glossy_feathers's reviews
185 reviews

reflective 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? Yes

4.0

I liked the premise of the book very much and it succeeded in bringing to life the unique setting and the atmosphere. I was involved into characters' stories and social happenings around. What was bothering me for the majority of time was Sonia as a narrator. Her first person perspective was more of a distant omniscient narrator than of a main character who lived through all that. Although she had a deep reflections on her life and relationships, she remained very poised and monotonous, even boring. What added to the structure of the book were parts of text written as play scripts and I really liked that little experiment. All in all, a solid work.

Clear by Carys Davies

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This small but powerful novel was such a pleasant read. The prose was simple but so beautiful and light, one could say breezy, like the air around described island. I was completely immersed in the setting and was amazed how the scenery actually played a great role in the story. This is how I like short novels to be written.

Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck

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challenging emotional reflective slow-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

It's hard to rate this one. I really liked the first half of the book where we get familiar with our protagonists and their toxic romantic relationship. It is a fantastic portrait of two troubled people, both in their own way, with a backdrop of a troubled country (east Germany). The second half dragged a bit for me although it kind of is a mirror of this bad relationship, which they don't know how to end. A lot of political happenings towards the end of the book flew over my head, maybe because of a bit chaotic writing. And again I understand that the writing is reflecting the social and political turmoil preceding and continuing after the Berlin wall fall. I liked the Erpenbeck's style and the atmosphere she built. Mostly it was very immersive experience which I appreciate a lot.

Kako zavoljeti morskog psa? by Nataša Govedić

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challenging emotional funny reflective fast-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

4.75

kroz kratka poglavlja različitih formi i žanrova autorica niže usporedbe i metafore pričajući o svojoj prijateljici i njihovom odnosu. eksperimentalni roman prožet je referencama iz kulture i književnosti. fragmentirani način pisanja na prvu se neće svidjeti svakome, ali svevremenska tema prijateljstva u kojoj se većina može pronaći zadržat će čitatelja.
knjigu sam kupila zbog jednstvenog formata jer stražnja strana knjige sadrži kolekciju crteža Hane Lukas Midžić koji vizualno prate roman. sam sadržaj me pak ugodno iznenadio i uživala sam u čitanju. za mene je ovo skoro čista 5 no dajem joj malo manje zbog ipak previše kazališnih referenci.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

Ok, i had high expectations and was completely disappointed. This book is dull, without any interesting plot turns, thoughts or commentary. The narator is flat the whole time, making other characters equally flat.
There is this talking about the book on the internet how awesome it is once you get the big mistery behind it. No it's not. There is this sort of reveal and it continues to be boring. You're constantly anticipating something significant to happen but all you get are descriptions of pointless interactions.
With such an interesting premise this book failed to deliver an impactful story and it felt like a mess.

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

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dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced