15/4/19 12:01
Hi friends! So I can't stop stewing over this Gillian Flynn novel and I had to write a quick review - I finished it just last night and I've never been so relieved to part with a book.
In theory this book was right up my street: unsolved creepy serial killer case - brilliant, sign me up! Unfortunately though, I had a bunch of issues and I think in parts I might have actually hated it? :)
It's very rare that I find a book in which I dislike every single character - some I warmed to slightly, but without fail I hated them again soon after. Amma can actually piss off, she's a nasty piece of work; Camille tries so hard to be edgy that she's actually frustratingly boring; their mother is just insufferable and I cannot comprehend why Camille would continue to stay in her house after even an hour of her company. (Alan can also do one, what a wet wipe!)
I don't know how many times I eye-rolled at Sharp Objects, it was just unrealistic and totally unrelatable - a thirteen year old whipping a tab of ecstasy out of her bra? And her much older half-sister, who has openly stated that she doesn't trust said thirteen year old, being so easily persuaded into taking the aforementioned ecstasy? Really? There were weirder things in the book, but this was the thing that just made me want to close the book and never open it again. It happened around two thirds of the way through and even before that I'd felt bored. I couldn't be bothered to read another 100 pages of Camille going on about how oh I've had sex with someone and everyone will be able to smell sex on me, better buy some strawberry lotion to hide it (?) and quick someone get me a bourbon, ooh what's going on with my creepy mam and blah blah blah. I couldn't relate to her at all, so this character development (which the book was filled with) was just boring to me.
The pacing was off for the majority - parts which had some actual impact felt too rushed and I had to backtrack several times to get to grips with what had happened, and the dull parts seemed to be drawn out forever. It may as well have not had chapters because nothing happened in them, there weren't really any cliff-hangers and I never closed the book thinking 'oh I can't wait to read what happens next'.
There was also an unexpected gore factor - I'm not a big gore fan so I struggled to get through the cutting pages and the strange part about Amma at the pig farm. Flynn must have a steel stomach!
The 'big reveal' of who the killer is wasn't so big, more underwhelming than anything - I noted down when I was around a third of the way through "everything pointing to X". Even the additional Marian storyline wasn't really a surprise. Don't get me wrong, it's clever and I was surprised by some of the details but it felt like a good idea poorly executed, and definitely read like a debut novel.
I'll give Gillian Flynn another chance; perhaps I'll try Gone Girl, but I won't be recommending this book to anyone. 2.5 Stars.
RE: My Temporary Silence
18/9/18 17:03
Good Afternoon Guys and Gals!
I'm becoming more and more aware of the length of time passing from when I last posted on here - I know that it's been just over a month now since the last book review and Slimming World update!
If anyone has been curious as to the reasons for the silence, it's because I've started a course through work! I'm currently studying for a Certificate in Credit Management (that's my job - I'm a Credit Controller at a Newcastle Law Firm) and I chose to do both units simultaneously which is way more intense than I was expecting, I'm currently doing around 12 hours a week of study in addition to the 40 I do at work.
Because of this, I've had limited time to read recreationally and I worry that if I did start reading something I liked, I'd never read my textbooks! It's torture, especially considering I recently bought the whole collection of the Game of Thrones books, and am DYING to get started on them! I think that'll be a journey for next year.
I have 2 or 3 book reviews still in draft form from the past couple of months which I'll get around to finalising and posting soon, and as for Slimming World progress, I've officially lost half a stone! I've gone from 10st 3lbs to 9st 10lbs so that's super, I'm still going on with it as I'm only halfway to my goal, although I have stopped going to the classes (what's the point in paying £5 every week, when I can carry on with similar principles and just weigh myself at home?) I also did try to set a time goal of reaching 9st 6lbs by 16th October, so I'll need to lose 4lbs in 4 weeks to hit that - cross your fingers for me! I'll set a reminder to update this around the 16th to let you know if I've been successful or not.
Ta-ta for now, hope you're all full of happiness and health and all that x
Good Afternoon Guys and Gals!
I'm becoming more and more aware of the length of time passing from when I last posted on here - I know that it's been just over a month now since the last book review and Slimming World update!
If anyone has been curious as to the reasons for the silence, it's because I've started a course through work! I'm currently studying for a Certificate in Credit Management (that's my job - I'm a Credit Controller at a Newcastle Law Firm) and I chose to do both units simultaneously which is way more intense than I was expecting, I'm currently doing around 12 hours a week of study in addition to the 40 I do at work.
Because of this, I've had limited time to read recreationally and I worry that if I did start reading something I liked, I'd never read my textbooks! It's torture, especially considering I recently bought the whole collection of the Game of Thrones books, and am DYING to get started on them! I think that'll be a journey for next year.
I have 2 or 3 book reviews still in draft form from the past couple of months which I'll get around to finalising and posting soon, and as for Slimming World progress, I've officially lost half a stone! I've gone from 10st 3lbs to 9st 10lbs so that's super, I'm still going on with it as I'm only halfway to my goal, although I have stopped going to the classes (what's the point in paying £5 every week, when I can carry on with similar principles and just weigh myself at home?) I also did try to set a time goal of reaching 9st 6lbs by 16th October, so I'll need to lose 4lbs in 4 weeks to hit that - cross your fingers for me! I'll set a reminder to update this around the 16th to let you know if I've been successful or not.
Ta-ta for now, hope you're all full of happiness and health and all that x
Animal Farm - George Orwell ~ Review
14/8/18 17:06
SO.
FIRST OF ALL.
I started reading the foreword and it straight up spoiled that one of the characters dies, what the heck? Why would you put that as a foreword and not an afterword? If anyone reads the edition with a foreword by Ann Patchett, don't read it if you don't want spoilers! So stupid.
The story essentially details a farm where the animals, inspired by a wise old boar, conspire to take over and rule the farm human-free. They successfully do so, running drunkard Farmer Jones and his wife out of their house. The pigs, being the smartest of all the animals, take the role as leader. They come up with a constitution, as follows:
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.
"Oh," the animals think. "We must have remembered incorrectly." A few days later they see the pigs drinking whiskey, found in the farmhouse. The animals go back again to the rules, and they see:
5. No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.
"Silly us," the animals think, "I forgot to excess." Not long after that, the animals witness the pigs murder an animal who disagrees with an idea they came up with. The animals think "That's not right, the rules definitely said no animal shall kill another!" They go to the rules once more, and read:
6. No animal shall kill any other animal without cause.
Slowly, the pigs start to become more human, more nefarious and the animals end up worse off than when Mr Jones was in power. It's a perfect example of an attempt at communism, but just like many similar events throughout history, it's just an illusion. The plot is based on the Russian Revolution in 1917, and all of the characters are based on real people/social groups (you can find a list of who is representative of who here).
I really enjoyed reading Animal Farm. It was short but sweet and much easier to read than 1984 was, which I was surprised by as it was written by Orwell two years previous (although it is a satirical children's book so I don't know what that says about my reading abilities!). I always like to take a little while to digest what I've read before writing a review of a book such as this one, where it's definitely written as a political statement and it's glaringly obvious that it's not just a tale of some talking animals. Often I get epiphanies days after finishing books like these on how it's relevant to today's society. This time it came to me while at a dinner party at my Aunty and Uncle's house and after some gins got the best of me, I started bleating* on about how communism is a lie and everything is corrupt.
I also realised that Animal Farm is essentially Trump's America. Trump is literally another Napoleon and I don't know what to do with that information considering Trump's ties with Russia. If Orwell had written 'fake news' coming out of the pig's mouth, I wouldn't even blink twice. Plus, he does lives up to the description of a corrupt pig! :) :)
5/5 - I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who studied Sociology or Philosophy at GSCE or A-Level - the Marxism is heavy with this one. It made me really quite existential when I was reading it, I just kept going on about how communism is the dream but nobody on this earth will ever be able to fully achieve true communism and that is so sad. I got thinking about this and lost all hope for humanity, all I wanted was to go home, get under my duvet and sleep until the world ended :) :) :) Why must we be controlled by corruption and greed? If there's anything to scare young people into voting in elections, it's Animal Farm - nothing like a bit of totalitarianism to show how important being able to think for yourself is!
*Pun intended. Bleating.. get it? Sheep? Animal Farm???? No?
SO.
FIRST OF ALL.
I started reading the foreword and it straight up spoiled that one of the characters dies, what the heck? Why would you put that as a foreword and not an afterword? If anyone reads the edition with a foreword by Ann Patchett, don't read it if you don't want spoilers! So stupid.
The story essentially details a farm where the animals, inspired by a wise old boar, conspire to take over and rule the farm human-free. They successfully do so, running drunkard Farmer Jones and his wife out of their house. The pigs, being the smartest of all the animals, take the role as leader. They come up with a constitution, as follows:
- Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
- Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
- No animal shall wear clothes.
- No animal shall sleep in a bed.
- No animal shall drink alcohol.
- No animal shall kill any other animal.
- All animals are equal.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.
"Oh," the animals think. "We must have remembered incorrectly." A few days later they see the pigs drinking whiskey, found in the farmhouse. The animals go back again to the rules, and they see:
5. No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.
"Silly us," the animals think, "I forgot to excess." Not long after that, the animals witness the pigs murder an animal who disagrees with an idea they came up with. The animals think "That's not right, the rules definitely said no animal shall kill another!" They go to the rules once more, and read:
6. No animal shall kill any other animal without cause.
Slowly, the pigs start to become more human, more nefarious and the animals end up worse off than when Mr Jones was in power. It's a perfect example of an attempt at communism, but just like many similar events throughout history, it's just an illusion. The plot is based on the Russian Revolution in 1917, and all of the characters are based on real people/social groups (you can find a list of who is representative of who here).
I really enjoyed reading Animal Farm. It was short but sweet and much easier to read than 1984 was, which I was surprised by as it was written by Orwell two years previous (although it is a satirical children's book so I don't know what that says about my reading abilities!). I always like to take a little while to digest what I've read before writing a review of a book such as this one, where it's definitely written as a political statement and it's glaringly obvious that it's not just a tale of some talking animals. Often I get epiphanies days after finishing books like these on how it's relevant to today's society. This time it came to me while at a dinner party at my Aunty and Uncle's house and after some gins got the best of me, I started bleating* on about how communism is a lie and everything is corrupt.
