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simonator's reviews
159 reviews
The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Heart wrenching and sad to a degree that it begins to feel voyeuristic. Tragedy piles unto tragedy. Not sure this was the author's story to tell. The writing is undeniably beautiful. The plot is as realistic as it is foreseeable. The resolutions to the characters' struggles are pretty clear from the beginning.
The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy by Mariana Mazzucato
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Der Kaffeedieb by Tom Hillenbrand
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Time of White Horses by Ibrahim Nasrallah, Nancy Roberts
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon
challenging
inspiring
Sartre's preface and 'On Violence' are incredibly impactful texts. The rest makes for challenging reading for contemporary readers.
How China Escaped Shock Therapy: The Market Reform Debate by Isabella M. Weber
informative
slow-paced
1.75
Interesting subject matter investigated by an incredibly important economist - but honestly, the writing is convoluted, it's hard to keep track of the chapter's overall point and role in the book, and the red line of the whole is blurry. Some eras are dealt with more in the fashion of economic history, others truly only deal with the history of thought. Context is sometimes given, sometimes not. Overall: confused and packaged a bit boring.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
After a fairly slow, goo-ey start, the story evolves into a gripping, vivid tale. True to the source material with understandable deviations, it also is a great educational piece on the myth. Its central failing, however, is that the author does not manage to make the reader fall in love with the protagonist. Patroclus remains a whiny, spineless wet blanket, which makes it not only annoying to follow his every obsessive thought, but also makes it unbelievable why the half-god Achilles would take an interest in him. His page-long kitchy admirings of Achilles just take a bit too much space in what is originally a violent, large-scale, vicious epic. This serious flaw partly spoils an otherwise exceptional read. Also, funny that a book advertised on its queer representation only includes female characters that are complete victims to their fate, either devoid of agency or exoticised femmes fatales. Crushing failure of the Bechdel test, but maybe the author could only push the original myth so far before diluting the original story.
The Book of Not by Tsitsi Dangarembga
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
While Nervous Condition was haunting masterpiece, this unfortunately fell a bit flat of my expectations. The plot for the first three quarters of the book is minuscule, the cast much smaller, and the exciting backdrop of the anti-colonial struggle is not given enough space. Obviously, the writing remains incredibly intelligent in its nuanced dissection of the colonial erosion of an individual's health, mental integrity and adolescent formation. Yet, I found myself forcing to pull through the endless depictions of dormitory relationships. However, the last quarter of the book makes up for all that comes before. Tambu's struggles in the city are some of the most beautifully distressing descriptions of the urban attack on the individual's dignity that I've ever read. The episode alone of the hostel easily gives the stuff for an epochal masterpiece worthy of all literary prices.