book reviews
Reviews of books by relationship gurus, dating experts, and cautionary tale-tellers.
Okay? Okay: The Fault In Our Stars By John Green Book Review
This article was originally published at rochizalani.com You don’t need me to tell you that The Fault In Our Stars is a famous tear-jerker, like all of John Green’s books.
Rochi ZalaniPublished 3 years ago in HumansBook Review: The Prophets by Robert Jones, Jr.
The Prophets: a novel by Robert Jones, Jr. Genre: Literary Fiction/History Fiction This book has: multiple viewpoints, LGBTQ+ themes, graphic violence, strong language
L. M. WilliamsPublished 3 years ago in Humans"Outlawed" by Anna North - Review
I grew up in the deserts of Arizona, dreaming every night of running wild on horseback with a gang of my dustiest, rowdiest friends. As a young girl, I actually enjoyed watching old western movies. My grandfather even supplied many of the horses and wagons used in the 1985 film, "Lonesome Dove". Professional cowgirls and cowboys were my heroes, horses were my best friends, and the "western lifestyle" of campfires and coyotes howling under a star-lit sky at night was my lifestyle.
Emily GoswickPublished 3 years ago in HumansDeconstructing Dostoevsky's Notes From The Underground
It is perhaps no surprise that Fyodor Dostoevsky is considered one of the greatest psychological writers of all time, if you look at his work in the fields of psychology, philosophy and literature. The Russian writer forced us to confront the more uncomfortable tendencies of modernity, satirising not only modern society but also its most dangerous tendencies. The Underground and Man's Notes from the Underground is an insightful and illuminating look at the kind of problems that modern Russian society inevitably creates, and the consequences of those problems.
Musonius LatoyahPublished 3 years ago in HumansLittle House in the Highlands
Who has read the children's book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder? I have read them as a child and now even as an adult and I enjoy them very much. The books by her are very much different yet the same as the 'Little House' television show back in the 1970's on NBC. The program was based on the series of books by Laura especially the one entitled 'On the Banks of Plum Creek' and some of the volumes in what are referred to as 'The Laura Years'.
Mark GrahamPublished 3 years ago in Humans‘The Discomfort of Evening’: A Disturbing but Compelling Read
The Discomfort of Evening is a novel like no other. In many ways, it is evocative of the traditional literary fiction genre. Told through the perspective of Jas, a 10-year-old girl — it is highly character-driven.
Violet DanielsPublished 3 years ago in HumansBOOK & ADAPTATION REVIEW: Normal People
Unless you’ve been living under a rock during the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s no way you could have avoided hearing of Sally Rooney’s highly acclaimed novel Normal People. Over the last few months, and particularly during the COVID-19 lockdown, all I’ve seen is rave reviews galore from eager readers when scrolling through ‘must-read’ lists on Goodreads, and excited hubbub about the BBC adaptation, which was released earlier in the lockdown period.
Gail Scott's Heroine
Gender is an aspect of our society that as an impact on many things, from our interpersonal relations to how we perceive others upon first meeting them. Although it is a social construct, something fabricated (Tripp 1), gender and the theory that surround and support it has an effect on the social expectations we have for us and others. The gender dynamics that have followed it have also impacted our society, dividing it even more by dictating the way one should behave based mostly on their gender alone, rather than based on personal interests or personality. Indeed, gender dynamics dictate personality, it “constructs us” (Tripp 7). Such gender ideas also helped create the patriarchal society we live in today, and the ideals we have for both women and men (gender non-conforming people being excluded by such ideals because of the nature of gender ideals and the nature of gender non-conformity not being compatible, as one is the antithesis of the other). The breaking away from set gender roles, especially women gender roles, has led to the birth of feminism, and the fight for an equality revoked by the masculine so-called superiority (Tripp 7). But feminism is not without its flaws, either, and has itself led to some binaries and oppositions. Can women be feminine and still feminists, or must they conform to the masculine gender roles to be taken seriously? Can women still be feminists if they work in public service and are not considered “successful”? Can women still be feminists if they look down upon other women? Such struggles, which are still present but were even more back in the 1970’s and 1980’s, are well explored in Gail Scott’s Heroine. Indeed, the novel, especially the chapter “Car Wrecks and Bleeding Hearts,” explores the struggles women face regarding the approach to take for their feminism through the perspective of the main character, a self-proclaimed feminist also named Gail. In the chapter, Gail Scott, the author, frames her character’s narrative and struggles in her perception of femininity and feminism around the women that she encounters. The women service workers, whom her character resents and undermines, help explore her views on women working in more masculine public spheres. Gail herself, and her perception she has of herself, her success and her more masculine behaviour and surroundings, setting her apart from everyone else (in her mind) reinforces the way her feminism is tailored to encourage conforming to masculine gender roles rather than setting herself free from them. Finally, Marie, a central character to the novel, represents everything that Gail, the character, does not grasp about the gender dynamics that surround her, from her feminine nature to her assurance and agency and success, referencing once again the struggles women have faced regarding the duality between femininity and feminism.
Charles-Antoine BrunetPublished 3 years ago in HumansSoaked Pages
It was third period in the tenth grade and my Spanish teacher had just cut the lights off and turned on a movie for us to watch. While the other girls in the class were attempting to cuddle up next to their boyfriends and play footsies under the extra tiny desks hoping to go unnoticed, I reached into my backpack and pulled out a book I had been hiding from my Mom. We grew up in strict home and the one thing my Mom was sure of was that she was going to teach us to stay away from sex and anything sexual so we did not get pregnant at a young age like she did. I am not sure she understood that making sex so taboo only made us more curious at that age, but it did. I propped the book open under my backpack and started reading it while the movie played in a language I didn't care to learn. Every time I turned a page, I could feel butterflies in my stomach and my palms would start to sweat because I was anticipating the next event. The descriptions and the details down to the way the moonlight hit certain parts of the bodies of the couples while making love or the placement of freckles on the main characters face were tiny examples of how captivating this story was. At this point in my life I was no longer a virgin so it wasn't a matter of being fully curious but it was more so a desire to feel the level of ecstasy as it was described in this book that I just couldn't seem to put down.
Tionna DempsPublished 3 years ago in HumansPersistence Of Desire by John Updike
Love Is Not Meant To Be Forced John Updike’s short story ‘The Persistence of Desire’ tells a story of a man named Clyde who returns to his hometown in Massachusets, for a doctor’s appointment, and while doing so he runs into his former lover Janet. Clyde is conflicted by his desire and his present life. ‘The Persistence of Desire’ is a story based on what could have been if Clyde had taken a different path. John Updike’s short story is written to introduce that love can not be forced and some things are best to be left behind. He achieves this justification by introducing Clyde the protagonist as a character who is dwelling on the past and as a person who desires someone who no longer feels the same affection for him.
Sthefani RenPublished 3 years ago in HumansEvery day by David Levithan
Purpose Too many times we question ourselves and we ask what is our purpose? ‘Evey day’ by David Levithan explores an intriguing and beautiful soul that lives a different body every single day and a different life. This extraordinary soul goes by the name ‘A’ he lives every day with care and kindness. Everybody he encounters he adapts to their life and goes through the day by living the life of someone else. ‘A’ tries not to alter or interrupt anyone’s life until he meets Rhiannon the girl he is madly in love with. Levithan writes to us to explore the life of someone who must find purpose within every day passing by.
Sthefani RenPublished 3 years ago in Humans10 Books That Will Help You Understand The World Differently
To live is to learn, and to read is to learn from the experience of others. Reading is my favourite way to learn new worldviews, principles, ideas, mindsets, perceptions and mental models.