SPOILERS

not in the post body but many in the comments!

I'm not the target market. I shouldn't have picked it up. But I was curious about what all the hullabaloo was about especially since the casting announcements and I'm annoying like that. The moment I hear they are adapting something I have to read it and then I'm not watching it. 😆

I don't have it in me to pick apart instances that are spoilers but I'll just talk about the overarching annoyance.

I hate everyone in these book! All the main characters suck ass! I'm mid way through Iron Flame and it's my eyes and ears that are flaming! The oh he's so beautiful every 2 minutes and the asinine mindless arguments and just the sheer pigheadedness of the lead characters and just the lack of personal space and ability to keep private things private. I actually don't mind the world building too much but I abhor the love story and I quite dislike everything else. I will finish it because I have to. And I don't know if I'll pick Onyx Storm or not, (I will) arghhhh damn the completist in me!

Klara and the Sun felt like such a special book but I'm afraid I will never be able to read it again (spoilers)

I decided to pick up Klara and the Sun after seeing the trailer for the film and it seemed like a fun watch.

I've just finished this about 5 minutes ago and I absolutely loved the book! It was as though I was reading life observed through the eyes of an overly anxious, hypervigilant child. Which I'm sure a lot of us can relate to. It's amazing, throughout the book it feels as though Klara has a feeling of underlying dread that she can't quite grasp and is constantly searching for answers around it. Maybe that passed on to me a little as I spent the entire time hoping things would work out for her more than I did Josie, as messed up as that sounds.

As you can guess, the ending absolutely ripped my heart out! After all they went through together she spent her final years mostly ignored sitting in a cleaning cupboard looking out of a tiny window... Like an old vacuum cleaner

Then after a tiny glimpse of hope that Klara would at least spend her days in the place she loves she was discarded and left in a dump with nothing but her memories to sit with and the worst part of it all, she was at peace in her loneliness because Josie was happy and alive.

I can't believe how it all ended for Klara and even more so I can't believe I'm sat here so heartbroken over the ending of a fictional robot. What a beautifully devastating read.

I think I'm going to check out more work by Kazuo Ishiguro because I don't think I've felt this way over a book In a long while.

For those that have seen the film, is it worth the watch even after reading the book?

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A difficult slog to be sure; as difficult as slogging up and down the Congo River in a steam paddleship in 1899. A book constructed in LONG, uninterrupted stretches of dialogue from our primary narrator, Marlow, as conveyed to us by a younger man listening to an old man recount his days of adventure.

Even though I deliberately approached this book with a patient mindset, reading slowly, as if being spoken to, much of this work was still very difficult to follow. Yet something in the opening few dozen pages, something about the language, the wicked playfulness, the sinister air of slavery and death in the air, caught me and held me at least long enough to finish it. And know that English was a second language for Conrad, wow.

Of course, everyone knows the film, Apocalypse Now, was based on this novella, and it was pretty cool drawing the comparisons. The "harlequin" character I immediately pinned as Dennis Hopper's inspiration, transposed into a 60's psychedelic explorer.

A young adventure-seeker, bound to sew his wild oats, meets ways with a Belgian ivory company (yes, THAT Belgium, notorious for colonial cruelty in Africa under King Leopold II) and signs up as a crewman on a steamer. One name keeps coming up as he steams his way up the "dark" river: Kurtz. The various companymen he meets at the few "stations" positioned on the banks of the Congo always seem to speak of him with reverance. It's weird, honestly. The gusto with which he is regarded. "He was a remarkable man." Long stretches devolve--or evolve?--into really abstract, trippy language. And you have to imagine yourself as a young man listening to Marlow speak this language. You would be intrigued and impressed, as well.

Again, a difficult read. Fun to draw comparisons with Apocalypse Now, and a work to be contemplated as the lofty creation of a fellow human being. Impressive, yes. Difficult, also yes. Worth it? I think so. There were some parts, especially, towards the beginning, that were, like, woah. This is something special.

[The Author] spent a decade deep in research, resulting in the first scholarly biography of Biddy Mason.

The City Council’s recent move to rename Pershing Square for Mason has refocused public attention on her history. Yet we’re no closer to identifying the single figure behind her emancipation, a historic case that broke the back of slavery in Southern California.

Bluntly, for a novel that's 20 years old, it's uncomfortably relevant to today. The depiction of a republic increasingly seeing political norms being violated, a little farther each time, and particularly being strained under the actions of men rich enough to be effectively above the law because everyone is either afraid of them or wants something from them. In particular, one thread is the richest man in the world attempting to straight up buy an entire election and the government itself. With Musk spending $450 million dollars to help Republicans, along with a considerable amount of activity that used to get you a RICO case, it's eerie.

I realize that these themes are present throughout the history of democratic politics to some extent, but the parallels to the modern day are simply striking. I'm not sure I want to read the rest... it might hit too close to home for comfort.

Also, for being the central figure, I have to say Harris doesn't paint an overly flattering portrait of Cicero. He's depicted as a brilliant man who has good principles and realizes what danger the Republic is in... then repeatedly ignores or compromises those principles in the pursuit of his political career. I realize it's realistic because people do that all the time, but it's also incredibly frustrating at times.

I really enjoyed the Good People by Patmeena Sabit! I finished in two days because I couldn’t put it down. Those of you that read it, what did you think about the ending?

My first reaction was disappointment that we don’t find out what happens, but after mulling over it, I think that is the point that the author was trying to make. In real life, we don’t find out what really happened in cases like these. I have my own theory on what happened, and would love to hear what others think of it. I don’t think the family did it. I could see just how much they loved Zorah despite their anger towards her.

While reading the later parts of the book, I could not shake the feeling that Zorah committed suicide and staged her death to make it look like a murder committed by her parents and brother. Over time, she had built up intense resentment toward them due to their strict rules. She was clearly struggling mentally in the year leading up to her death, and breaking up with her boyfriend pushed her over the edge. To start building a narrative against her family, she began telling others that her father had threatened to kill her. She also manipulated search histories to frame her brother and parents. She rolled down the window of the car before drowning herself to make it look like foul play. Given her behavior and psychological state over her final two years, planning something like this seems very plausible.

I would love to hear what others thought of the ending, and if you have any theories on what happened!

I've read so many interpretations of this book and I feel like the book requires you to really read between the lines.

I noticed how the main characters are or were involved in a toxic relationship.

The narrator with Maxim. There's a clear power dynamic between them because of the age gap, she's deeply insecure and he clearly doesn't see her an equal. Their relationship is very unromantic. The narrator herself points out that Maxim treats her how she treats the dog, Jasper. The real plot twist isn't that Maxim killed Rebecca, it's the narrator's reaction to that information. She isn't scared instead she's relieved Maxim never loved Rebecca. Even though she grows as a person, she grows in a very macabre way. She becomes confident and fiercly aids Maxim in escaping justice for his crime. She has no real identity of her own; her idenitity revolves around Maxim. A major reason why I think the narrator acts the way she does is because she's isolated - she has no other family or friends and Manderley/Maxim is the only home she knows. I can't help but feel slightly sorry for her.

The relationship between Rebecca and Mrs Danvers is an interesting one. Many people comment on the homoerotic subtext of Mrs danvers' sniffing Rebecca's lingerie but fail to mention that Mrs Danvers knew Rebecca since she was a child. This adds a slightly disturbing element to their relationship. I'm not entirely sure if Mrs Danvers is in love with Rebecca, it seems more like an obsession to me.

