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m_oonmoonI recently finished two books back-to-back and since I don't really have much to say about the both of them, I've decided to merge them into one post.
Coming Through Slaughter by Michael Ondaatje
I picked this book up at random on my sister's shelf. I've never heard of it before (although I have read the author's previous work, The English Patient) and I don't think even my sister has read it. I looked it up on goodreads where it had a pretty average rating. There is nothing to recommend it to me but since it's a thin book and I have nothing on my TBR, I decided to just go with it. I cannot say in all honesty that I can make a good case for this book. I read it with barely any understanding as to what was going on. There were some really great lines but overall, it did nothing for me. Although its an interesting premise for a book, the delivery just didn't work for me. The timeline and points of view jump around too much and there wasn't enough time to really care about any of the characters due to the shortness of the book. I wonder if the difficulty I had with reading it was a me problem or if the text just really didn't make much sense. Most of the time it felt like I was just continuing to read it for the sake of finishing it, comprehension be damned.
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guinn
I started this a long time ago on my kindle. However, as is the case with most of my kindle reads, it tends to fall by the wayside since I only ever use my kindle when I'm bored at work. I enjoyed reading it and I am willing to continue reading the other books in the series. However, I do recommend reading it more consistently than I did. I think my enjoyment of it was lessened significantly by the fact that whole weeks would go by before I pick it up again. I really should be more conscientious about the books that I read. I feel that it's unfair for the author who has worked so hard to create a good story. I don't know if the succeeding stories will feature the same characters but I really wish it will because Ged is the perfect protagonist. He started out as a very confident, borderline cocky, young boy and the story consistently moves towards his growth. I especially loved the conclusion of him facing his own shadow. I think it subverts the fantasy trope of fighting an evil who is separate from you, an 'other' that has nothing to do with you except as an enemy.
Coming Through Slaughter by Michael Ondaatje
I picked this book up at random on my sister's shelf. I've never heard of it before (although I have read the author's previous work, The English Patient) and I don't think even my sister has read it. I looked it up on goodreads where it had a pretty average rating. There is nothing to recommend it to me but since it's a thin book and I have nothing on my TBR, I decided to just go with it. I cannot say in all honesty that I can make a good case for this book. I read it with barely any understanding as to what was going on. There were some really great lines but overall, it did nothing for me. Although its an interesting premise for a book, the delivery just didn't work for me. The timeline and points of view jump around too much and there wasn't enough time to really care about any of the characters due to the shortness of the book. I wonder if the difficulty I had with reading it was a me problem or if the text just really didn't make much sense. Most of the time it felt like I was just continuing to read it for the sake of finishing it, comprehension be damned.
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guinn
I started this a long time ago on my kindle. However, as is the case with most of my kindle reads, it tends to fall by the wayside since I only ever use my kindle when I'm bored at work. I enjoyed reading it and I am willing to continue reading the other books in the series. However, I do recommend reading it more consistently than I did. I think my enjoyment of it was lessened significantly by the fact that whole weeks would go by before I pick it up again. I really should be more conscientious about the books that I read. I feel that it's unfair for the author who has worked so hard to create a good story. I don't know if the succeeding stories will feature the same characters but I really wish it will because Ged is the perfect protagonist. He started out as a very confident, borderline cocky, young boy and the story consistently moves towards his growth. I especially loved the conclusion of him facing his own shadow. I think it subverts the fantasy trope of fighting an evil who is separate from you, an 'other' that has nothing to do with you except as an enemy.