I also realised that Animal Farm is essentially Trump's America. Trump is literally another Napoleon and I don't know what to do with that information considering Trump's ties with Russia. If Orwell had written 'fake news' coming out of the pig's mouth, I wouldn't even blink twice. Plus, he does lives up to the description of a corrupt pig! :) :)
5/5 - I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who studied Sociology or Philosophy at GSCE or A-Level - the Marxism is heavy with this one. It made me really quite existential when I was reading it, I just kept going on about how communism is the dream but nobody on this earth will ever be able to fully achieve true communism and that is so sad. I got thinking about this and lost all hope for humanity, all I wanted was to go home, get under my duvet and sleep until the world ended :) :) :) Why must we be controlled by corruption and greed? If there's anything to scare young people into voting in elections, it's Animal Farm - nothing like a bit of totalitarianism to show how important being able to think for yourself is!
*Pun intended. Bleating.. get it? Sheep? Animal Farm???? No?
The Tattooist of Auschwitz - Heather Morris ~ Review
3/8/18
The Tattooist of Auschwitz is the unbelievable true story of Lale Solokov and his life as a Tätowierer in 1942-1945. It was his job to tattoo the 6 digits used as a form of identification on to the arm of each and every man, woman or child who came through the gates of Auschwitz II-Birkenau, a combined concentration and extermination camp. Lale kept his story a secret for many years and was frightened to reveal many of the darker parts of his story, as his job of Tätowierer gained him extra food rations and certain privileges - he suffered from survivors guilt, and feared people would view him as a Nazi collaborator. It was only after his wife, Gita, died that he freed himself from the tale of his concealed past. This book was published on Holocaust Remembrance Day 2018.
Heather Morris spent three years with Lale documenting his story. She claims that despite it being listed as "Historical Fiction", the finished book is 95% true. Morris' commissioning editor, Angela Meyer, stated the following in response to a question on Goodreads:
Having found all of the above out prior to reading it, I was fairly surprised at how much of an easy read this book was for me. I was expecting it to be jarring and gruesome, but it was more like a journal of a love-sick young man. Intertwined with his somewhat PG* account of day to day Auschwitz was a seemingly doomed love story, which in any other setting would be described as beautiful. I found it quite amusing that, Lale lived through some of the most abhorrent, horrific circumstances known throughout history for almost 3 years of his life, yet his memory of it was completely drawn to the aspects relating to Gita and how she made him feel - that was the story that Lale told. It just goes further to show how accurate Morris' depiction of Lale is - a real ladies man.
Despite the above, there are moments that are horrible to read. I was specifically hit hard while reading a chapter involving a character named Leon which shook me to my core, and as soon as I saw the name Josef Mengele, my heart sunk so fast that I think it may have resided in my foot for a while. I do think this is worth reading, even if only to make you think, how could this have happened? How could so many human beings have so little mercy?
My only criticism of The Tattooist of Auschwitz is that it wasn't long enough! I finished it in 3 days while I was on holiday but then I missed Lale and his cheery optimism. I do understand why it wasn't longer - I certainly wouldn't have wanted to taint Lale's story, but I do wish it had delved a little deeper and had been a little more descriptive. Having said that, Lale had to actually live through this hellish experience and was re-telling it all 60 years after it had happened, so I can hardly be mad at him for not wanting to go deeper into the details. I'm pleased to rate this a 4/5, and I hope Lale and Gita are happy together, finally at peace.
* As PG as an account of a horrendous concentration/extermination camp can be.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz is the unbelievable true story of Lale Solokov and his life as a Tätowierer in 1942-1945. It was his job to tattoo the 6 digits used as a form of identification on to the arm of each and every man, woman or child who came through the gates of Auschwitz II-Birkenau, a combined concentration and extermination camp. Lale kept his story a secret for many years and was frightened to reveal many of the darker parts of his story, as his job of Tätowierer gained him extra food rations and certain privileges - he suffered from survivors guilt, and feared people would view him as a Nazi collaborator. It was only after his wife, Gita, died that he freed himself from the tale of his concealed past. This book was published on Holocaust Remembrance Day 2018.
Heather Morris spent three years with Lale documenting his story. She claims that despite it being listed as "Historical Fiction", the finished book is 95% true. Morris' commissioning editor, Angela Meyer, stated the following in response to a question on Goodreads:
"...creative or dramatic license was taken, such as when she..." (Morris) "...had to fill in small blanks in time, or delve into characters' thoughts. At one point she puts Lale and Gita together, when they were not (when the planes fly over the camp), and some of the names of smaller characters, while representative of real people, are invented."She also goes on to say that the conversations Heather and Lale had were usually recorded in some way, and having seen the footage, many of the conversations are word-for-word as Lale told them. It also seems Morris may have had researchers look into certain aspects of the story, as Meyer then says that researchers have confirmed that Lale's story is accurate with what they know to be true from that time.
