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m_oonmoonI haven't had time to write reviews lately because of work. I haven't done much of anything, really, because work has been in the way. Unfortunately, I'll have to make a collective post for the three books I finished this month. Half a review is better than no review.
A Peculiar Peril by Jeff Vandermeer
This is perhaps one of Vandermeer's more accessible works. It reminded me a little bit of Harry Potter, if only for the magic and adventure. As the story progressed, it veered further away from that and was now closer to the weird - typical of a Vandermeer novel. However, I felt that it lacked a certain quality that usually makes Vandermeer's works engaging for me. It was constantly hinting at a bigger, overarching plot without actually presenting the reader with more information to work with it. I am not opposed to novels that don't reveal much or books that remain vague in the facts that it chooses to present, but I get a little impatient when information is constantly being teased at without proper resolution by the end. I also found Jonathan and his gang boring. The novel constantly shifts perspectives among its wide cast of characters and anytime it focused on Jonathan (or his friends), I just couldn't summon the interest to care. Why are the villains infinitely more interesting than the main characters?
A pretty lackluster book and I definitely would not recommend this to anyone who hasn't read Vandermeer before.
The Door by Magda Szabo
This is my first Szabo and my first novel from a Hungarian author. This book provided a glimpse into Hungary's history that I was previously unaware of. On the surface, it's a character study of two women who share an intense and incomprehensible relationship. Emerence's character is shaped by her past, while the narrator's career is as a writer is subject to the changes in the changes in Hungary's political sphere. Does the closed door or the intense relationship mirror anything in Hungary's past? I would definitely like to read an analysis of this book in the lens of Hungary's history, if there really is even a connection to be made there at all.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
I read this years ago and I barely remember anything. I was compelled to reread this now because the reviews for Guillermo's new Frankenstein movie was rather mixed, with a lot of people saying that it did not capture the nuances of the book. Even with me forgetting most of the book, the movie did feel different from my memory of the book's atmosphere and themes so I decided to re-read for confirmation. The book grapples with difficult themes - man's hubris, the consequences of playing god, the cyclical nature of violence, man's nature - most of which were watered down or non-existent in the movie. I found Viktor's moral dilemma at creating life especially interesting. The book is less about fatherhood (as the movie seems to frame it) and more about creation and the feeling of abandonment from your maker. The monster is akin to humanity, left to fend for itself without assistance from our creator. It was a little too mope-y at time but I figure this is par for the course for books written in this time period.
A Peculiar Peril by Jeff Vandermeer
This is perhaps one of Vandermeer's more accessible works. It reminded me a little bit of Harry Potter, if only for the magic and adventure. As the story progressed, it veered further away from that and was now closer to the weird - typical of a Vandermeer novel. However, I felt that it lacked a certain quality that usually makes Vandermeer's works engaging for me. It was constantly hinting at a bigger, overarching plot without actually presenting the reader with more information to work with it. I am not opposed to novels that don't reveal much or books that remain vague in the facts that it chooses to present, but I get a little impatient when information is constantly being teased at without proper resolution by the end. I also found Jonathan and his gang boring. The novel constantly shifts perspectives among its wide cast of characters and anytime it focused on Jonathan (or his friends), I just couldn't summon the interest to care. Why are the villains infinitely more interesting than the main characters?
A pretty lackluster book and I definitely would not recommend this to anyone who hasn't read Vandermeer before.
The Door by Magda Szabo
This is my first Szabo and my first novel from a Hungarian author. This book provided a glimpse into Hungary's history that I was previously unaware of. On the surface, it's a character study of two women who share an intense and incomprehensible relationship. Emerence's character is shaped by her past, while the narrator's career is as a writer is subject to the changes in the changes in Hungary's political sphere. Does the closed door or the intense relationship mirror anything in Hungary's past? I would definitely like to read an analysis of this book in the lens of Hungary's history, if there really is even a connection to be made there at all.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
I read this years ago and I barely remember anything. I was compelled to reread this now because the reviews for Guillermo's new Frankenstein movie was rather mixed, with a lot of people saying that it did not capture the nuances of the book. Even with me forgetting most of the book, the movie did feel different from my memory of the book's atmosphere and themes so I decided to re-read for confirmation. The book grapples with difficult themes - man's hubris, the consequences of playing god, the cyclical nature of violence, man's nature - most of which were watered down or non-existent in the movie. I found Viktor's moral dilemma at creating life especially interesting. The book is less about fatherhood (as the movie seems to frame it) and more about creation and the feeling of abandonment from your maker. The monster is akin to humanity, left to fend for itself without assistance from our creator. It was a little too mope-y at time but I figure this is par for the course for books written in this time period.