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mint_renegade's reviews
169 reviews
The Man in the Iron Mask by Francine du Plessix Gray, Alexandre Dumas, Joachim Neugroschel
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
i dnf'ed book 1 in the sequence for a reason, why did i think that the final book would salvage the story, huh? what madness bid me to pick up this book and waste my time? i mean, i literally found myself googling just to make sure that the ending wasn't some cosmic joke being played out at my personal expense. i am still willing to concede on some points - a poor translation, perhaps; a book read out of context of its preceding works, definitely. but imagine a world in which i had read all previous books, and this, the man in the iron mask, was the final chapter, the closing given to lives traversed across 30 years, this ending, would it still not be paltry? would i still not be incensed? you call a book the man in the iron mask and yet he features in but a handful of chapters, and when he does, his person is devoid of any real character.
history and countless adaptations have given me to believe that the 4 musketeers are cunning, clever, kingmakers, 10-movers-ahead-of-everyone-else-type-of-anti-heroes. and yet without prompting, aramis gives away the gambit to him who he should not, and keeps it secret from one who should be in his inner circle. the result? an innocent philippe is left to the mercy of the wolf, without friend, without ally and destined to return to the depths of the bastille, more fortified against the eyes of the world. having tasted freedom and princely abodes, he is destined to be more despondent than ever. hope is a merciless thing to give to a prisoner.
i need a kit-kat, and i need to stop holding Dumas to the pedestal of Monte Cristo. the (un)fairness of my judgement is colored by an expectation that everything this person wrote is laced in gold. i am at such a loss to believe that the same person wrote two such polarizing works, one a most beloved and now this, a most loathed, and yet, and yet.
(p.s. watch the movie with Jack bauer, it's way better)
history and countless adaptations have given me to believe that the 4 musketeers are cunning, clever, kingmakers, 10-movers-ahead-of-everyone-else-type-of-anti-heroes. and yet without prompting, aramis gives away the gambit to him who he should not, and keeps it secret from one who should be in his inner circle. the result? an innocent philippe is left to the mercy of the wolf, without friend, without ally and destined to return to the depths of the bastille, more fortified against the eyes of the world. having tasted freedom and princely abodes, he is destined to be more despondent than ever. hope is a merciless thing to give to a prisoner.
i need a kit-kat, and i need to stop holding Dumas to the pedestal of Monte Cristo. the (un)fairness of my judgement is colored by an expectation that everything this person wrote is laced in gold. i am at such a loss to believe that the same person wrote two such polarizing works, one a most beloved and now this, a most loathed, and yet, and yet.
(p.s. watch the movie with Jack bauer, it's way better)
Aeneid Book VI by Seamus Heaney, Virgil
adventurous
dark
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? It's complicated
3.0
a new rule or one already in the mix so my mind tells me as i type - the middling 3-stars for books you know deserve better but in the moment leave you with a simple shoulder shrug; 3 stars for the academic books that warrant rereading in order to build ones knowledge in a dense area of interest (greek/roman mythos). 3 stars because i think i like it but i am very new to reading in verse and on balance inferno had holds more sway.
The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.0
It's definitive, i don't like short stories; always leave me wanting more
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
one to return to, again and again.
rilke writes the way i imagine the waters below the surface move, slow, resolute, defiant. he shares so much wisdom in the space of 80 pages, with such simplicity. in my bid to sound wise, i often seek the words with the greatest flourish, thinking that their quality begets wisdom and beauty. of course, dostoyevsky and dumas will tell you this is true, and it is true, but i am neither. and so it is towards simplicity that i will seek refuge.
but why choose? there is in me a duality, both simple and ostentatious, better to have two ports than one.
rilke writes the way i imagine the waters below the surface move, slow, resolute, defiant. he shares so much wisdom in the space of 80 pages, with such simplicity. in my bid to sound wise, i often seek the words with the greatest flourish, thinking that their quality begets wisdom and beauty. of course, dostoyevsky and dumas will tell you this is true, and it is true, but i am neither. and so it is towards simplicity that i will seek refuge.
but why choose? there is in me a duality, both simple and ostentatious, better to have two ports than one.
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
it was a good book, like all books it took a turn i did not expect; spent less little time on the subject elucidated in the synopsis, and more time on matters that could have been condensed to fewer chapters. it's the kind of 5-star that i will appreciate having read, but will in all ikelihood bump down to a 4-stars as the markers of time chisel it away from my memory. that being said, i hope i remember Ivan's descent into madness, i hope i remember Dr Hez's kindness to the barefoot mitya, i hope i remember mitya's remembrance of this kindness, i hope i remember the defense counsel's argument that love cannot begotten from nothing, if love is what our parents seek, they must first teach us how to love; i hope i remember alyosha's speech at ilyusha's stone - i hope i remember to be kind in my remembrance.
The Devil's Elixirs by E.T.A. Hoffmann
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
3.0
Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A Happy Death by Albert Camus
challenging
dark
reflective
relaxing
medium-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? Yes
3.0
i like camus' writing style; his smooth yet visceral tone and the way he weaves nature into almost anything. i don't know what the book's intention was, in honesty, i dont quite recall what it was about; i am left with fleeting recollections of wonderful prose; in mersault, i found a kindred spirit; his thirst for solitude and his subsequent disappointment at what he finds in it; his fear of silence and flock to crowded cafes to ease the quiet abyss.
there was a hint of Raskolnikov about mersault, i am tempted to re-read crime and punishment, to glean where the similarities lie. mersault chased a happy death, and he found dredges of it. what did Raskolnikov seek and did he find it?
3 stars because it moved me; 3 stars because i will and have in fact forgotten it
there was a hint of Raskolnikov about mersault, i am tempted to re-read crime and punishment, to glean where the similarities lie. mersault chased a happy death, and he found dredges of it. what did Raskolnikov seek and did he find it?
3 stars because it moved me; 3 stars because i will and have in fact forgotten it
La Dame aux Camélias by David Coward, Alexandre Dumas Jr.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
3.0
what hold does the Dumas family have over me? that even beyond the grave they can hold my heart in the palm of their hand and determine its palpitations. the final chapter, Marguerite's letters to Armand. at each knock at her door i too tensed, hoping he would come, knowing full well that he wouldn't. at some point i remember what Duval had seen as Marguerite was exhumed, and it occurred to me that this was the last sight he'd ever have of her. a heart-rendering fiction or a cruel fact - that at the close this poor boy had to look at the decomposing face of she who loved him most ardently, who he, in their last encounter treated so callously.
it feels insulting that i, sitting here 174 years later, when both are but fertilizer to new life; that i get to read of their love and pass judgement on feelings i scorn and covet in equal measure but have yet to, and perhaps never will, experience. 3 stars
it feels insulting that i, sitting here 174 years later, when both are but fertilizer to new life; that i get to read of their love and pass judgement on feelings i scorn and covet in equal measure but have yet to, and perhaps never will, experience. 3 stars