanted visit; and he made so for good reason: to show the readers how the characters in his story, mostly boys, dealt with the ultimate loss of life, and how they, but especially Clay, reacted to a slow death, like the one that Penelope suffered versus a rapid and abrupt death akin Carey’s.
I really like the way the story was told, and to be quite honest I cannot imagine it any way different – the parallel between past and present is like a metaphor referring to the bridge that clay rises with the help of his father throughout the story: given that the past was too painful for any of the boys to revisit it before this bridge was risen, and along it the fact that the bridge signifies the way from a lost father to his children and to reconciliation and kindness, a ‘deck’ that clay was willing to build over known or unknown mistakes … a ‘deck’ that once existed in the warp of the Dumbar family past in the form of Penny, and collapsed with her..
Great book, with lots of meanings, hidden at first clance .
Ferma animalelor by George Orwell
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
vreau sa o citesc in engleză =)
Familia Romanov: asasinat, revoluție și prăbușirea Rusiei imperiale by Candace Fleming
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
A really good book! I thoroughly enjoyed the parallels of the life the members of the imperial family were leading contrasting with the one of peasants/ordinary people. It didn't feel like non-fiction, and to my surprise, it was highly entertaining. 5/5, would read again someday