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m4rtt4's reviews
327 reviews
Paljon melua tyhjästä by William Shakespeare
funny
fast-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
Muurahaisia ja dinosauruksia by Cixin Liu
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
A solid satire — the critique was accurate, but the story itself wasn't that creative. Other Liu's works and the beginning of this story (the ant medicine!!) gave me high expectations, but unfortunately the level of creativity didn't stay that way. The world of ants and dinosaurs was nearly identical to our human one, which made the satire blatantly obvious and boring to read as there was nothing new or original to read about.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Tuulen puolella by Leena Lehtolainen
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This was not necessarily bad, but the thing with series is that the story needs to improve in order for the reader to continue the series... and in many ways this book just felt like a filler episode that relied on shock effects. I won't stop my Maria Kallio audiobook marathon because of this, but I'm seriously hoping that she gets a hold of herself in the upcoming books. It bothered me that underlying alcoholism is related to many male characters, yet Maria's habit of drinking whiskey after every inconvenience is completely ignored?? And why does she fantasize about every conventionally attractive man she meets and takes her husband for granted? Also she is STILL the epitome of "not like other girls" despite being over 30 years old, and her feminism is sooooo white it irks me that she's being called 'feminist' in every other sentence. She gets brownie points by condemning Ström's blatant racism, yet she makes so many subtly racist comments about Anu Wang.. "she was very tall for her race",, well,
1) at 170cm she's tall for Finns as well and
2) you could just say "tall"? :) :) :)
it unfortunately shows that these were written in the 90s. The stories aren't even bad, but Maria Kallio's personality is a huge turn off.
1) at 170cm she's tall for Finns as well and
2) you could just say "tall"? :) :) :)
it unfortunately shows that these were written in the 90s. The stories aren't even bad, but Maria Kallio's personality is a huge turn off.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Kaikki mitä jäljelle jää: Oikeusantropologin elämä kuoleman parissa by Sue Black
dark
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
So interesting!! Sue Black just made me regret dropping my biology major... :') The only thing I would change about this book would be the sections about her personal life, honestly I only cared about the aspects of the job and I wish there had been even more scientific stuff in this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Heartstopper Volume 5 by Alice Oseman
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Soooo wholesome once again (and relatable, both for when I was 16 and now at 21). I could never not like this series or anything Oseman writes, but this volume was a bit bland regarding the plot? My favourite parts were the snippets of Tori and Michael <3
Kirjallisuuden kiihottava historia by Silvia Hosseini
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.0
En varsinaisesti lähtisi vaihtamaan mitään, mutta minun puolestani teos olisi saanut olla laajempi. Ainakin näin kirjallisuuden opiskelijana tunsin tyylisuuntausten peruspiirteet ja monet Hosseinin käsittelemät teokset jo ennestään, jolloin en päässyt nauttimaan uuden oppimisesta niin paljoa kuin olisin halunnut :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Night, Again: Contemporary Fiction from Vietnam by Trần Ngọc Tuấn, Bảo Ninh, Linh Dinh, Nguyễn Huy Thiệp, Thế Giang, Phạm Thị Hoài, Lê Minh Khuê, Đức Ban, Nguyễn Thị Ấm, Đỗ Phước Tiến, Mai Kim Ngọc, Trần Vũ, Nguyễn Minh Châu, Đỗ Kh., Dương Thu Hương
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Incest, Rape, Sexual content, and War
Komtuurin surma by Haruki Murakami, Juha Mylläri
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Not necessarily bad, but boring and wayyyy too long. The magical realism was good as always, too bad there was so little of it.
If I took a shot every time Murakami mentions breasts, I would have died of alcohol poisoning only a couple of chapters in. It also disgusted me that Akikawa Marie existed as a character only so that he could sexualize a 13-year-old🫠
If I took a shot every time Murakami mentions breasts, I would have died of alcohol poisoning only a couple of chapters in. It also disgusted me that Akikawa Marie existed as a character only so that he could sexualize a 13-year-old🫠
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Stalking, and War
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Secret Shanghai is officially one of my favourite world's I've ever visited, and I'm glad to know the story doesn't end here. I enjoyed almost everything — the monster plotline could have been executed a little better — but I'm only taking 0.5 stars off for that. My absolute favourite thing in addition to the dynamic between Juliette and Roma was everything about the brain-infesting insects (I'm a biology student...), though I must say the science stuff also felt a bit off and/or too modern for the time, for example the term 'viral' wasn't really used until the 1940s, and what were those machines in Lourens's lab, how did they work? I need more specific answers, I'm curious — in all seriousness, I'm just a nitpicking nerd. Nevertheless, Gong has done an excellent job researching and creating all this, big kudos to her <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Misogyny, Racism, Medical content, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug use, Transphobia, and Alcohol
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I think this book should be primarily marketed as a trauma story, as it was quite dark rather than funny in my opinion. It made me smile as well, and those darker parts gave the story the depth it needed, but that's just because I do not have ptsd myself — please consider the trigger warnings carefully.
Since the story was such a slow-burning one, I wouldn't have minded had it been a bit longer as the ending felt a bit abrupt. And Eleanor really grew on me, it pains me to let her go :( <3
The English audiobook narrator did an excellent job portraying the characters, I'd highly recommend the audio version over the text!
Since the story was such a slow-burning one, I wouldn't have minded had it been a bit longer as the ending felt a bit abrupt. And Eleanor really grew on me, it pains me to let her go :( <3
The English audiobook narrator did an excellent job portraying the characters, I'd highly recommend the audio version over the text!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail