Toru, a quiet and preternaturally serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before. Toru begins to adapt to campus life and the loneliness and isolation he faces there, but Naoko finds the pressures and responsibilities of life unbearable. As she retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself reaching out to others and drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman.
A poignant story of one college student's romantic coming-of-age,Norwegian Wood takes us to that distant place of a young man's first, hopeless, and heroic love.
Review:
De Murakami, ainda só li dois. O primeiro mereceu cinco estrelas, este desiludiu-me um pouco e, reflectindo melhor, desci-o de quatro para três. Três e meio, se fosse possível (tens de actualizar o sistema, goodreads). Continuo a gostar da escrita e do estilo coloquial que faz parecer que eu estou lá, inserida no dia-a-dia das personagens. Eu gosto de protagonistas com pouco a oferecer, os sem-talento, os normais, os apáticos e sem interesse. Se calhar, sou ao contrário dos outros, mas gosto mesmo desse tipo de personagem, seja para ler ou escrever. Também gosto de temáticas depressivas, tenho especial gosto em ler sobre os assuntos aqui abordados e certas personagens comoveram-me. No entanto, não posso dizer que tenha sido genial e não acho que se compare a Sputnik. Por mais que goste de ler sobre os não-especiais, as personagens em geral podiam ter sido mais cativantes, menos insossas. Honestamente, não consegui ligar-me à maior parte delas. O ritmo é lento, a plot é escassa, mas eu gosto assim. Porém, houve alturas em que o livro parecia um aglomerado de mortes bizarras, todas iguais umas às outras e se era suposto sentir empatia e pena por todos os desfechos, não senti. Não gostei da piada da violação, quando Toru visitou o sanatório. Cai-me mal que brinquem com essas situações e, mesmo que o objectivo do autor não fosse ofender, eu cortava essa parte. Houve mais aspectos em relação à maneira de abordar o sexo que me incomodaram, mas aquele foi o mais flagrante. Gostei do final que me deixou desnorteada. Foi um bom livro e, possivelmente, irei reler. Quando dou três estrelas, não significa que não tenha sentido impacto ao ler, mas não é um trabalho brilhante. Ainda assim, vou recomendar.
Classificação:
3 out of 5 stars
Sinopse:
Callie Morgan has long lived choked by the failure of her own lungs, the result of an elusive pulmonary illness that has plagued her since childhood. A childhood marked early by the drowning death of her mother—a death to which Callie was the sole witness. Her father has moved them inland, away from the memories of the California coast her mother loved so much and toward promises of recovery—and the escape of denial—in arid, landlocked air. But after years of running away, the promise of a life-changing job for her father brings Callie and him back to the coast, to Florida, where Callie’s symptoms miraculously disappear. For once, life seems delightfully normal. But the ocean’s edge offers more than healing air … it holds a magnetic pull, drawing Callie closer and closer to the chilly, watery embrace that claimed her mother. Returned to the ocean, Callie comes of age and comes into a family destiny that holds generations of secrets and very few happy endings.
Review:
Estou um bocado desiludida, para ser sincera. Por um lado, penso que é fácil compreender a Callie porque toda a gente conhece a sensação de querer algo quase a ponto irracional. No entanto, estive a maioria do tempo condicionada a ela e aos seus monólogos interiores, o que tornou as coisas um pouco aborrecidas. A quantidade de narração é exagerada, as repetições são desnecessárias e, no geral, sinto que a autora complicou o que podia ter dito em menos palavras. Podia ter cortado em páginas, sinceramente. Não houve assim tanta história e eu percebo que seja um livro sobre auto-descoberta, mas o problema é que não foi nada grande. Podia ter sido algo grande se a autora começasse o livro nos últimos capítulos e encaixasse a obra noutro género literário. Inland ia ser muito interessante se o mito fosse mais explorado, se houvesse worldbuilding do mundo subaquático e se a história tomasse um rumo mais creepy. Vi potencial desperdiçado. Já agora, dispensava a parte do "vou-vos contar uma história" e o final foi bastante pouco interessante. Ou então sou eu que não gosto de finais infelizes. Só sei que convivi com a mesma personagem por quase quatrocentas páginas a desejar que ela chegasse ao mar - não sei por gostar ou estar farta dela - e depois...é.
Classificação:
3 out of 5 stars
Sinopse:
Fifty years ago The Commander came into power and murdered all who opposed him. In his warped mind, the seven deadly sins were the downfall of society.
To punish the guilty, he created the Hole, a place where sinners are branded according to their sins. Sinners are forced to live a less than human existence in deplorable conditions, under the watchful eye of guards who are ready to kill anyone who steps out of line.