Rebecca is an imperfect victim. Many characters tell us or imply Rebecca was cruel, manipulative and a serial cheater. Despite this, Rebecca is still a victim of a dangerous man. Rebecca knows Maxim is too prideful - he won't divorce her because he's afraid of a public scandal. She threatens to destroy his legacy by having another man's baby so Manderley will no longer be the De winter's. Rebecca spits on the face of gender roles by taking control of Manderley. She isn't subservient to a man; she makes her own decisions. She's a foil to the narrator who seeks approval from her husband and is insecure and doesn't know her place in the world. The big question is if Maxim is right that Rebecca intended for Maxim to kill her, what lead her to believe he would kill her? Who has he killed or hurt before?

This book is so layered. There's so many things I have missed because I haven't read it in a while. I will admit the first time I read it I didn't appreciate it but now I definitely do.

I've heard good things about Liane Moriarty. However, I've been disappointed by two of her books now, specifically how they ended, despite really enjoying them at the beginning. The books being Apples Never Fall and The Husband's Secret. I need to vent about the latter.

First, I wasn't really sure how Tess connected to the story. She really only plays a peripheral role, whereas I'd been hoping that she might play a more active role in helping either Cecilia or Rachel. I actually think she could have had her own book. Starting a business with your cousin, who you're in a codependent relationship with? That could have been quite interesting on its own. We wouldn't even necessarily need the affair storyline, to be honest.

I had other quibbles as well. But my biggest issue was Janie's storyline. Now, in the epilogue we learn that John Paul didn't actually murder her; she happened to have Marfan Syndrome. I guess this is to let him off the hook to us, if not to him. However, he was still violent towards her, and I don't like the implications that it was partly her fault for leading him on and laughing nervously, nor that he gets to be very sorry about it later. I don't believe he killed a woman out of spite once, and has never shown even slightly controlling tendencies since.

For those of you who've read her other books, are they worth reading? Someone on Goodreads claims that it's similar to Big Little Lies, but that the latter is better.

My partner and I are currently listening to The Last to Drown by Noelle Ihli. For those who are unfamiliar, it is about a woman who goes on a rafting trip at the same location there was a mass murder 7 years previously.
Her backstory includes being a widow. The specific story is her husband and his friends were going caving at ‘Cookie Dough Cave’- a dangerous cave system with slick walls known for its narrow passageways. He ends up getting stuck with his hands pinned by his sides, upside down, unable to turn back due to the position. She is alerted by his friend and makes it to the cave in time for the rescuers to allow her to talk to him via a microphone they have placed by drilling alongside the tunnel.
The reason I am giving so much detail is to highlight the similarities to the real life Nutty Putty Cave Incident.
Now, obviously we understand drawing from real life to write a story. Our issue was with the fact the specifics seem to be inconsequential to the plot. She needed to be a widow but the author could have chosen ANYTHING as the reason. I was less aware of the specifics of the real story, but even the name tipped me off. It was my partner who knew about the hands being pinned, the hole drilled for the microwave to the wife, all the little extra details that put us off.

I do have to admit we’re not positive it doesn't mean anything to the story- we ended up not continuing it due to feeling weird about this backstory. Happy to hear anyone tell us differently!

I read My Antonia, and at the start I wasn't thrilled, the meandering memories of early childhood felt pointless.

But by the time I got to the end, I turned right back around to page one and started all over- it was that good(and that depressing.)

The Author didn't start out by declaring a promise-n-progress, or spell out how every event related to themes- or to Antonia- the supposed focus. There was no handholding.

Once I began to recognize the pattern in events, pondering how each tied into another, and noticing how every single detail foiled into the deeper re-occuring meaning- it felt very rewarding and beautiful

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Losing The Past

At the center, this book was about past memories, their influence in shaping us years later, as well as the nostolgia and idolization we feel as we peer back at them.

Nostolgia, that pange we feel in our guts as we think back- is the pain of loss imo. We think back to our childhood, and are saddened that that world no longer exists.
We think about to our old friends we know no longer. We think about loved ones who've passed away.

