fun, genuinely dreamy romp about something or the other, with some flippant and uncomfortable taboo-breaking that i feel wasnt worth the risk, and somfun, genuinely dreamy romp about something or the other, with some flippant and uncomfortable taboo-breaking that i feel wasnt worth the risk, and some really ugly misogynistic undertones that drag the project down severely. this seems to be a recurring issue with murakamis work, from what ive noticed. a 4 is rounded down to a 3 for me. however, the quality of the writing apart from those issues is wonderful.
Merged review:
fun, genuinely dreamy romp about something or the other, with some flippant and uncomfortable taboo-breaking that i feel wasnt worth the risk, and some really ugly misogynistic undertones that drag the project down severely. this seems to be a recurring issue with murakamis work, from what ive noticed. a 4 is rounded down to a 3 for me. however, the quality of the writing apart from those issues is wonderful....more
Listened to the intro. Fundamentally disagree with the authors understanding of human interaction and intention. An absolutely miserable way to live yListened to the intro. Fundamentally disagree with the authors understanding of human interaction and intention. An absolutely miserable way to live your life. Disagree with the baseline theoretical background, so no point following up and seeing what has to be said. Dropped....more
A lot of good advice on learning to get over it, hidden under an ocassionally annying veneer of early 2010s bacon beard beer epic meal time type of guA lot of good advice on learning to get over it, hidden under an ocassionally annying veneer of early 2010s bacon beard beer epic meal time type of guy narration...more
very ambivalent on this. the ideas the author raises here are by the wealthy, for the wealthy, but they have become largely mainstream throughout modevery ambivalent on this. the ideas the author raises here are by the wealthy, for the wealthy, but they have become largely mainstream throughout modern american society despite that. she was so ahead of her time, and yet so out of touch. there are things like "move closer to work", "get out of the rat race and live at your own pace", or "do all your shopping on one day" which make so much sense. but the rationale behind that will be "you can now fire your cook and maid". what? you just had that sort of money lying around? "pay off all your debts. that will simplify your life." okaaaaaay (looks at my student loan debt) let me do that. haha. (sweating)
author builds a particularly hellish conjuration of the 1980s as a consumerist nightmare where people would just buy things for the sake of it or to show off. again, where was all that money coming from? can i have some? id like to pay rent for an apartment that isnt full of mold or insects, because i likely wont have the income to buy a house until im dead at this point. what i mean to say is that the authors ideas are especially common today because the economic circumstances have (unintentionally?) made her cost-cutting and life-simplifying ideas mainstream because, frankly, a lot of us dont have any other choice anymore. while the 80s and 90s were a time of wealth and relative stability, the large part of workers today live paycheck to paycheck, and much of her advice works because we dont really have much else of a choice.
thats why her comments on owning a huge house, but choosing not to, or having a maid and a chef, but choosing to fire '"the help" (how did they go afterwards? did they find work easily? were they able to pay their bills?) come off as so old and fogey-like. you have to take these suggestions with a grain of salt, because its a reflection of a time gone past. there is helpful advice here, if youre willing to find it, but its largely shit.
annoying narrator. could not finish this. bad jokes nonstop. supposedly loves science, but feels like in actuality, author loves gloating his supposedannoying narrator. could not finish this. bad jokes nonstop. supposedly loves science, but feels like in actuality, author loves gloating his supposed intellectual superiority over historical geniuses, who did not have the same access to information as we do. look at you mr smart guy, wowwie. you know more about the universe than some guys who existed before people invented lightbulbs. congrats. lo and behold, author turned out to be a climate change denier grifter loser. look it up. so whos the moron now wiseass. to the fires of hell with ye...more
while initially rated crying in h mart a 4, i notice that in the month since ive read it, i have regularly been thinking about passages and events frowhile initially rated crying in h mart a 4, i notice that in the month since ive read it, i have regularly been thinking about passages and events from the memoir. its settled into my head more than any other book ive read so far this year. rich yet widely accessible to read, at points traumatizing but overflowing with love, crying in h mart is something special and makes it extremely obvious why so many people have resonated with the work....more
Mid-2000s anime club at your high school type of cringe. Characters and tone is Invader Zim, pocky, and inappropriate volume levels in your math classMid-2000s anime club at your high school type of cringe. Characters and tone is Invader Zim, pocky, and inappropriate volume levels in your math class. Theres some level of nostalgia you can get out of this - it captures that middle period where JP media was About to become mainstream, but wasnt there quite yet - but god damn was that an embarrassing period. Ive recently become obsessed with "mid-2000s white people getting into manga and attempting to make their own", and this ones by and far away the one that captures the moment in time the best. Profoundly cringe. Explicitely homophobic. Generally loathesome and weird. Cant wait to read the next one....more
you can tell this is a collaborative project because its helpfulness ranges between enlightening and completely useless.
