Book Review Dump*** (1 Viewer)

Shavi Masee

Shavi Masee

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 18, 2024
Messages
698
Location
....why do you care?
Gender
Female
HSC
2026
Shavi's yap session abt the Song of Achilles

Backstory:
I remember briefly reading this book in yr 8 when my friends told me to buy it. Except I stopped reading half way through...then when i picked it up again after a few weeks I forgot all the side characters names (it was so confusing T-T). I decided to just start binge reading shit this holidays...so i picked it up again!

The Review:
The way the book is written is like watching the movie 'call me by your name,' it sets the scene and flows so smoothly, rather than just telling the story and that's what I really like about it. I don't really know about any Greek mythology (apart from the main stuff), however I found the book easy to comprehend. It follows the perspective of Patroclus (an exiled prince) and his romantic relationship with Achilles (son of a god) who is prophesied to become the greatest warrior ever. It's a play with the emotion of ego, arrogance and too much pride --> how a persons life can be turned to shit with it...as well as how it can drag innocent people into its mess.

The end of the book ENRAGED me though...(the book was great dw) but the absolute hate I have for certain characters is insane and I don't normally hate on characters or people in general.

People I hated
-> The Son (disgusting little prick)
-> The King of Mycenae (literally die bish)
-> The Mother (though she came around in the end...)
-> Achilles where he starts getting a bit arrogant (I love him otherwise<3)

People I loved
->Patroclus and Achilles obv
->Briseis
->Ajax (he needed more word time)
->Chiron

If you're gonna read it, I suggest you prepare for tears
 
Last edited:
MJRey

MJRey

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2022
Messages
387
Gender
Female
HSC
2022
Masaken said:
ishiguro is king. idc what the haters say he deserved that nobel prize

1. remains of the day cos i'm #basic like that but honestly i think it's one of the greatest works of fiction written at one of the few books where i felt upset/sad for the narrator at the end after bro fumbled the bag with his life to just focus on his obsession with duty and sense of self that ends up with him deceiving himself. i'm not articulating it particularly well here but the whole book is a tragedy and i worship this book on a daily basis

2. the unconsoled. i thought i was gonna hate this book because of how dense and confusing it was at times but everything sort of came together in the end and you realise that it's not really ryder's story but moreso the story of a general character who starts off as a boris and then a stephan and then a ryder and then a brodsky. it was kinda infuriating at parts cos u realise that if ryder just stops at the right place at the right time he'll be able to find some sort of fulfilment or satisfaction but he just doesn't, but it made me admire ishiguro more for that

3. @its_ace21 will probably roll her eyes at this but i'd say buried giant. i really like medieval + fantasy themes so the setting was good and this is probably also one of my favourites because of how it explores memory (like all of ishiguro's books) but also the added exploration of how history is revised through querig the dragon and her breath and how it affects the britons and the saxons (probs biased cos my artist of the floating world hsc essay is about historical revisionism and denial but to see this theme again in another ishiguro book... yummy) the love story is ehhh for me icl but i loved how we slowly and progressively saw that axl and beatrice's love carried a lot of resentment and hatred in it that got erased because of the dragon. also i just really like the boatman character as well
Click to expand...
What do you think of Never Let Me Go? I haven't read the book but I adored the movie and want to give the book a go at some stage this year.
 
totally_screwed

totally_screwed

🇵🇸
Joined
Aug 17, 2020
Messages
1,613
Location
🇵🇸
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2020
MJRey said:
What do you think of Never Let Me Go? I haven't read the book but I adored the movie and want to give the book a go at some stage this year.
Click to expand...
ik u asked masaken LMAO SRY so do wait for her reply asw but never let me go is phenomenal and one of ishiguros most popular works for a reason. it’s tragic and sentimental

changed my life I put everyone onto never let me go when I introduce ishiguro to ppl, I think some of his other books require a refined taste to enjoy but nlmg is universally a good read (imo)
 
totally_screwed

totally_screwed

🇵🇸
Joined
Aug 17, 2020
Messages
1,613
Location
🇵🇸
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2020
#6
Title: Frankenstein
Author: Mary Shelley
First published: 1818
Pages: 202
MY RATING: 9.5/10

I’m sure everyone knows the premise of Frankenstein so I won’t summarise that, I’m just really glad I got around to reading such a slay. Shelley pioneered science fiction with this. I love that Victor and Frankenstein were both deeply virtuous but also messed up in their own way, the detail in building and fleshing out their characters and psyches was really great. they are both incredible individuals. so interesting how a creator can nourish and care for the life of his creation only to reject and detest it the moment it exists, can’t blame Frankenstein for going nuts. loved it!!! reading Hamnet next
 
jane1820

jane1820

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2024
Messages
1,042
Location
Chase Atlantic’s rarri
Gender
Female
HSC
2026
totally_screwed said:
#6
Title: Frankenstein
Author: Mary Shelley
First published: 1818
Pages: 202
MY RATING: 9.5/10

I’m sure everyone knows the premise of Frankenstein so I won’t summarise that, I’m just really glad I got around to reading such a slay. Shelley pioneered science fiction with this. I love that Victor and Frankenstein were both deeply virtuous but also messed up in their own way, the detail in building and fleshing out their characters and psyches was really great. they are both incredible individuals. so interesting how a creator can nourish and care for the life of his creation only to reject and detest it the moment it exists, can’t blame Frankenstein for going nuts. loved it!!! reading Hamnet next
Click to expand...
I cried at the ending of that
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)

Top