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emilymknight's reviews
146 reviews
De Profundis by Oscar Wilde
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.5
A must-read. As he tries to make sense of his prison sentence and poor treatment from Lord Alfred Douglas, he fights between wanting 'Bosie' to know how much he hurt him and ruined his life, while also wanting to choose peace and turn his prison sentence into something he can look back on as a positive turning point in his life.
As far as letters go this was surprisingly very easy to read and extremely compelling. His way with words is just unmatched and the way he crafts every sentence and every idea with such emotion and weaves in literary references so flawlessly is a testament to how insanely talented and complex of an artist he is.
As far as letters go this was surprisingly very easy to read and extremely compelling. His way with words is just unmatched and the way he crafts every sentence and every idea with such emotion and weaves in literary references so flawlessly is a testament to how insanely talented and complex of an artist he is.
"After my terrible sentence, when the prison-dress was on me, and the prison-house closed, I sat amidst the ruins of my wonderful life, crushed by anguish, bewildered with terror, dazed through pain. But I would not hate you. Every day I said to myself, 'I must keep Love in my heart today, else how shall I live through the day?'"
"But while there were times when I rejoiced in the idea that my sufferings were to be endless, I could not bear them to be without meaning. Now I find hidden away in my nature something that tells me that nothing in the whole world is meaningless, and suffering least of all."
"Now it seems to me that Love of some kind is the only possible explanation of the extraordinary amount of suffering that there is in the world."
"I have said that behind Sorrow there is always Sorrow. It were still wiser to say that behind sorrow there is always a soul. And to mock at a soul in pain is a dreadful thing."
Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.25
I do love Hardy’s works, and while this was not one of his finest , it was still a decent read.
The beginning very much reminded me of Great Expectations, with Jude as a child in the countryside dreaming of making it in the big city. While the main portion of the book felt quite repetitive - marriage, divorce, marriage, divorce, people are talking shit about us, now we can’t get jobs, let’s move to another town - but what took me by surprise was just randomlyBOOM, 4 children die in one chapter…? Lord. I must say I wasn’t expecting that.
Arabella and Sue were equally infuriating in their owns rights, Jude too at times, however, I did have more sympathy for him becauseArabella’s ploy to get Jude to marry her at the beginning was pretty much THE starting point for it all going downhill.
The ending wasa little anti climatic in my opinion, however, it is probably quite fitting for a sad and unfortunate man like Jude. I didn’t think it was majorly depressing like I’ve seen a lot of people say, I’d say it was just sad. Just… very sad.
The beginning very much reminded me of Great Expectations, with Jude as a child in the countryside dreaming of making it in the big city. While the main portion of the book felt quite repetitive - marriage, divorce, marriage, divorce, people are talking shit about us, now we can’t get jobs, let’s move to another town - but what took me by surprise was just randomly
Arabella and Sue were equally infuriating in their owns rights, Jude too at times, however, I did have more sympathy for him because
The ending was
“As you got older, and felt yourself to be at the centre of your time, and not at a point in its circumference, as you had felt when you were little, you were seized with a sort of shuddering, he perceived. All around you there seemed to be something glaring, garish, rattling, and the noises and glares hit upon the little cell called your life, and shook it, warped it.”
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
4.75
YES YES YES. Dragons. Castles. Life-threatening trials. Death. Magic. Xaden Riorson. YUPPP.
This was so unbelievably easy to read. The pacing was perfect, even things like the lessons did not seem repetitive and boring. At no point did the plot dip and become stale, it stayed interesting and had me HOOKED at each chapter. Easy easy easy.
My only reason for not giving 5 stars is because some of the dialogue was a bit ehdfyguhij but it wasn't enough to put me off and I still enjoyed it VERY MUCH.
Oh and a TV series in the works confirmed by Rebecca Yarros. YUPPPP.
Now, my biggest pet peeve in romantasy books is when authors are afraid of killing people off. So when Dylan dies in the first chapter, oh I knew I was in for a treat. I absolutely live for the big shocker moments when you literally gasp out loud and my my my did we have a lot of that. And the ending? GOOSE.BUMPS. LET'S GOOOOOO.