Having found all of the above out prior to reading it, I was fairly surprised at how much of an easy read this book was for me. I was expecting it to be jarring and gruesome, but it was more like a journal of a love-sick young man. Intertwined with his somewhat PG* account of day to day Auschwitz was a seemingly doomed love story, which in any other setting would be described as beautiful. I found it quite amusing that, Lale lived through some of the most abhorrent, horrific circumstances known throughout history for almost 3 years of his life, yet his memory of it was completely drawn to the aspects relating to Gita and how she made him feel - that was the story that Lale told. It just goes further to show how accurate Morris' depiction of Lale is - a real ladies man.
Despite the above, there are moments that are horrible to read. I was specifically hit hard while reading a chapter involving a character named Leon which shook me to my core, and as soon as I saw the name Josef Mengele, my heart sunk so fast that I think it may have resided in my foot for a while. I do think this is worth reading, even if only to make you think, how could this have happened? How could so many human beings have so little mercy?
My only criticism of The Tattooist of Auschwitz is that it wasn't long enough! I finished it in 3 days while I was on holiday but then I missed Lale and his cheery optimism. I do understand why it wasn't longer - I certainly wouldn't have wanted to taint Lale's story, but I do wish it had delved a little deeper and had been a little more descriptive. Having said that, Lale had to actually live through this hellish experience and was re-telling it all 60 years after it had happened, so I can hardly be mad at him for not wanting to go deeper into the details. I'm pleased to rate this a 4/5, and I hope Lale and Gita are happy together, finally at peace.
* As PG as an account of a horrendous concentration/extermination camp can be.
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman ~ Review
25/07/18
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine has a list of achievements longer than my arm. To name just a few, it won Costa's First Novel Award last year, and was also selected to be WHSmith's Book of 2017. For 12 weeks, this book was in the Sunday Times Top 10, and Reece Witherspoon has even bought the film rights as a project for her media company, Hello Sunshine, and is considering the role of Eleanor herself.
This is my first (and probably only) book review of July 2018, mainly because it's the first book I've finished in the past few weeks that I've been really excited to write a review for. Believe it or not, I was actually put off reading this for about a week because the blurb sounds a bit boring. As it turns out, I read the first page and realised Eleanor has the same job as me - so yeah.. probably is boring! (Just kidding). I absolutely loved this book, I really did. It's a book that I hope my imaginary future kids read, that's how much I enjoyed it. But let me tell you imaginary future kids, Eleanor Oliphant is not completely fine.
I've decided that this book can be best described as a Comedic Tragedy - I've garnered a lot of strange looks on the metro on my way home from work because I can't stop giggling out loud, but at times it's also left me feeling rather deflated and miserable. Does anyone else get the feeling that their mood is directly influenced by what they're reading? That's definitely the case for me, and this book really made me feel feelings - specifically Eleanor's feelings, as 9 times out of 10 I had nothing to feel upset about, so I applaud Gail Honeyman's ability to make this happen. Just as in life, the tone of the book changed from page to page to make me feel happy, or sad. There was never too much of either, it was wonderfully balanced and was always funny, thanks to Eleanor's hysterically literal thinking habits and obscure demeanour.
Eleanor is a character who struggles very much with social skills, for reasons which are gradually revealed throughout the story. She is so literal and so, dare I say, basic, that she often leaves the rare people whom she interacts with gawking at her in astonishment and confusion. She, despite all of that, is completely charming, lovable, and bloody hilarious.
One thing I loved in particular throughout EOICF were the pop culture references - trying to work out what they could be before someone explains it to Eleanor (or doesn't) is really fun. If you read this book for yourself, which really I hope you consider doing, you'll see what I mean. They're dotted all the way through the book and they make for a good laugh.
Despite the first few chapters sounding as though it's going to develop into a romantic story, things aren't the way they seem. I won't spoil for you what happens with the musician, but this book is not a cliché romance novel, and instead a book to celebrate and appreciate life, friendship, and the beauty that can be found in the little things. It's the warm cup of tea made just the way you like, a comfortable sofa, or the smell of good grub. It's knowing someone's thinking about you, having someone check in on you, and maybe even just the comfort of having a friend.
As I'm writing these reviews, I log onto my blog each day and note down how I'm feeling - a lot of the time, these are questions which get answered so I delete them, but I noted this one down just after I'd finished my lunch break yesterday with around 60 pages left to go:
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine has a list of achievements longer than my arm. To name just a few, it won Costa's First Novel Award last year, and was also selected to be WHSmith's Book of 2017. For 12 weeks, this book was in the Sunday Times Top 10, and Reece Witherspoon has even bought the film rights as a project for her media company, Hello Sunshine, and is considering the role of Eleanor herself.
This is my first (and probably only) book review of July 2018, mainly because it's the first book I've finished in the past few weeks that I've been really excited to write a review for. Believe it or not, I was actually put off reading this for about a week because the blurb sounds a bit boring. As it turns out, I read the first page and realised Eleanor has the same job as me - so yeah.. probably is boring! (Just kidding). I absolutely loved this book, I really did. It's a book that I hope my imaginary future kids read, that's how much I enjoyed it. But let me tell you imaginary future kids, Eleanor Oliphant is not completely fine.