There is a feeling of loss, which this book centers around, and I feel the author's thesis, is that that there isn't a real loss(or rather we should look at it as a glass half-full)- because those memories still exist within us, the version of the people we remeber, will always stay with us and shape us- and that's real.
It maybe faint or hard to see, but their footprints will influence the new roads of the changing world.

That is the "My" In My Antonia, the version of her he knew, will always stay with him, even if they never meet again. Just like Antonia's father will always stay with her.

And not always postively as well, Peter and Pauvel, the Russians, tried to escape their terrible past by going from country to country. New lands, new faces, etc. But the memory lingered and haunted them, to a deathbed.

As I read the second time around, Antonia felt beyond just a character, but a metaphorical vessal for nostolgia.

Each time Jim avoided visting Antonia due to his idolization and expectations, it was an idolization of those past memories, the expectations and loss, and each time he did come back, he re-examines the past, and although alot had changed- he still found the same fire he remebered all those years ago.

The poem the Tramp had in his pocket before comiting suicide, is a real poem that hits at the crux; Poem: The Old Oaken Bucket

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A Story of Immigrants

I loved hearing about the immigrant experience during this era of America, Norweigien, Bohemian, and Danish immigrant waves- the attitudes of natives towards said immigrants, and the exploration of culture, religion, etc.

One of the saddening and interesting empahsis occured after Antonia's father had passed away.

Antonia worked in the fields while our MC went to school. And although Antonia enjoyed the work, I felt part of that point that she had no choice. This was the stark contrast marked in their childhoods.

And I was contstantly thinking about the expectations characeter's had of Antonia, Jim wanting her to behave as his childhood friend again, his grandmother wanting her to be "lady-like" instead of "working as a man" in the fields.

But she could not afford to, she did not have the privilages Jim had.

Although it did not absolve Mrs Shimmerda of her nasty attitude, I felt this theme also applied to her behavior, as the grandmother had put it, "But, you see, a body never knows what traits poverty might bring out in ’em."

It was these tragic differences that fascinated me, and left me with the conclusion that to be benevolant and kind takes strenght and privilage, while being in poverty can easily be interperted as uglyness.

These themes carried fourth in the city saga of the story,

“Maybe I be the kind of girl you like better, now I come to town,” she suggested hopefully.

The contrast between the city children and the immigrant girls, their work drive, family solidarity, Jim's ability to see the virtue and strenght in them that would cause them greater success over the native populations, while it was so easy for Natives to look down upon them, was a fantastic exploration,
And feels more relevant than ever today in the current climate of immigrant experiences and politcs

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Quiet Feminism

Although never explicitly talked about, a large percentage of the cast of characters we women/girls. Although always framed as the immigrant experience, all the city experiences were centered around the immigrant girls, as they worked as helping hands to send money back to their farming families.

The thing I loved most, was there wasn't a single awnser or outcome. Antonia, Lena, Tiny, and all of the immigrant girls, compared and contrasted throughout the story- ended up in many different lives and situations.

Antonia back on a farm, Lena with her clothing buisness and Tiny as the hardened entrepreneur. Yet all of them and their differing outcomes were dealt such dignity, there wasn't a single way to win or to live, despite what other character's may have expected or thought.

All different and thriving in their own unique ways, different values, lives, etc.

Antonia's ending purposefully contrasts her begining, the same elements, farm life, family, city-sick husband, many children, all the same ingrendients, but a very different outcome. Thriving instead of suffering, warmth instead of cold, happiness bubbling out.
Its the same setting, but one step further, one generation ahead- and we can see the hard work paying out.

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Conclusion

There is so much more I could rant and ramble about, every detail, every moment seemed to foil into one theme or another.

A juvinille part of me couldn't help but wonder what life might've been like if Jim and Antonia had gotten together. And a wishful part of me couldn't help but wonder if Antonia's protectiveness over Jim was a bit of jealousy as well as keeping him at arms lenght, knowing his destiny was different, and trying to protect that.

