Summer Book Reviews (a.k.a that time on a two day train ride without internet)
Animal Farm (George Orwell)
7/10 I don't really know what to tell you. I mean, I guess I can tell why it's super famous and literary but it's not exactly a book that fills me with enthusiasm. It was easy to read and intensely heavy-handed with the communism metaphor. Like it could not be more transparent if it tried. Like 'oooh I wonder what subtle meaning is behind these pigs trying to seize the means of production'. It ain't that deep fam. But I gotta admit, the ending scene *SPOILER ALERT I guess? Who cares??* where the animals can't distinguish between the pigs and the humans & the scene where the crow reads the commandments was pretty good. 7/10 for its re-readability but 10/10 would make high schoolers write essays on.
At the Mountains of Madness (HP Lovecraft)
6/10 I gotta say, for my first HP Lovecraft novel, it kind of let me down. I mean, Lovecraft's name is pretty much synonymous with horror but at no point did I feel scared reading this book. I've read creepypastas that left me with deeper impressions. I mean part of it could be the way I read. It's written in a fairly dry and almost scientific tone with lots of long descriptions that usually lose me. It's one of those books you need to pay attention to so you can fully visualize the full imagery and effect. I enjoyed the eventual 'twist' but I thought most of the horror seemed informed, like the narrator keeps telling us how scary it is and how his tale is meant to warn people never to go there but tbh I'm like it sounds pretty cool. It ain't an Antarctica tour until you see some six foot tall albino blind penguins.
The Girl on the Train (Paula Hawkins)
4.5/10 "Beautiful sunshine, cloudless skies, no one to play with, nothing to do. Living like this, the way I'm living at the moment, is harder in the summer when there is so much daylight, so little cover of darkness, when everyone is out and about, being flagrantly, aggressively, happy." Honestly, for such a popular book, I really didn't enjoy it all that much. Sure there was some tension and mystery but it mostly stemmed from the unreliable narrator. And I did not like the narrator. Her lives, and the other lives of the other characters in the story didn't interest me all too much. Neither one of the POV characters captured my attention with their various issues with their marriages. The only thing that was memorable and that I enjoyed was the brief moment of understanding between the two women that came at the very end. But although the ending was alright, the rest of the book was not worth the slog through to get to it.
The Handmaiden's Tale (Margaret Atwood)
6.5/10 I'm not a huge fan of dystopia settings but this book did a pretty good job of the set up. It had an interesting premise and solid world building. But that's pretty much it. I felt like most of its appeal comes from the idea of it rather than what little plot actually happened in the book. Also I always appreciate metaphors for women supporting women and taking control of their bodies and their lives. I also enjoyed the faux academic epilogue and the flashback mixed with present style narration.
Appointment with Death (Agatha Christie)
3/10 My main draw towards Christie's works is that they're usually short and contained, like a completed meal made by a solid English housekeeper (as a person who's read lots of her books but is a terrible writer might say). But this book just dragged on and on. I felt like I was the one getting heat stroke in the desert heat instead of the characters. I really stopped caring who was the murderer halfway through. The ending was cute though, as happy endings usually are or it could've been my relief at it finally ending.
At Bertram's Hotel (Agatha Christie)
4/10 You can't just say it's a Miss Marple mystery and just have her play a role that amounts to a cameo. She wasn't even a secondary character, more like a third. Also a story that dragged on and the lack of my favourite elderly detective just made it worse. I ultimately liked the whole web connecting the various mysteries but I didn't really care about each mystery enough to do anything other than just wait for the solution to be presented to me.
By the Pricking of My Thumbs (Agatha Christie)
3/10 I'll be honest, I don't like any of her Tommy and Tuppence mysteries. The only reason why I even read it was because I'm working through her entire bibliography. I...don't even remember what happened in this one. I'm just giving it a rating to seem kind. I'm sorry I'm the worst reader.
Points and Lines (Seicho Matsumoto)
5/10 A decent mystery novel and by decent I truly mean it. It was so standard decent mystery novel that it could've been used as an example of mystery novels in an encyclopedia. A smug suspect, an 'airtight' alibi, the determined detective, the one weak point, the real murderer - THERE IS ONLY ONE TRUTH!! I might of liked it more if the alibi didn't depend entirely on the schedules of the Japanese subway system. If Victim A left the Atami station at 8:34 and Suspect A got on at the Keirinjo-Mae station at 9:27 and it only takes 8 minutes and 14 seconds to travel to Shizuoka then using non-linear algebra calculate WHO WAS PHONE?? Did I say this novel could be in an encyclopedia? I lied. This is the weirdest math book I've ever read.
To the Sky Kingdom (Tang Qi)
6.5/10 I'm so weak for shoujo sometimes. I read it because I enjoyed the Chinese drama (Three Lives, Three Worlds: Ten Miles Peach Blossoms) based off the book a lot. But I'm the first to admit even the drama wasn't exactly a masterpiece. This ain't no Nirvana in Fire. But it is sugary, typical, fantasy shoujo with the standard power-ups, villainous side ladies, misunderstandings and true loves. I gotta say, I enjoyed the drama more because they added a lot more filler to the MC's time in the mortal world. Normally filler is the devil's work and it's the worst part of any series and this was even true in this drama towards the ending. But! The exception is her life as a mortal because it was hands down my favourite part of the entire series. I just love that angst so much. Unfortunately the original work kept that part relatively short compared to the rest. On the plus side, they also didn't have the entire filler relationship between two side characters that started out okay and just........Anyway, a relatively easy read.
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