This was so unbelievably easy to read. The pacing was perfect, even things like the lessons did not seem repetitive and boring. At no point did the plot dip and become stale, it stayed interesting and had me HOOKED at each chapter. Easy easy easy.
My only reason for not giving 5 stars is because some of the dialogue was a bit ehdfyguhij but it wasn't enough to put me off and I still enjoyed it VERY MUCH.
Oh and a TV series in the works confirmed by Rebecca Yarros. YUPPPP.
The Country Wife by William Wycherley
lol
3.5
"when I think of my husband I tremble and am in a cold sweat, and have inclinations to vomit"
lol
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Finally finished the ACOTAR series!!! I really enjoyed following a new fantasy series and I think it has definitely opened up the world of fantasy and romantasy to me now!
This book was very very long and while it was good, there were a few things that bugged me.Firstly, I felt that the faster paced parts with The Trove and going into Oorid, were just way too short while there were a TONNE of sex scenes - when I thought we were going to really get into some tense action packed scenes, it was over and we were back to the spiral staircase followed by more sex. Secondly, and I remember saying this in my Wings and Ruin review, KILL SOME PEOPLE OFF. The whole point with all the things that happen to them, it's meant to be impossible to survive, no chance of them coming out alive, never happened in thousands of years, but somehow every. single. one of them survive. I was waiting for a big shocker moment and for one of the main character's to die, but nope - which in turn made Nesta saving Feyre and her baby way too predictable.
That being said, Nesta's arc was executed very very well. I was skeptical going into this, with the book being solely from the viewpoint of Nesta and Cassian but I actually very much enjoyed diving into other characters.
p.s Rhys as a character from the perspective of anyone other than himself and Feyre is actually so insufferable.
This book was very very long and while it was good, there were a few things that bugged me.
p.s Rhys as a character from the perspective of anyone other than himself and Feyre is actually so insufferable.
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.75
Starting my year off once again with another Penguin Little Black Classics! These are great to read in one sitting and Letters to a Young Poet is one that I have seen recommended a lot over the years.
Ten letters. It blows my mind how these letters are so intimate between the writer and the recipient and yet at the same time can speak to and resonate with so many people no matter their age, where they're from, what their job is etc. It feels almost intrusive reading these letters which are composed with such passion and warmth for Franz Kappus - as though I am reading someone's diary, someone's thoughts crafted with the love of a teacher or a mentor for their student. Nevertheless, I wish there were more, I wish we could see Kappus' letters, and I wish their correspondence continued further.
This book only takes about 1-2 hours to read depending on how fast you read, and how often you re-read certain sentences to digest them better. It is 100% a must-read book that everybody should read at least once in their lives. There is something in it for everyone - whether that's all ten letters which resonate with you, or just one letter, or even just one sentence. It is worth your time.
Ten letters. It blows my mind how these letters are so intimate between the writer and the recipient and yet at the same time can speak to and resonate with so many people no matter their age, where they're from, what their job is etc. It feels almost intrusive reading these letters which are composed with such passion and warmth for Franz Kappus - as though I am reading someone's diary, someone's thoughts crafted with the love of a teacher or a mentor for their student. Nevertheless, I wish there were more, I wish we could see Kappus' letters, and I wish their correspondence continued further.
This book only takes about 1-2 hours to read depending on how fast you read, and how often you re-read certain sentences to digest them better. It is 100% a must-read book that everybody should read at least once in their lives. There is something in it for everyone - whether that's all ten letters which resonate with you, or just one letter, or even just one sentence. It is worth your time.
"You are so young, all still lies ahead of you [...] be patient towards all that is unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms [...]. Do not now strive to uncover answers: they cannot be given you because you have not been able to live them. And what matters is to live everything. Live the questions for now. Perhaps then you will gradually, without noticing it, live the way into the answer, one distant day in the future."
"What goes on in your innermost being is worth all your love"
"Why should you want to exclude from your life all unsettling, all pain, all depression of spirit, when you don't know what work it is these states are performing within you?"