at points, this can a smug, pyou can tell this is a collaborative project because its helpfulness ranges between enlightening and completely useless.
at points, this can a smug, preening little book prone to breaking its own inspid and arbitrary rules and suggestions. these days, the elements of style is largely irrelevant with the advent of the internet (and good riddance for that) but its not all bad - there are some great tips for strengthening your writing amongst the drivel. the authors acknowledge but do not seem to "agree with" the amorphous nature of language - the pretentious "misused words and expressions" section should be completely stricken if this ever gets another update. flippant nothingwords like "very" and "hopefully" serve a purpose, even if the book tells me they dont. i exist in the world today, i know why they are there. words dont spring up in a vacuum, grammar doesnt change arbitrarily. its functional, alive with the times, trying to stuff change in a box and smother it away is like trying to stop the wind from blowing.
yet, they have a wonderful grasp on what makes writing readable. wow, a style guide that the average reader can pick up and not have their eyes glaze over in boredom within seconds. that, if anything, goes to show they knew what they were talking about in at least one category.
one of the most aggressively annoying series ive come across. its got two jokes and youre gonna be getting a variation on them (or a combination) on lone of the most aggressively annoying series ive come across. its got two jokes and youre gonna be getting a variation on them (or a combination) on literally every single page. every paragraph? every sentence. the author, somewhere in volume 2, switches the main character to a character who exists purely to react to the antics the other ones get up to. because its nothing but the two jokes. man. reading these made me SO mad; i thrive on that energy though. its pretty wild i go to the manga section of any bookstore and theres almost always a copy of the first two volumes of the invincible shovel sitting there. and you can bet they will STAY sitting there, lmao. god, these suck. cant wait for the next one to come out....more
obviously shocking in an embarrassing 2008 youtuber kind of way but the book unexpectedly radiates a genuine sense of emotional suffering from the autobviously shocking in an embarrassing 2008 youtuber kind of way but the book unexpectedly radiates a genuine sense of emotional suffering from the authors part that makes it sort of hard to hate them, despite the fact he fucked his cat. shane was in pain when he wrote this. beneath the flashy offensive humor & chipper tone you get a sense, over & over, of a deeper underlying malaise, largely unacknowledged in the present despite repeated assertations that "my past sucks but im great now! haha!" many jokes are inexcusable but still... sorry to hear bro the Jake Paul autobio was significantly funnier but this one is much more interesting as a character study of a man hiding from you. the tyler oakley one was more or less not worth your time. love the subgenre of "internet guy writing an autobio at the crest of their career" ...more
the immediate follow-up to American Psycho, one of the greatest novels ever written, is an utter failure on almost every conceivable level. not a singthe immediate follow-up to American Psycho, one of the greatest novels ever written, is an utter failure on almost every conceivable level. not a single theme is new, not a single plotline tied together. not a single character recognizable from the next. far less extreme, far less comprehensive, far less interesting. this novel is flat out not worth reading....more
thoughtful, highly readable, and at times genuinely profound meditations on grief and rememberance. unfortunately, book is marred by a grating "coastathoughtful, highly readable, and at times genuinely profound meditations on grief and rememberance. unfortunately, book is marred by a grating "coastal elite" attitude especially egregious with a compulsion for name-dropping all the other rich and famous people the author knows (cool, great to hear. wow. im so impressed). i am aware that part of it is a stylistic choice to get you down into the nitty gritty of the day to day life the author lost, but i cant help but feel sour on how often she chose to specifically say, like, oh we went to This or That fancy restauraunt by name, instead of giving you something more general instead. "I was in Boston again, last time I stayed at the Ritz." ok. cool. "This time I would not be staying at the Ritz." how awful. that must simply be so tragic for you. im so sorry.
