Roisin McElhatton McElhatton itibaren Texas
The speeches of Caesar and Cato in "The Conspiracy of Cataline" are a "must read" for anyone interested in history, political philosophy or rhetoric.
Good God this was awful. I really did try to have an open mind, but SPOILER ALERT: it sucked. Irredeemably.
This one was a surprise on many levels. It's darker than a lot of the YA novels I've read - but it's still clean. There is no "hooking up" in this book. The romance is more about her dreams for romance and waiting for her prince to return for her. Usually the books I read are character focused and a lot of work goes into developing and focusing on them. In this case the story is king. I would say at least ... two thirds of the story have strong elements of allegory. Although a Christian can read these elements into the story, there is no overt mention of anything Biblical so this might be something that could bridge the gap for fans of fantasy. I thought this was a really unique story with lots of interesting types of characters. The author has populated her world with fairies, goblins, dragons, and everything in between. This is her debut book and I look forward to seeing what she has for the rest of the series.
this book took me years to read. a little too long-winded, prose a little too reminiscent of self-styled "trashy romances," needed some tightening. good images and characters but not as good as jhumpa lahiri, who does similar work thru namesake. pretty good analysis of fetishization, bringing it all back onto the self. (no one is not guilty of fetishization). great character development but a little too gaudy and stereotypical for mother, russia, eric, even philip. if one must use stereotypes, one must humanize them - best is with grandmother and self. great twist at the end reinforces homo-social female companionship theme, even homo-sexual. believable japanese characters, though a little self-exotified. horribly privileged analysis of race-class. the questioning tactic gets a bit tired after the 8th usage. ultimate verdict: not moving, but a beautiful love story.
This book was damn good. Goes quickly, doesn't drag. I appreciated the wry sense of humor.