I've decided that this book can be best described as a Comedic Tragedy - I've garnered a lot of strange looks on the metro on my way home from work because I can't stop giggling out loud, but at times it's also left me feeling rather deflated and miserable. Does anyone else get the feeling that their mood is directly influenced by what they're reading? That's definitely the case for me, and this book really made me feel feelings - specifically Eleanor's feelings, as 9 times out of 10 I had nothing to feel upset about, so I applaud Gail Honeyman's ability to make this happen. Just as in life, the tone of the book changed from page to page to make me feel happy, or sad. There was never too much of either, it was wonderfully balanced and was always funny, thanks to Eleanor's hysterically literal thinking habits and obscure demeanour.
Eleanor is a character who struggles very much with social skills, for reasons which are gradually revealed throughout the story. She is so literal and so, dare I say, basic, that she often leaves the rare people whom she interacts with gawking at her in astonishment and confusion. She, despite all of that, is completely charming, lovable, and bloody hilarious.
One thing I loved in particular throughout EOICF were the pop culture references - trying to work out what they could be before someone explains it to Eleanor (or doesn't) is really fun. If you read this book for yourself, which really I hope you consider doing, you'll see what I mean. They're dotted all the way through the book and they make for a good laugh.
Despite the first few chapters sounding as though it's going to develop into a romantic story, things aren't the way they seem. I won't spoil for you what happens with the musician, but this book is not a cliché romance novel, and instead a book to celebrate and appreciate life, friendship, and the beauty that can be found in the little things. It's the warm cup of tea made just the way you like, a comfortable sofa, or the smell of good grub. It's knowing someone's thinking about you, having someone check in on you, and maybe even just the comfort of having a friend.
As I'm writing these reviews, I log onto my blog each day and note down how I'm feeling - a lot of the time, these are questions which get answered so I delete them, but I noted this one down just after I'd finished my lunch break yesterday with around 60 pages left to go:
I don't want this book to end, and I really don't want to leave Eleanor - p.323Sometimes when I finish a book, it takes me a while to leave it behind, and I knew this would be one of those books. It still has me gripped, my brain feels fuzzy and I miss Eleanor. 5/5, I've already recommended it to several people, and I'll likely continue to do so. Gail Honeyman, nice one.
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Attwood ~ Review
12/06/18 19:27
I can't remember the first time actively I took notice of The Handmaid's Tale. I had seen trailers for season 2 of the Hulu series fairly regularly, it almost seemed like it was following me around. It eventually came up on my GoodReads, which was when I found out that it was a book (yay!) and that it was written by Margaret Attwood. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw her name, as I'd recently attempted one of her much earlier novels (her first, in fact) and I couldn't finish it - a shame because I had done a small amount of research on Attwood before starting The Edible Woman and thought she was fab - I'd never read anything before by a feminist writer. So, I bought a copy of The Handmaid's Tale, (via e-book, because I couldn't wait for it to arrive) and I got to reading.
The Handmaid's Tale more than deserves it's rave reviews, it has a fascinating and totally compelling storyline and I could not put it down*. This was my first dystopian novel* and it totally floored me. The basis of this terrifying civilization is that extreme pollution and radiation has caused widespread infertility, and a Christian totalitarian state named Gilead has taken over. Women are oppressed and have their rights refuted, and are forced to either;
if fertile, become:
a)sex slaves Handmaids (women who have previously broken a law who are forced to carry and birth children for wealthy households), or
b)sex slaves Jezebels ("entertainers"),
if infertile, become:
a)slaves Marthas (housekeepers), or
b)slaves Unwomen (infertile women/feminists/lesbians/women who follow a different religion/Handmaids who fail to get pregnant after 6 years. They are forced to work in labour camps called the Colonies, where they attempt to get rid of toxic waste - this is in short, a death sentence.)
There's more to it, but you get the picture. All women are completely tyrannized, it's petrifying and its worst element is, it's not all that far-fetched. This isn't a novel depicting an impossible society - it's a warning for future generations.
I really thought this novel was written beautifully by Attwood, at many points throughout the book I found myself pausing specifically to admire metaphors used to illustrate Offred's position, which isn't something I can say happens to me too often. I also called my sister, Sophie, numerous times to tell her how much I was enjoying it*, along with anyone who's ear I could talk off about it.
Spoilers! Please scroll away now if you want to read the book, or skip to the conclusion! Have you seen my review of The Girls by Emma Kline?? It's based on the Mansonserial killer cult family and it's really good. Are you gone? Good. First of all, I can't believe Ofglen committed harry carry*, I was devastated! I found out while I was midway through the book that Alexis Bledel plays Ofglen in the series, and I'm a big Gilmore Girls fan, so I hated picturing this! I plan to watch the series soon, so at least I was able to brace myself.