it makes the purposed focus of the novel - the grief she feels, the madness she falls into - seem fuzzy and indistinct, like its not really the main point. maybe its an avoidance thing. joan didion had a really shitty year before she wrote this. i empathize with that, i understand. maybe all the details are a way to not have to write about the life-ruining situations she had to suffer through. i wouldnt be happy to be put through those situations myself. but. and this is a big but. getting lost in the details doesnt make for compelling or interesting reading. ...more
theyve got a lot of nerve calling a book with rules so disparate and confusing "a unified system of citations". i wouldnt be surprised if the thing istheyve got a lot of nerve calling a book with rules so disparate and confusing "a unified system of citations". i wouldnt be surprised if the thing is this complicated specifically to keep the field as incomprehensible to the general public as possible. i guess that might make a bit of sense since you dont want joe smith down the street thinking he can practice law & attempt/fail to show up a lawyer or judge with whatever stupid argument cobbled together from google (sing-song-mocking voice You cant access Westlaw or Lexis, ha ha hahahaaaaa) but still. hate this stupid little book. excited for my "life-long relationship" with it.
found at a goodwill for a buck. i think the best thing about this is that there most likely wont ever be a reprinting of anything this man ever wrote,found at a goodwill for a buck. i think the best thing about this is that there most likely wont ever be a reprinting of anything this man ever wrote, so when i use Love and Marriage to start a comfy backyard fire later, there will permanently be one less copy of it floating around in existence....more
i will be discussing spoilers in this review but will try to be vague where i can. be warned.
up until a little over halfway through this sublimely wrii will be discussing spoilers in this review but will try to be vague where i can. be warned.
up until a little over halfway through this sublimely written book, A Little Life was shaping up to be a clear 5/5. hanya yanagihara is an exceptionally gifted writer. her turns of phrase are brilliant, and the way it uses the nonlinear narrative is not just absorbing but the reader is practically dragged into the action of the page. it is some of the strongest writing ive come across in a long time. but there is a negative undercurrent here, quiet at first but rising over time, that severely and irreparably damages the novel.
around page 400 or so, there was a long and graphic sequence about the climax of jude & calebs relationship, followed by a long and graphic sequence about Jude's past that i could find no thematic significance to being placed into the book. there was no reason that the disturbing, but increasingly absurd and melodramatic, events of jude's childhood had to be actively portrayed, as opposed to being glossed over and hinted at with implication, as they had been beforehand. its fairly obvious what happened to Jude, we didnt need to see the events that transpired in blow-by-blow detail. maybe around, hmmm, the 20th page in a row of something bad happening to a child.... thats when i came to the horrifying realization that the suffering inflicted on the characters wasnt done sympathetically, but instead is done sadistically, with voyeuristic pleasure. the author seemed to enjoy putting the characters into these horrible situations.
my read never fully recovered.
youd see the characters put into these tragic situations, followed by even more pages after trying (and failing) to emotionally recover. i think its more than fair to put your characters through the wringer to get a good story - thomas hardy tortured his for the purpose of showing how awful it was to be alive in victorian england, among other things. but yanagihara's purpose remains nebulous to me, apart from my theory that she just wanted to make them, and the audience, squirm. its fairly loathsome to have a character like jude, so well-developed, so private, so desperate to guard his secrets, and then spend hundred-odd pages gleefully throwing the curtains open and shouting "here it is! heres what happened to him, with all the juicy details you wanted to know!!!" ghoulish.
i also found it sort of weird how this is, in a sense, an 800 page justification for suicide if you ever so wish to partake. like shes trying to make an argument "suicide sucks... but it makes sense for this guy here." whatever. not to mention she literally wipes a major character by making them get hit by a truck, like he's getting isekai'd and sent to the fantasy world or something. lmao. the sequel to A Little Life is going to be "Reborn as a Level 1 Cleric with the Worst Ability?"
(ive also seen this book described as "the great gay novel" which seems completely wrongheaded to me. shouldnt "the great gay novel" be written by ... a gay person? hmmmm. just my 2 cents though. hope she doesnt try to write "the great black novel" next!!!!)
obviously, i have huge objections about the novel, but i cannot deny its technical prowess and emotional breadth and depth, when there arent traumatic events so horrifying theyre bordering on comedically absurd happening. (every single trucker he met up with did that? really? all of them?). theres a lot to love but also a lot to, honestly, hate. rare to come across a book that provokes such a strong emotional reaction out of me. nevertheless. 5/5 for quality of writing, 1/5 for being super weird, sketch, sadisitic, and gross, balances out to a 3. ...more
Loading...
