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pran's reviews
224 reviews
Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Solid, enjoyable read.
When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Not my cup of tea.
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
hopeful
informative
sad
slow-paced
4.0
Really interesting book. Gives a great insight into the environmental issues in the US in the 1950s and 60s. It was also interesting to read that politically lots of things remain the same.
Certainly there is lots of repetition in the book, and with better editing it would've been shorter and more concise, but this repetition may have been intentional to really drive home Carson's argument.
Certainly there is lots of repetition in the book, and with better editing it would've been shorter and more concise, but this repetition may have been intentional to really drive home Carson's argument.
Ascension by Nicholas Binge
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Dawn by Octavia E. Butler
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Lilith Iyapo is awoken to find she has been taken from Earth by an alien race who want to form a new race of alien-human hybrids.
This book was excellently written and I really got a sense of the unsettling, weird feeling of contact with an alien race whose intentions we are not fully sure of.
Lilith's character was well thought-out and constructed with flaws that made her compelling and at times unpredictable.
Something I was particularly impressed by was how Butler implicitly spoke about race and colonialism. Especially in the parts where Lilith is placed in a leadership role- how much does her identity as a Black woman impact the others' trust and perceptions of her?
And of course also the main narrative and what it says about colonialism.
Even as a woman of colour, I found myself taken in by what the Oankali were saying, and it was only when we discussed it in my book club that I realised what a coloniser narrative this was and how I'd been bamboozled! I myself thought, well, if the humans have nuked themselves then maybe they do need someone else to take control. But how do we know that this is true? And is that really fair?
I had been reading it through the lens of how humans have treated animals, as the Oankali infantilise Lilith and other humans, see them as pets sometimes, and seem to be trying to basically selectively breed them, but this further demonstrates how toxic and manipulative the Oankali and coloniser rhetoric is.
I would honestly recommend this to anyone, even people who do not like sci-fi, because of how much it says about our world, and human nature.
This book was excellently written and I really got a sense of the unsettling, weird feeling of contact with an alien race whose intentions we are not fully sure of.
Lilith's character was well thought-out and constructed with flaws that made her compelling and at times unpredictable.
Something I was particularly impressed by was how Butler implicitly spoke about race and colonialism. Especially in the parts where Lilith is placed in a leadership role- how much does her identity as a Black woman impact the others' trust and perceptions of her?
And of course also the main narrative and what it says about colonialism.
Even as a woman of colour, I found myself taken in by what the Oankali were saying, and it was only when we discussed it in my book club that I realised what a coloniser narrative this was and how I'd been bamboozled! I myself thought, well, if the humans have nuked themselves then maybe they do need someone else to take control. But how do we know that this is true? And is that really fair?
I had been reading it through the lens of how humans have treated animals, as the Oankali infantilise Lilith and other humans, see them as pets sometimes, and seem to be trying to basically selectively breed them, but this further demonstrates how toxic and manipulative the Oankali and coloniser rhetoric is.
I would honestly recommend this to anyone, even people who do not like sci-fi, because of how much it says about our world, and human nature.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was much more political than its predecessors, which I liked because it reflects a change in awareness of the protagonist as she matures. However, I give it 4 stars because I think I enjoyed it less than the previous two books in the series and I think this is because the tone is very similar for the whole book. Also, I felt the situation with Elisa was quite plot-driven and this was very noticeable as it stands out against the character-driven nature of the rest of the book.
Also, I felt I got less of a sense of place in this book, and although it was probably deliberate, as Elena feels less at home in Florence as a city as she does not leave the house as much, it still made me enjoy the book less.
As usual, I like Ferrante's style and tiny bits of humour she uses to lighten the often heavy atmosphere.
Also, I felt I got less of a sense of place in this book, and although it was probably deliberate, as Elena feels less at home in Florence as a city as she does not leave the house as much, it still made me enjoy the book less.
As usual, I like Ferrante's style and tiny bits of humour she uses to lighten the often heavy atmosphere.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell
medium-paced
1.0
I do not believe that this book does what it sets out to do at all.
It reads like the book equivalent of a netflix documentary- so basically you don't learn more about cults or 'cultish' language than you would've if you'd read the wiki page on cults. In fact, I probably would've learned more from the wiki page.
The structure is completely all over the place and, apart from thought-terminating clichés, there wasn't really any actual linguistics in the book at all.
The cover design is nice and the audiobook was narrated well.
It reads like the book equivalent of a netflix documentary- so basically you don't learn more about cults or 'cultish' language than you would've if you'd read the wiki page on cults. In fact, I probably would've learned more from the wiki page.
The structure is completely all over the place and, apart from thought-terminating clichés, there wasn't really any actual linguistics in the book at all.
The cover design is nice and the audiobook was narrated well.