This book is unavoidably rambling, as the authors of each chapter make things harder and harder for whoever comes next. Don't expect a cute, nostalgic or commedy-of-manners Irish caricature, although the kind of humour is definitely recognisable. It is also a lot more violent than I expected, so it reads sometimes like a novelised Quentin Tarantino movie, making fun of its own gore and not even trying to make any sense.
The world did not need a cheap imitation of the interior monologue novels of the 1920's, which has, oh! ah! the great originality of having three protagonists, and ooohhh! aaaaahhh! many gay and lesbian characters. This is a watered down, easy version of Virginia Woolf's "Mrs Dalloway".
But watch the movie, for once it is better than the book.
M. Moore sévit encore une fois avec humour et provocation. Le détonateur : G.W. Bush …
Review of "Dude, where's my country?" on 'Goodreads'
2 estrellas
The ideas are good, but the book is badly written. the jokes are not funny, the themes are too dependent on the year this was written in (shortly before Bush's reelection) and the writing jumps here and there without making any solid conclusions. Stupid White Men was a lot better and funnier, and in any case, I'd rather stick to Moore's movies.
This book joins three works by Will Eisner, all set around Dropsie Avenue in the …
Review of 'The contract with God trilogy' on 'Goodreads'
4 estrellas
I read this book in a mad hurry to reach the end of each story, so I don't have a well-formed impression other than they fact that it's very sketchy and episodic, especially the first two books. The setting is at times even sordid (what would you expect of the Bronx during the Depression) but the most interestin thing about the themes is that there is a basic tenderness and compassion in the treatment of the characters that seems odd considering their flaws and miseries.
It does have a feature that I love in a comic: it could not be told in any other form. The pace is too hectic for a "normal" book and too clever for a movie.
The first of William Gibson's 'Sprawl' trilogy, Neuromancer is the classic cyberpunk novel.
German version, …
Review of 'Neuromancer' on 'Goodreads'
2 estrellas
The truth is, I haven't finished this book, but I have been fighting with it for two months and that is more than enough. I don't know what was wrong with it, if the format (it was a cheap edition with a small typeface and no margins), the language, the plot or what. I couldn't make any sense of it.
This book is recommended to fans of biographies, travel narratives, and anyone who has liked other Helene Hanff books, even though it is the least interesting of her autobiographical books.
The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood, published in 1985. …
Review of "The Handmaid's Tale" on 'Goodreads'
5 estrellas
The less is revealed of the plot before reading this book, the better, although I have to admit that I found it so disturbing that when I had read about a third I looked it up on Wikipedia to find out about the end!
It is a dystopia, up there with 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and Brave New World. The difference with those works is that this time the point of view is feminist. 1984 shows a world in which early 20th century totalitarism has triumphed; the latter two show the consequences of complete consumerism in a fake democracy, and The Handmaid's Tale shows the worst nightmare of an eighties' feminist.
Stylistically, the book is perhaps too fragmentary, but that is a consequence of the chosen mode. What can you expect from a first person narrator who has been forbidden to read and write for several years?
A highly recommended book …
The less is revealed of the plot before reading this book, the better, although I have to admit that I found it so disturbing that when I had read about a third I looked it up on Wikipedia to find out about the end!
It is a dystopia, up there with 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and Brave New World. The difference with those works is that this time the point of view is feminist. 1984 shows a world in which early 20th century totalitarism has triumphed; the latter two show the consequences of complete consumerism in a fake democracy, and The Handmaid's Tale shows the worst nightmare of an eighties' feminist.
Stylistically, the book is perhaps too fragmentary, but that is a consequence of the chosen mode. What can you expect from a first person narrator who has been forbidden to read and write for several years?
A highly recommended book for feminists and fans of dystopias alike. The only flaw is the risk of optimistic readers thinking that "at least things aren't as bad as this".
In a remarkable pairing, two renowned social critics offer a groundbreaking anthology that examines the …
Review of 'Global woman' on 'Goodreads'
4 estrellas
This book is a collection of essays, varied enough to give a good picture of the consequences of women's emigration to work in the invisible jobs that involve caring for people.
The style is academic but accesible, and the content very is depressing but enlightening.
She was born Marguerite, but her brother Bailey nicknamed her Maya ("mine"). As little children …
Review of 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings' on 'Goodreads'
5 estrellas
One of the problems of African American literature is that the men pretend the women don't exist and the women normally write, quite understandably, about how all whites and black men oppresses them. This does not result in bad works, but books by male writers annoy women and books by women are considered "Women's Literature", because a woman's experience is always considered exceptional.
In any case, this is an excellent book about what it meant to be black, in the States, in the thirties. Angelou writes mostly about her own life, but the way she weaves in the lives of her relatives is one of the most interesting protrayals of the life of a minority I've ever read. The language is beautiful without being too flowery. The structure is mostly episodic, which style books would frown upon, but is there any other way to tell the experiences of chilhood?
It …
One of the problems of African American literature is that the men pretend the women don't exist and the women normally write, quite understandably, about how all whites and black men oppresses them. This does not result in bad works, but books by male writers annoy women and books by women are considered "Women's Literature", because a woman's experience is always considered exceptional.
In any case, this is an excellent book about what it meant to be black, in the States, in the thirties. Angelou writes mostly about her own life, but the way she weaves in the lives of her relatives is one of the most interesting protrayals of the life of a minority I've ever read. The language is beautiful without being too flowery. The structure is mostly episodic, which style books would frown upon, but is there any other way to tell the experiences of chilhood?
It seems outdated because it's almost forty years old, but this is the place to start if someone wants to know more about African American history through literature and biography.
When Fat Charlie's dad named something, it stuck. Like …
Review of 'Anansi Boys' on 'Goodreads'
4 estrellas
I really enjoyed this book, but then I'm biased because I love everything by Neil Gaiman. It has a very absurd sense of humor and a twisted plot. I don't see as the children's / young adult book it has been marketed as.