Now, LUST wraps around my neck like thick, blue fingers, threatening to choke the life out of me. I’ve been accused of a crime I didn’t commit, and the Hole is my new home.
Constant darkness.
Brutal and savage violence.
Excruciating pain.
Every day is a fight for survival.
But I won’t let them win. I will not die in the Hole.
I am more than my brand. I’m a fighter. My name is Lexi Hamilton, and this is my story.
Review:
Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange of an honest review.
I am...conflicted. In part, I liked this book but there were things so frustrating about the story! The general idea was good. I love dystopia and a society where people get branded with the seven deadly sins seems really original. However, the book could definitely use some more worldbuilding. I want to know about the world outside the Hole, how the judicial system could simply be replaced by an Inquisition in the modern times. I wanted to know more about the Hole too. This book could really use an editor. It has some major flaws, some parts of the dialogue made me roll my eyes and the characters lacked development. Also, I saw a lot of tell instead of show. Lexi was constantly crying or falling or getting herself in trouble only to be safe by Cole at the last minute. For god sake, she was so weak! And I didn't really got to see her growing as a character, because all she did was fall in insta-love and learn to fight all of a sudden. The characters were horribly flat. All of them. There was a dog in the book to provide comic relief (?). I don't know, man, this didn't feel real to me. So, I liked the concept of a world dominated by religious freaks. The Hole and this all situation reminded me of the Holocaust and that could really get me engaged with the story if only I could relate to any of the characters. This society was awful and enraging, the rebels were preparing themselves to die in order to save the rest; it had all the right ingredients to make me feel. And I did feel at some parts. I just think I could pass without the crappy romance and the crappy protagonists. I liked it, but it could be better. I can't recommend it, because there are wonderfully written dystopias out there and I would rather see everyone spending their time reading them.
Classificação:
3 out of 5 stars
Sinopse:
Rose Hathaway's life will never be the same.
The recent attack on St. Vladimir's Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse. A rare tattoo now adorns Rose's neck, a mark that says she's killed far too many Strigoi to count. But only one victim matters ... Dimitri Belikov. Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: honoring her life's vow to protect Lissa—her best friend and the last surviving Dragomir princess—or, dropping out of the Academy to strike out on her own and hunt down the man she loves. She'll have to go to the ends of the earth to find Dimitri and keep the promise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he want to be saved?
Now, with everything at stake—and worlds away from St. Vladimir's and her unguarded, vulnerable, and newly rebellious best friend—can Rose find the strength to destroy Dimitri? Or, will she sacrifice herself for a chance at eternal love?
Review:
Este volume da série Vampire Academy deixou muito a desejar. Depois do final intenso do volume anterior, eu estava com expectativas altas.
A verdade é que este livro teve camadas e camadas de tell, em vez de show. Senti que a autora tentou despejar demasiada informação e backstory ao mesmo tempo.
O ritmo lento não contribuiu muito para o meu nível de entusiasmo e fiquei desnorteada com a quantidade de personagens novas, a maior parte delas perfeitamente dispensável.
Certas partes do livro são definitivamente mais sombrias do que vi nos primeiros livros. A situação do cativeiro, em especial, custa bastante a digerir. E enquanto os sentimentos da Rose fazem sentido nalguns pontos, enfureceu-me que ela continuasse a hesitar constantemente e mesmo a perdoar os abusos que sofreu. Um bocadinho de Síndrome de Estocolmo?
O Dimitri strigoi irritou-me. Acho que tentou dar uma de Angelus, mas não conseguiu. Parte de mim vai sempre perguntar-se se não era melhor tê-lo simplesmente morto e, a menos que o destino dele faça muito sentido para o resto da história, manterei a opinião.
Ainda assim, nem tudo foi mau. A Lissa evoluiu enquanto personagem e a descoberta dos Alquimistas foi algo interessante.
Pontos extra para a luta final que foi, definitivamente, a situação mais interessante do livro.
Classificação:
3 out of 5 stars
Sinopse:
The windswept moors of England, a grand rustic estate, and a love story of one woman caught between two men who love her powerfully—all inspired by Emily Bronte’s beloved classic, Wuthering Heights. Solsbury Hill brings the legend of Catherine and Heathcliff, and that of their mysterious creator herself, into a contemporary love story that unlocks the past.
When a surprise call from a dying aunt brings twenty-something New Yorker Eleanor Abbott to the Yorkshire moors, and the family estate she is about to inherit, she finds a world beyond anything she might have expected. Having left behind an American fiance, here Eleanor meets Meadowscarp MacLeod—a young man who challenges and changes her. Here too she encounters the presence of Bronte herself and discovers a family legacy they may share.
With winds powerful enough to carve stone and bend trees, the moors are another world where time and space work differently. Remanants of the past are just around a craggy, windswept corner. For Eleanor, this means ancestors and a devastating romantic history that bears on her own life, on the history of the novel Wuthering Heights, and on the destinies of all who live in its shadow.
Review:
Thanks to Netgalley and to the publisher for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange of an honest review.
I was contacted by the publisher because I had read and reviewed Wuthering Heights recently. I was truly happy about the offering and started reading Solsbury Hill with high hopes. It promised me something similar to Wuthering Heights but, unfortunately, I think it lacked its passion.
Eleanor wasn't annoying to follow but the author gave her too much time alone and when a character is left alone, she tends to overthink about everything. I guess it wasn't the right kind of book for me.
The story is slow paced and at the beginning I just found the writing pretentious. This is not to stay that the book is bad written because it isn't, but some things don't suit books set in the modern times.
Mead was ok, but I didn't see much character development along the book. None of the characters compares to the vivid, strong characters of Emily's novel.
It's a good book but it has nothing to do with the mood set inWuthering Heights and the love story can't be compared to the haunting romance between Catherine and Heathcliff. The love triangle didn't really feel like a love triangle to me and the decision was always obvious. It was kinda predictable.
Classificação:
3 out of 5 stars
Sinopse:
Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose...
It’s winter break at St. Vladimir’s, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy’s crawling with Guardians—including Rose’s hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn’t bad enough, Rose’s tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason’s got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa’s head while she’s making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy’s not taking any risks... This year, St. Vlad’s annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.
But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price...
Review:
Provavelmente, não devia começar uma review no exacto momento em que termino o livro. Devia dar-me tempo para pensar, ganhar perspectiva. Mas eu sou uma wild child como a Rose, peço desculpa.
Três estrelas e uma menção à protagonista, logo no início da review. Pode perceber-se que gostei mais deste, não pode? Na verdade, a minha intenção era não tornar a olhar para a série depois do primeiro livro, no entanto, com o alarido em torno do filme eu resolvi dar-lhe uma hipótese. As classificações não eram más e, como referi na review de Vampire Academy, podia dar-se o caso da autora ter feito melhorias na obra. Ela fez.
Aprendi a gostar da Rose. Consegui perceber um certo crescimento, contrariando o meu medo de que não houvesse qualquer desenvolvimento de personagens. Quanto à Lissa, gostaria de ter visto mais dela e gostaria também que ela estivesse mais presente para a Rose.
Vejamos, YA sobre amizades entre pessoas do mesmo sexo não acontece com frequência e é uma pena. Os autores tendem a criar triângulos amorosos (também os houve, mas já falo nisso) e a esquecer que há mais do que amor romântico na vida. Neste caso, o aspecto maravilhoso é que a relação central não é Rose/Dimitri, nem sequer Lissa/Christian, mas sim Rose/Lissa. O nível da Rose em relação à melhor amiga é incrível e admirável. A maneira como os guardiões colocam a própria segurança em segundo lugar é assombrosa, especialmente no caso da protagonista que tem apenas dezassete e, embora não se afaste demasiado da imagem de adolescente, consegue apresentar uma maturidade acima do comum, no que toca aos seus deveres. O que desiludiu foi a falta de comunicação entre as duas raparigas que eu já tinha notado no livro anterior, mas que se intensificou neste - quero ver a Lissa a ter uma participação mais activa na vida da Rose.
Em termos da relação principal foi esse o problema que encontrei: a falta de comunicação entre as duas. Uma amizade funciona dos dois lados e gostaria de ter visto a Rose confiar os seus pensamentos à Lissa.
Continuando com a Lissa, quero um papel mais movimentado nos próximos livros. Quero vê-la lutar, defender-se e quero realmente conhecê-la melhor. Ainda assim, há que salientar o quão diferente as duas parecem e agem; a Rose defende a Lissa como pode, através da força física, e a Lissa defende-la através da diplomacia, a força das palavras (e compulsão, sim, mas não deixa de opor a defesa mental à física).
Quero saber mais sobre todas as personagens. Quero saber especialmente sobre a Mia, se ela vai corresponder àquilo que eu desejo para ela. Fiquei positivamente surpreendida por vê-la ganhar controlo sobre a situação e acho óptimo que a autora a afaste da ideia de menina supérflua e bully que já está tão batida. As pessoas nunca são uma só coisa e para a Mia eu espero um monte de character development para ficar satisfeita.
A estrutura da comunidade vampírica é interessante e original. A luta final deixou-me num estado de extremo entusiasmo e dei por mim a torcer fervorosamente pelas personagens, a sofrer os choques ao mesmo tempo que elas. Este livro teve mais acção e esse é um ponto a favor.