This ended up such a beautiful novel, at the end of it I felt the pange of notolsgia thinking of the start.

For anyone who has read it,

What were your greatest takeways? Favorite characters, memories, themes? Why did Jim never talk about his parent's or memories prior to moving in with his grandparents?

I had the sense of coming home to myself, and of having found out what a little circle man’s experience is. For Ántonia and for me, this had been the road of Destiny; had taken us to those early accidents of for tune which predetermined for us all that we can ever be. Now I understood that the same road was to bring us together again. What ever we had missed, we possessed together the precious, the incommunicable past.

Just for curiosity and fun, which cities in the world would you day are the most bookish? It's hard to define exactly what makes a city bookish, but I'd argue it has to include at least some of the following: good bookshops, a decent public library system, some beautiful spaces for readers, some culture of writing or literary performance. (I'm expecting suggestions to include NYC, London, Paris, and Berlin but looking forward to hearing what others think).

Edit: what a lovely thread. Thank you to everyone who suggested places. Lots of incredible cities mentioned and now I wish I had the money and time to visit them all.

I’m sure someone has thought of this interpretation before, and if anyone can point me to a more thorough exploration of what I am picking up, I’d be appreciative. I thought of this on a re-read of the Stranger during which I also re-watched The Battle of Algiers. That really made me viscerally understand the world Mersault was living in. I’m familiar with the absurdism reading, but I feel like The Stranger can also be read as an example of how colonialism dehumanizes colonizers and makes their existence so meaningless as to be absurd.

I haven’t read The Wretched of the Earth since university, but one of my big takeaways from the book is colonization violates both the oppressor and the oppressed– the oppressed are materially dehumanized through violence, while the oppressor is psychologically dehumanized through the violence they inflict. To inflict that violence and deny its abnormality prevents you from being fully human, you have to shut down those human parts of yourself to function.

Now, Meursault isn’t in a position where he’s actively engaging in violence, but living in Algeria, he is a beneficiary of a constant state of violence, he lives as a privileged minority in a country where the majority of the people are oppressed by state violence. So maybe there is something about existing in that space that deadens what is human in you, to the point that you end up being influenced by the prejudice and violence of those around you and a stressor like a hot day, in such a way that you casually kill someone...

I dunno, have I gone off the rails? Could Camus have intended this reading/criticism of colonialism? I've seen criticism that the victim is dehumanized, nameless, deprives of a history-- but perhaps that was the point?

I would like to talk about the ending to fruit fly. I don’t feel like it stuck the landing, although I had been obsessed with it for the first 300 pages
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1.) How did the confrontation in the kitchen resolve?

I can accept ambiguity around whether Leo was stabbed, but how did she escape her home? If Leo wasn’t stabbed, did Leo just drop the issue and leave? The author built up all this tension then abandoned it for a time skip.

2.) Why did Roan, who was financially and emotionally abusive, not regain control of the narrative after she left and tell everyone that she had stolen Leo’s story? one expose about Leo could’ve brought her down, or just one person verifying that she wasn’t actually a therapist.

3.) The magazine interview was poorly written.

4.) What’s up with her hallucinating in the closet? So, she actually was manic and her husband didn’t totally fabricate it? Given she was staying up all night and stalking someone, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to assume she was manic. What narrative purpose did this scene in the closet serve? it just kind of un resolves things.

nit pick, but why up her SSRIs to stabilize her elevated mood, if she’s manic?

5.) The ending, where Leo was stalking her in retaliation, was corny.

I feel like the book should’ve ended with a more fleshed out version of the confrontation in the kitchen.

First a non-petty critique so you know I have at least some critical thinking and media literacy. I think this book is 2 chapters of good info spread across 277 pages.