Let's talk about the final chapter, which I almost didn't read because I thought it was a boring analysis. Just in case you didn't read it and made the same mistake that I almost did, the chapter is a continuation of the plot, based in a university approximately 200 years after Gilead took over, where a guest speaker is conducting a lecture on the accuracy of a manuscript. This is referred to as 'The Handmaid's Tale' and is an assemblage of thirty transcripts of anonymous tapes found in a previously locked army storage trunk in an underground 'femaleroad' in Maine. They talk for a while about their attempts to find out Offred's real name, and who her commander was, but I'll let you read that yourselves. Now, being the ever-optimist that I am, I refuse to take anything from this other than the idea that Offred escaped. I've entertained the idea that maybe she didn't. Maybe she was simply taken by Mayday, who as we know took her away from her posting under the guise of violating state secrets, and was allowed to tell her story for the education of future generations. She could have then been re-posted, or sent to become a jezebel. I only hope that she wasn't sent to the colonies.
Spoiler Free Zone Below
I think the only critique I have of The Handmaid's Tale, if you can call it a critique, is that it's slightly difficult to understand the whole plot until you've finished the book - Attwood has a funny way of revealing small bits of background information at a time, so that the scene feels almost like it hasn't fully been set until the very end of the book, and even then I had questions, for example, I couldn't work out why Econowives weren't also forced to be Handmaid's. It's a peculiar writing style, but I can't say that I totally disliked it, it certainly had me on my toes and pondering things in-between chapters.
The Handmaid's Tale is going to receive a well deserved 5/5 from me. I absolutely loved it, from the first page to the last. Beautifully written, fantastic plot. Margaret Attwood has been firmly redeemed in my eyes, and I'll be looking to read more of her work soon.
Laura x
* I missed my stop on the metro home one night while reading it because I was so engrossed and ended up having to get 2 more metros to get home :) :) :)
* Excluding my first attempt at George Orwell's 1984, which didn't go quite as swimmingly.
* Much to Soph's distain, as this was next on her reading list but she was going through an intense exam period at uni and had no time for recreational reading. Poor gal, love u <3
* Just googled Harry Carry and found out it's actually "Hara Kiri" and it means suicide by disembowelment!!!! what the heck
"Nolite te Bastardes Carborundorum."
I can't remember the first time actively I took notice of The Handmaid's Tale. I had seen trailers for season 2 of the Hulu series fairly regularly, it almost seemed like it was following me around. It eventually came up on my GoodReads, which was when I found out that it was a book (yay!) and that it was written by Margaret Attwood. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw her name, as I'd recently attempted one of her much earlier novels (her first, in fact) and I couldn't finish it - a shame because I had done a small amount of research on Attwood before starting The Edible Woman and thought she was fab - I'd never read anything before by a feminist writer. So, I bought a copy of The Handmaid's Tale, (via e-book, because I couldn't wait for it to arrive) and I got to reading.
The Handmaid's Tale more than deserves it's rave reviews, it has a fascinating and totally compelling storyline and I could not put it down*. This was my first dystopian novel* and it totally floored me. The basis of this terrifying civilization is that extreme pollution and radiation has caused widespread infertility, and a Christian totalitarian state named Gilead has taken over. Women are oppressed and have their rights refuted, and are forced to either;
if fertile, become:
a)
b)
if infertile, become:
a)
b)
There's more to it, but you get the picture. All women are completely tyrannized, it's petrifying and its worst element is, it's not all that far-fetched. This isn't a novel depicting an impossible society - it's a warning for future generations.
I really thought this novel was written beautifully by Attwood, at many points throughout the book I found myself pausing specifically to admire metaphors used to illustrate Offred's position, which isn't something I can say happens to me too often. I also called my sister, Sophie, numerous times to tell her how much I was enjoying it*, along with anyone who's ear I could talk off about it.
There were also moments where Attwood took such a fantastically objective, almost bird's eye view of life, and gave us these beautiful but eerie analyses in abundance, which I thought were so smart and out of the box."A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze."
"No mother is ever, completely, a child's idea of what a mother should be, and I suppose it works the other way around as well."
"He was not a monster, to her. Probably he had some endearing trait: he whistled, off key, in the shower, he had a yen for truffles...How easy it is to invent a humanity, for anyone at all."
Spoilers! Please scroll away now if you want to read the book, or skip to the conclusion! Have you seen my review of The Girls by Emma Kline?? It's based on the Manson
Let's talk about the final chapter, which I almost didn't read because I thought it was a boring analysis. Just in case you didn't read it and made the same mistake that I almost did, the chapter is a continuation of the plot, based in a university approximately 200 years after Gilead took over, where a guest speaker is conducting a lecture on the accuracy of a manuscript. This is referred to as 'The Handmaid's Tale' and is an assemblage of thirty transcripts of anonymous tapes found in a previously locked army storage trunk in an underground 'femaleroad' in Maine. They talk for a while about their attempts to find out Offred's real name, and who her commander was, but I'll let you read that yourselves. Now, being the ever-optimist that I am, I refuse to take anything from this other than the idea that Offred escaped. I've entertained the idea that maybe she didn't. Maybe she was simply taken by Mayday, who as we know took her away from her posting under the guise of violating state secrets, and was allowed to tell her story for the education of future generations. She could have then been re-posted, or sent to become a jezebel. I only hope that she wasn't sent to the colonies.