Ainda não merece as quatro estrelas, mas o ritmo foi mais acelerado e sinto que houve mais coisas a acontecerem. Cativou-me de uma maneira que o primeiro não conseguiu. Afastou-se, em certa parte, do estereótipo associado a este tipo de livros e isso é estupendo.
Classificação:
3 out of 5 stars
Sinopse:
From a life raft cast adrift in the middle of the ocean to the attic of a suburban garage; from the heart-pounding moments just after the dead begin to rise, to the ravaged world generations later, the five stories in The Dead and Empty World present a chilling portrait of what it takes to survive – or not – the zombie apocalypse.
Review:
The Dead and Empty World was a gift for my NaNoWrimo victory and, to be honest, it quite surprised me how good it was. Don't take me wrong, NaNo is an amazing place but I'm a very suspicious person and since it was a free book, my hopes were not really that high. Oh boy, I was wrong! I checked the reviews on Forest of Hand and Teeth and some of them were kind of negative. I don't know if the style of writing changes that much or if it's because this is a collection of short stories but I liked it. I was unsure about giving it four stars and I would give it three and a half if I could, but I ended up rating it with three stars instead. I don't like to evaluate the writing skills because I'm reading this in English and I'm not a native speaker, so I don't think I have the right to do it. I could, if the writing was astonishingly good or surprisingly bad but neither of those were the case with this book. As I said before, it's a collection of short stories, which makes the reading pretty easy and not tiring at all. I loved the different points of view on the subject of zombies and some of the stories were better than the others but I enjoyed them in general - apart from the last one. I don't know exactly why, but Tabitha's story was too long and I became bored at the middle. Nevertheless, it was a good book and I recommend it for people who like zombies or just want to read something short and entertaining.
Classificação:
3 out of 5 stars
Sinopse:
When high school senior Paul Wagoner walks into his school library with a stolen gun, he threatens his girlfriend Emily Beam, then takes his own life. In the wake of the tragedy, an angry and guilt-ridden Emily is shipped off to boarding school in Amherst, Massachusetts, where she encounters a ghostly presence who shares her name. The spirit of Emily Dickinson and two quirky girls offer helping hands, but it is up to Emily to heal her own damaged self.
This inventive story, told in verse and in prose, paints the aftermath of tragedy as a landscape where there is good behind the bad, hope inside the despair, and springtime under the snow.
Review:
Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange of an honest review.
Actually, I would give it 3.5 stars if that was possible.
I wanted to read And We Stay because the cover was gorgeous. Honestly, this is one of the prettiest covers I have ever seen! It's simple, it's not overly ornamented (that's a mistake I see A LOT, particularly, in YA and Fantasy books) and it fits the story perfectly.
This is Literary Fiction. It doesn't have much of a plot and the story is entirely character driven with a beautiful, metaphoric prose which was truly a delight. Then, it has the poems in the end of every chapter, each one of them amazingly written.
I like boarding school's novels. I was a bit afraid of it becoming just a cliché kind of novel but, well, it sure wasn't.
Don't expect to find an intriguing plot with lots of action and adventure because, as I said in the beginning, this is a book about a character, it's not plot driven and little happens. But you can certainly expect the matching of a lyrical, flowery, well constructed prose with beautiful, meaningful yet simple poems.
The pace is slow but what gets in my nerves is the fact that I don't really feel connected to Emily, at first. The POV doesn't allow me to do so. So, at times, I felt like I didn't know much about the protagonist and that maybe she was a "flat" character. It wasn't until the last chapters that I began to understand a little more about her.
Another thing that I didn't like was that the narrator kept referring to Emily as Emily Beam during the entire book...it was annoying and weird.
The relationship between Emily and Paul was simple and felt real to me (sometimes adult authors tend to complicate teenage love way more than it is), but Paul, as well as K.T., wasn't a full fleshed out character and it seems to me that I finished the book not knowing much about him.
The constant comparisons between Beam and Dickinson were a bit exaggerated like they were forcing the connection.
I end up not knowing why Paul killed himself either, but the final made me cry and it had something lovely about it. In fact, the last chapters were the best; the more I read, the more compelled about the book I felt and I was able to create empathy towards Emily in the end.
It has its flaws but I really enjoyed it and my general appreciation about this novel is pretty positive. I strongly hope I can find a Portuguese version, but even if the book isn't translated to my language, I plan to buy it.
And We Stay is not for the reader who seeks for action but I surely recommend it to everyone who finds interest in reading beautiful narrative. If you prefer internal conflicts over external conflicts, then go for it.