The stress cycle and how we can get stuck in emotions is a helpful framework for actually reducing stress, but it takes a painfully long time for them to actually say what "completing the cycle" actually means. It feels like they did this because the actual solution is standard wellness/self-help advice; exercise, spend time with people you love, find something to work towards. They try really hard to differentiate this book from other wellness books, but I think the actual advice lands in the same zone. The info is also wrapped up in a very approachable package, a little too approachable maybe. It kinda feels like I'm being talked down to when in the audio book I'm hearing things like "you escaped the lion, yayyy!". Or the emotional music swelling at times feels super corny. While I think there's some good info on why society is uniquely set up to burn out women, I think framing the book as how to get over burnout and then spending 80% of it on systemic issues and how they work wasn't the right way to go about it. And the amount of times something is rephrased or reiterated feels a lot like length padding. Towards the end of chapter 1 they say "There are so many ways to complete the cycle, it’s not possible to catalogue all of them here." I kinda wish they did that instead of how the rest of the book unfolded.

Alright Petty Time!

1. Human Giver Syndrome (HGS) - So in the book we start by saying that HGS is a perfect system to introduce burnout into half the population. As givers are expected to abdicate any resources to the human beings. I'm on board so far. Then we get to chapter 4 and the solution on a societal level is for everyone to be human givers..... huh? "Now, what if…just what if…we raised everyone to be a version of a human giver?" but then the next paragraph we have "Human Giver Syndrome is deeply entrenched and it takes time and practice to eradicate it.". Oh ok we want to eradicate it right, got it. Then a few pages later: "Give my boys a lesson each day in being a human giver". So do we want this or not?!?!

2. Capitalism is actually good? - When a black woman is forced to answer questions on diversity she uses the opportunity to sell classes she can teach on diversity. Burned out? Just hustle a little harder so money can make your problem go away!

3. Token black woman - This one is super vibes based but for all they talk about women of color struggling even more, there's only really the composite and that feels a bit...off. They talk about Elizabeth Warren and Hillary Clinton multiple times too which is just weird to me. And when they talk about he black engineer she's tall, has money, everyone wants to take photos of her in her cosplay and their minds are blown that she's an engineer! (This feels weird and like it's reinforcing nerdy hobbies are ok if you're pretty).

4. Explain every reference to me please - Super petty pet peeve, every reference is explained. Every section has a name and they will tell you about where Wax on, Wax off comes from! Also they'll explain the names in Moana. Really feels like they needed a few more pages of text here.

5. Rats! - We talk a lot about how long rats will swim or give up, but I don't think rats are socialized like we are. So it's a weird non-sequitur to talk about patriarchy then talk about rats swimming or being stressed out.

6. Meaning is the usual suspects - We spend a whole chapter talking about meaning and our examples boil down to changing the world, caring for kids, teaching, and joining a Catholic Abbey?? The meaning section falls kinda flat for me as Non-binary childfree person who is deconstruction their upbringin...

7. Fancy language - They rename things across the book which really just makes it harder to find other information on the concepts. Like they use SMART goals but change every letter to a synonym.

Maybe I've been listening to too much If Books Could Kill but this book should've been like 50 pages.

I've been putting off reading Anne Rice for a long while after reading the first book of her "Vampire Chronicles". But recently now I've read a book from one of her trilogies, "The Mummy or Ramses the Damned".

Ramses the Great becomes damned after drinking the elixir of life, making him immortal. He has been doomed to wander the Earth forever, with a hunger that he can never satisfy.

Now h wakes again in London in the Edwardian period, adopting the name of Mr. Ramsey, and becomes an expert in Egyptology. And becomes the companion to the adventurous Julie Stratford, an heiress to a massive shipping fortune and the main center of a group of aristocrats who have their own appetites that they also must appease.

But even with these new pleasures Ramses is not soothed. The memories of his beloved queen Cleopatra, who had reawakened him the last time, still burns in his own soul. Even being immortal he is still human. And his longings for her will force him to do something that would place him and everyone else in danger.