Spoiler Free Zone Below
I think the only critique I have of The Handmaid's Tale, if you can call it a critique, is that it's slightly difficult to understand the whole plot until you've finished the book - Attwood has a funny way of revealing small bits of background information at a time, so that the scene feels almost like it hasn't fully been set until the very end of the book, and even then I had questions, for example, I couldn't work out why Econowives weren't also forced to be Handmaid's. It's a peculiar writing style, but I can't say that I totally disliked it, it certainly had me on my toes and pondering things in-between chapters.
The Handmaid's Tale is going to receive a well deserved 5/5 from me. I absolutely loved it, from the first page to the last. Beautifully written, fantastic plot. Margaret Attwood has been firmly redeemed in my eyes, and I'll be looking to read more of her work soon.
Laura x
* I missed my stop on the metro home one night while reading it because I was so engrossed and ended up having to get 2 more metros to get home :) :) :)
* Excluding my first attempt at George Orwell's 1984, which didn't go quite as swimmingly.
* Much to Soph's distain, as this was next on her reading list but she was going through an intense exam period at uni and had no time for recreational reading. Poor gal, love u <3
* Just googled Harry Carry and found out it's actually "Hara Kiri" and it means suicide by disembowelment!!!! what the heck
1984 - George Orwell ~ Review
04/06/18 22:30 (Monday, zzz)
Good Evening Comrades!
1984 is a highly rated, well-known classic which I'd wanted to read for ages - for those of you who don't know, this book originated the ideas of both Big Brother and Room 101. I finally got around to giving it a try in February, but I'm not going to lie, I found it really boring and gave up on page 60.
I was bewildered because, how can a novel so highly rated, which inspired multiple successful television programs be so rubbish? I spoke to a few people about my frustrations with the novel, and they insisted it was fantastic and worth reading, so I was determined to give it another try (after all, 60 pages out of 336 isn't exactly a good basis to criticise a book.. a fitting idiom comes to mind*). On my second attempt, I jumped in with both feet, managed to get through what I read in January quite quickly and went on to finish the book, hurrah!
Here's a brief summary of Orwell's 1984 (spoilers omitted), courtesy of CliffsNotes:
"Winston Smith wrestles with oppression in Oceania, a place where the Party scrutinizes human actions with ever-watchful Big Brother. Defying a ban on individuality, Winston dares to express his thoughts in a diary and pursues a relationship with Julia."*
SO, on with my thoughts. 1984 is written in thirds, which I think will be the best way to review how I felt while reading it.
ONE
Jumping back in, I found that no, I'm not crazy, the storyline is very dry for the first 33*%. It's just paragraph after paragraph of Winston waking up, going to work, working, eating his dinner, then coming home - so as exciting as you'd expect. It introduces the boring, bland characters, and sets a very mundane scene while explaining the extent of the totalitarianism - think Hitler's Germany, pushed to the extreme. Everyone has an intense "you're spying on me, I'm spying on you" mentality. In essence, this third does what you need, but not what you want.
My thoughts: "This is rubbish and I'm bored, get on with it so I can read something else."
TWO
During this third, the story gets far more exciting... until you reach "The Book". For approximately 2 chapters, Winston Smith reads a book titled, 'The Book'; it's all very meta. These pages I honestly felt like skipping, they were just hard to read and it felt boring again - it had just gotten exciting, haway man. I stuck with it though, and I found it helped significantly to listen to an audiobook (I listened to this one) while reading along - otherwise I felt I was reading the words but not digesting any meaning, and what's the point in that, I may as well skip it.
Eventually I did manage to understand what was being said, and it was really interesting - albeit a bit l o n g. The Book is mainly an analysis of 1984's society, and while a lot of it is somewhat obvious, it is also highly helpful in the understanding of the most common Newspeak words, doublethink and such, which you need in order to understand a lot of the talking points in the final third, so read it.
My thoughts: "Oo Winston you little rebel, this is getting exciti- Oh. I have to read this? Really?"
THREE
Epiphanies, epiphanies everywhere. This third was fantastic, and well worth the wait. I don't want to spoil anything major for anyone, so I won't go into too much detail. My only criticism of this book is that I wanted more about Room 101! It made my skin crawl and I had to stop reading every few paragraphs for feeling sick, but that just goes to show how well written it is.
My thoughts: "Holy *insert your favourite profanity here*, it's brilliant!"
Now, I'm going to attempt a conclusion of this book without blabbering on too much - believe me I've blabbered on about it enough to my boyfriend, who half-listened while I ranted and raved about my realization during the final third.
I'm rating 1984 a 4/5. Yes, the first third might be bland, as are the characters, but this is part of the beauty of it - it makes it so relatable. I don't know about you, but my day to day life is fairly dull and wouldn't make for good reading, much like the first third of 1984. Winston could be any ordinary man or woman, an innocent bystander in a world of power-hungry adversaries.
