evitacademia's reviews
71 reviews

Die Nacht aus Blei by Hans Henny Jahnn

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Ich bin verwirrt, aber wahrscheinlich auf die Art, die er vorgesehen hat. Die Sprache ist so voll und so würdig, dass ich mir am liebsten jedes Wort rausgeschmissen hätte. Eine Menge philosophische Gedanken und Referenzen, darunter Descartes und Locke. Matthieus Bewusstsein wird immer unglaublich neblig und verwirrend beschrieben, er verliert jedes Mal aufs Neue seinen Verstand. Anders hat mir mein Herz zerbrochen. Ist das Buch ein geträumtes Manifest der Unausweichlichkeit des Todes? Ist es eine Wiedergabe des Zerfalls? Ist es ein Testament dafür, dass es auf dieser Welt rein gar nichts außer Schwärze gibt? Ich würde alles drei bejahen, aber ich bin nicht Jahnn. Das Buch schmeckt auf jeden Fall.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I dont know how to summarize it. The root of decades of evil, snows transformation laid bare. Someone who not even love could persuade. Not even trust. This book is a masterpiece and everything the series needed. I have no words.
Katz und Maus by Günter Grass

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Nachkriegsliteratur und die Sätze sind syntaktisch zerbombt wie ein Feld.
Obwohl der Krieg nur taktisch von Bedeutung war, nur vom Beruf, nur von den Schiffen.
Ich hatte in den ersten beiden Kapiteln Schwierigkeiten. Es war mir zu merkwürdig und die deskriptive und zudem noch hypotaktische Neigung des Buches hat mir alles abverlangt. Alles Sexuelle an diesem Buch finde ich abstoßend, weil es nie normal beschrieben wurde. Die meisten Charaktere sind nervig oder keine dynamischen Figuren. Es braucht sehr lange zum Lesen. Ellenlang werden Kriegsschiffe und die Architektur von Schule und Kirche beschrieben. Homophob und frauenfeindlich.

Einige Sachen fand ich okay bis sogar gut: der sachliche Schreibstil ähnelt an Stellen dem der neuen Sachlichkeit. Die Stelle mit Mahlke und Klohse am Ende erinnert an IWNN. Ich wünschte, Pilenz hätte den Mut, sein Verhältnis zu Mahlke beim Namen zu nennen. Interessante Thematiken: Religion, Krieg, Vergangenes. Noch interessanter ist der Erzähler: Ein unzuverlässigen, es trügt ihn Erinnerung und Zeit. Pilenz, schreibt in Er/Sie und spricht plötzlich manchmal Mahlke mit Du an. Das Buch ist ein Geständnis. Ich verstehe die Symbolik des Adamsapfels nicht ganz. Ist es einfach ein Ausdruck für die Eigenart Mahlkes?
Papa Brunies war der sympathischte Charakter.
Und ich hab ein bisschen mein Latein in den Ferien üben können.
Richtig schön fand ich das Bild von der unterwasser spielenden Musik. Ich war am Ende sogar ein bisschen traurig.

... und einmal
Erich Maria Remarques Roman �Im Westen Nichts Neues�: Text, Edition, Entstehung, Distribution Und Rezeption by Thomas F. Schneider

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

It was wild. And so fun to read, though sometimes it tore me to shreds. I loved the format and how real everything seemed with the interviews. I loved the rock n roll and fame theme and the chaos that comes with a band in the seventies. I loved how human and authentic everyone seemed and I loved when two people said or remembered opposing things.

 And i would've loved the plot twist at the end that the author was julia if i hadn't read 'the seven husband's of evelyn hugo' before. It just feels repetitive that the author is writing a biography of someone (a group, in this case) and is in some way biologically related to someone important and the reader finds out at the end. That felt a bit dull.


I loved the book nonetheless. It was easy and fun to read, it was loud and manic.
The Stranger by Albert Camus

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

4.75

What a weird book. A little offensive at times. I'm not sure I understand it to the extent it was meant to be understood. Meursault is faced with the absurdity of life and, unlike all the other, who take life way too seriously, he is able to face it and understand it. Others try to condem him for his understanding, trying to force him into philosophical suicide via religion. Of course his ways are unconventional and i think you can embrace the absurd without being so detached and loveless, but that was how we was specifically. Life, to him, wasn't a grand occurrence. To him, all distinctions, morality, lines and knowledge smudged and simmered into one pot and it all made no difference. And in the end, as he stated multiple times, nothing matters.
The Paris Bookseller by Kerri Maher

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I didnt expect to admire this book the way I do. It took me a second to get into, but I was rewarded. The air around the book is rich, profound and intensely marked by cigarettes and wine. The relationships and friendships were described with such intensity I felt like I was part of them, whether they were invigorating or comforting. What elevated the entire scene was the historical accuracy and context because it's so surreal that all this kind of happened like that. The mentions of the famous writers and other famous people like Hemingway or Einstein! Sylvia wasn't just successful, she was flawed and insecure. I especially loved the last scene with the celebration/reading of Friends of Shakespeare and Company when everyone was clapping for Sylvia - I actually cried. And the sophisticated language made it all so believable. I dont think my review is doing it justice, not even close. Only things I didn't enjoy was how long it took me to get through and (this is a personal preference) the French touch of it all, as I don't feel very connected to France. Nonetheless, great book.
Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

4.5

I was surprised at how factual and sober this is written. A large part of it is objective description of the ward but especially the reflection of the diagnosis, the debate between Interpreter one and two and the way she perceived madness and herself growing up was extremely raw and in a way, refreshing to read. I read it in a couple of hours and was so invested. It seems even more authentic and real because the author and protagonist are the same person. And I liked the occasional glance into the future and the comments that managed to be funny in a setting like this. It had some brilliant thought in it that I might have to read again to fully understand. In some aspects, it was comfortably relatable.
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

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adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Its been so long since I've connected with characters of a book like this and actually cried at the end. The language is so breathtakingly beautiful, Anne is the most interesting girl ever and the whole book has an airy feeling of comfort surrounding it. Despite all the sad things happening, the book manages to make you feel like everything will still be okay. Its like a warm and gentle hug. And there's so few books like that.
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

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adventurous challenging dark sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25