Thought I would enjoy something else from Rice that wasn't the "Vampire Chronicles", and I certainly found it with this one. Even when she's doing something different, this is still peak Rice. "The Mummy" tends to lean towards gothic romance, and a very saucy one at that! But the gothic horror element still shines through. Feels like reading a great gothic novel, but with a modern twist to it. There's still at least two more in this trilogy, both of them being co-written with her son Christopher (the third and final one would be finished by after Rice's death). I'm probably going to expecting the same to some extent, but I'm taking a real liking to this trilogy once I get those other two!

I was really hesitant about stating this book, I had read a lot of reviews about it being lengthy and not about anything at all, and I remember removing it from my tbr after a certain booktuber I like gave it a bad review. Then my friend had to give some of her books away and this was one of them, so I decided to give it a read, and I think fate brought it right into my hands, because this has become one of my favorites of all time.

It frustrates me when I feel so strongly about something but can’t quite point out why I feel that way, and that is true about this book as well. I think it’s mostly because I relate to Selin a lot, despite us having extremely opposite personalities. Regardless, her introspection and description of both serious and random situations spoke to me. She was able to include contemplative thoughts into very mundane situations in very well-written provocative ways.

Example: “My mother said that something had to be done about my hair. Over the weekend she took me to her stylist in New York. There was another snowstorm, although immediately after, the sun came out and it was almost sixty degrees, so the snow melted. Nothing was real anymore; everything was over.”.
This is how I feel about life all the damn time. Nothing is real, and what I was living just 2 seconds ago has ended and I have no evidence of it having happened except my memories.

It was also so witty and made me laugh a few times, there are those situations when life hits you with the shittiest possible things that it somehow becomes humorous, like wow okay life is a joke after all, because no way this is happening right now. This book was good at that.

There’s also navigating early adulthood (university life), finding purpose in life, being tortured by one-sided love and complex relationships (situationships), navigating language and how it makes people different from each other. Everything in this book was interesting to me, even though it was written in a stream of consciousness way that jumped from something to another totally unrelated topic, it made sense to me and I LOVED it.

Finally, my absolute favorite quote:

I kept thinking about the uneven quality of time—the way it was almost always so empty, and then with no warning came a few days that felt so dense and alive and real that it seemed indisputable that that was what life was, that its real nature had finally been revealed. But then time passed and unthinkably grew dead again, and it turned out that that fullness had been an aberration and might never come back.

Red Rising is what I've considered the worst book I've read in this past year, which is actually quite saying a lot when I've completely hated The Women by Kristen Hannah as well.

There is probably not one aspect of the book that I did not dislike, except maybe the characterization of the SOME of the non-protagonists.

The book was recommended to me by a friend of mine, who is quite well read, so I thought I was in for a treat. She did say that it was the worst book in the series, but I could not believe how empty and hollow the book was, to the point I was close to DNF, but I stuck to it because I wanted to know the depths of my dislike for the book.

The prose is in repetitive short sentences, with a tendency to be melodramatic. The book likes to set-up things haphazardly like the martyrdom, trickster protagonist, and romances without actually earning that characterization whatsoever. Basically claiming credit for payoffs with little set-up and no actual pay-offs.

Plus, it was quite obvious what time period the book itself was written in, right after the popularity of the Hunger Games, but it lacks even the moderate depth of what makes the Hunger Games popular. The book is incredibly 'small-ball' in the overarching plot, and I know this despite not having read the rest of the series.

Darrow is a Gary Stu who is so full of himself at every step of the way that he doesn't really have an internal struggle whatsoever. He does literally nothing different from what an actual Gold would have done in his position, which creates such a huge narrative dissonance from his stated goal of breaking the empire from within, and doing it by thinking outside of the box. Again, completely unearned characterization, with no payoff or set-up.

The women are just pieces to move the plot forward by being killed or raped. Incredibly insane how popular this first book is.