1984 teeters on the edge of being creepy - I've seen a number of people say it should be listed under the horror genre. While I don't completely agree, I can't say it's not spooky when considering that it was written all the way back in 1948, and many of the issues brought up in 1984 are so relevant to issues we're facing today as a society - so much of the analysis, particularly in "The Book", made perfect sense applied to the way we still live now. The link between 1984's telescreens and our smartphones/social media isn't a leap by any means - how many apps do we let run in the background that track your location or spy on what you're searching for online? It would be so easy in this modern world for a government similar to that in 1984 to take over and control our thoughts and actions - an issue that came to light recently regarding Facebook's influence over America's 2016 election. This book should absolutely be read as a warning.
* Don't judge a book by it's cover, anyone?
* Despite their relationship being a prominent storyline, this is NOT a love story.
*(cont.) .3333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333...
"We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end."
Good Evening Comrades!
1984 is a highly rated, well-known classic which I'd wanted to read for ages - for those of you who don't know, this book originated the ideas of both Big Brother and Room 101. I finally got around to giving it a try in February, but I'm not going to lie, I found it really boring and gave up on page 60.
I was bewildered because, how can a novel so highly rated, which inspired multiple successful television programs be so rubbish? I spoke to a few people about my frustrations with the novel, and they insisted it was fantastic and worth reading, so I was determined to give it another try (after all, 60 pages out of 336 isn't exactly a good basis to criticise a book.. a fitting idiom comes to mind*). On my second attempt, I jumped in with both feet, managed to get through what I read in January quite quickly and went on to finish the book, hurrah!
Here's a brief summary of Orwell's 1984 (spoilers omitted), courtesy of CliffsNotes:
"Winston Smith wrestles with oppression in Oceania, a place where the Party scrutinizes human actions with ever-watchful Big Brother. Defying a ban on individuality, Winston dares to express his thoughts in a diary and pursues a relationship with Julia."*
SO, on with my thoughts. 1984 is written in thirds, which I think will be the best way to review how I felt while reading it.
ONE
Jumping back in, I found that no, I'm not crazy, the storyline is very dry for the first 33*%. It's just paragraph after paragraph of Winston waking up, going to work, working, eating his dinner, then coming home - so as exciting as you'd expect. It introduces the boring, bland characters, and sets a very mundane scene while explaining the extent of the totalitarianism - think Hitler's Germany, pushed to the extreme. Everyone has an intense "you're spying on me, I'm spying on you" mentality. In essence, this third does what you need, but not what you want.
My thoughts: "This is rubbish and I'm bored, get on with it so I can read something else."
TWO
During this third, the story gets far more exciting... until you reach "The Book". For approximately 2 chapters, Winston Smith reads a book titled, 'The Book'; it's all very meta. These pages I honestly felt like skipping, they were just hard to read and it felt boring again - it had just gotten exciting, haway man. I stuck with it though, and I found it helped significantly to listen to an audiobook (I listened to this one) while reading along - otherwise I felt I was reading the words but not digesting any meaning, and what's the point in that, I may as well skip it.
Eventually I did manage to understand what was being said, and it was really interesting - albeit a bit l o n g. The Book is mainly an analysis of 1984's society, and while a lot of it is somewhat obvious, it is also highly helpful in the understanding of the most common Newspeak words, doublethink and such, which you need in order to understand a lot of the talking points in the final third, so read it.
My thoughts: "Oo Winston you little rebel, this is getting exciti- Oh. I have to read this? Really?"
THREE
Epiphanies, epiphanies everywhere. This third was fantastic, and well worth the wait. I don't want to spoil anything major for anyone, so I won't go into too much detail. My only criticism of this book is that I wanted more about Room 101! It made my skin crawl and I had to stop reading every few paragraphs for feeling sick, but that just goes to show how well written it is.
My thoughts: "Holy *insert your favourite profanity here*, it's brilliant!"
Now, I'm going to attempt a conclusion of this book without blabbering on too much - believe me I've blabbered on about it enough to my boyfriend, who half-listened while I ranted and raved about my realization during the final third.
I'm rating 1984 a 4/5. Yes, the first third might be bland, as are the characters, but this is part of the beauty of it - it makes it so relatable. I don't know about you, but my day to day life is fairly dull and wouldn't make for good reading, much like the first third of 1984. Winston could be any ordinary man or woman, an innocent bystander in a world of power-hungry adversaries.
1984 teeters on the edge of being creepy - I've seen a number of people say it should be listed under the horror genre. While I don't completely agree, I can't say it's not spooky when considering that it was written all the way back in 1948, and many of the issues brought up in 1984 are so relevant to issues we're facing today as a society - so much of the analysis, particularly in "The Book", made perfect sense applied to the way we still live now. The link between 1984's telescreens and our smartphones/social media isn't a leap by any means - how many apps do we let run in the background that track your location or spy on what you're searching for online? It would be so easy in this modern world for a government similar to that in 1984 to take over and control our thoughts and actions - an issue that came to light recently regarding Facebook's influence over America's 2016 election. This book should absolutely be read as a warning.
* Don't judge a book by it's cover, anyone?
* Despite their relationship being a prominent storyline, this is NOT a love story.
*(cont.) .3333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333...
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