Review: Lolita

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I first read this book as part of a freshman writing seminar at Cornell called Fiction into Film. We read the book and watched and analyzed both movies. I remember preferring the Jeremy Irons Lolita over the Kubrick one, but it's been nine years since.

It's amazing what Nabokov can do in English, and I can't even imagine what his native Russian books are like. This is the only one I've read, and I'm not sure if I will ever read any others. As much as I admire this book, I don't find it a pleasure to read, so I don't feel compelled to try any others.

Rereading this book after nine years, I realize I have forgotten the bulk of what happens in the novel. In fact, it was as if I hadn't read it at all, so I was curious and puzzled throughout. I forgot how complicit Humbert Humbert portrays Lolita to be and was completely surprised by the pacing of the novel. I will probably try to reread this again after a year or so to get more sense of the foreshadowing.

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Review: Go

Go by Kazuki Kaneshiro
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was one of the ebooks I received for free from Amazon's World Book Day 2019. Another World Book Day about North Koreans in Japan, but very different from the previous one I read, A River in Darkness.

Somehow I thought this book might be about the game, but it has nothing to do with it at all. I don't remember it being referenced at all in the book, but maybe I missed it. Or perhaps the 'chess' games were actually go? I don't know.

I absolutely love that my favorite Stephen authors are both referenced in this book. A reference to Stephen Jay Gould's Mismeasure of Man that has direct relevance to the plot of the novel was amazing. Stephen King just gets a bare mention, but hey, they're both in there in the same book, which is awesome.

I've never lived in Japan, but I've been visiting relatives there all my life. This is a side of Japan I've never experienced directly, so it's great to be reading about it.

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Review: This Life or the Next

This Life or the Next by Demian Vitanza
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was one of the ebooks I received for free from Amazon's World Book Day 2019.

A very intriguing story and perspective I have never read about before. It seems like the translation captures Tariq's voice very well and makes him a relatable narrator. The references to Tariq telling how the writer should write his story are cute and interesting. I appreciate Vitanza's decision to include them (and maybe to create more).

This is really a great representative for a World Book with the main character spending time recounting his time in Norway, Pakistan, his trip by van to Syria as well as the supporting characters from all over the globe, both in his foreigner friends in Norway and the foreign fighters in Syria.

The way Vitanza came across the story, teaching a writing workshop in prison, is quite a story in itself. This must be a really good outlet for prisoners that I hope but not sure is available broadly.

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Review: About the Night

About the Night by Anat Talshir
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This was one of the ebooks I received for free from Amazon's World Book Day 2019.

I guess I find it hard to get into romances. While this isn't as tacky as some I've accidentally encountered (I never seek them out), it's still not a particularly fun genre to read for me. I find everything just too improbable and the characters too frustrating.

I really don't understand what folks get out of reading about "the perfect love" like in this book. I feel like it just encourages people to have unrealistic expectations of their relationships and give up when things aren't magical from the beginning.

I found the way Elias treats Nasreen pretty despicable. Especially the little aside about, "oh, in my culture it's okay for a man to have a kept woman as long as he doesn't flaunt her about." I just cannot like these people.

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Review: Dichronauts

Dichronauts by Greg Egan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I purchased this book at the Union Square Barnes & Noble. This is the second book by Greg Egan I have read, after Teranesia.

I certainly do not understand the mathematics well enough to understand everything from simply reading the book, but the information and visuals Egan has on his website are really interesting. I first read the book without looking up anything so that I could absorb what I could from the book and then supplement after I finish. I think you can enjoy this book without fully understanding the geometry of this world, and I think Egan does an excellent job of introducing these strange concepts naturally throughout the story.

Not only are the concepts intriguing to think about, but the characters really feel human (though they most definitely are not). I didn't feel like this was just a way of exploring interesting concepts of dimensions and geometry, but a real story that explores human and societal feelings.

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Review: The Constant Gardener

The Constant Gardener by John le Carré
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I purchased this used book at Kew & Willow.

The first thing that struck me about this novel was the dialogue. I read books out loud, and the dialogue sounded very strange and stilted to me. This could just be a difference in American vs. British English. I'd be interested to watch the movie to see how things sound.

I found it hard to get into the tone of the novel as well and found it somewhat overwritten. I think once the perspective focused on Justin, it was a much more pleasant read. I also must admit that the title was the one thing that drew me to this book, and I am happy to read books from almost any genre, the fleeting references to flora left something to be desired.

I was warned by a friend who had seen the movie that this would be sad, and I guess it is, but I found it more defeatist than sad. I guess those aren't mutually exclusive.

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Review: All This I Will Give to You

All This I Will Give to You by Dolores Redondo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was one of the ebooks I received for free from Amazon's World Book Day 2019.

I didn't know this book would be a mystery until I was a good chunk of the way into it. I enjoyed how bits of information were revealed, and it felt fairly natural. Though most of the book is in limited third-person from Manuel's perspective, it does make brief forays into other characters' perspectives which help to accentuate those moments.

Sexual violence is a major thread running through the various characters' narratives, and it's interesting to see that this is written by a woman. It almost seems like this was written as an apology from men, so maybe it represents the apology the author desires. I especially got this feeling because of the thoughts expressed by Manuel.

Not that the few female characters are portrayed very positively. Many women in the book are portrayed as ruthless, vindictive, or heartless. Even still, I think the balance is more positive for women as more men are called weak in this novel, which is not an adjective used to describe any of the women.

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Review: The Phantom Tollbooth

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I purchased this book for $1.00 at The Strand.

I remember watching the movie in elementary school and that all of my classmates had already seen and loved it. I don't remember much else from that time in terms of the plot of the movie, so I really can't say how it compares to the book having read it about twenty years later.

This is quite a sweet children's book with an interesting cast of characters (interesting in the sense that their wordplay origins are interesting...they are all pretty flat characters). There are definitely many dated references, but it feels like it holds up surprisingly well for a book that is over fifty years old. Wordplay is a major part of the story, but I wonder how seriously children reading this book take some of the statements made in the book that are not meant to be facts.

Maybe if I had read this book as a child, I would have some feelings of nostalgia, but all-in-all, I didn't find this book to be a standout.

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