[Review] A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Am I the only one who really likes the UK cover?

I don’t read a lot fantasy, mainly because I am too impatient for world building, I find that characters are classified by their surface qualities instead of being organic beings, and villains that are just too one-sided. Enter A Darker Shade of Magic, or ADSOM, a fantasy novel that not only challenges the notion that world building should ever be made tedious, but flaunts the exellent execution of a juicy final act. But did it really succeed in convincing me to love reading fantasy once again?

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To Those Who Dream of Stranger Worlds…

Meet Kell, one of the last Anteri, or travelers – essentially magicians that can traverse between dimensions. Completing the obligatory duo, (or trio) Delilah Bard, or Lila, an aspiring pirate, adventurer, and has a general interest in anything potentially fatal because isn’t life just more interesting that way? Toss in some more out of this world magic, political intrigue, a mix of different dimensions and a dice of romance/friendship served on some chilled Scandinavian-esque prose, and you have ADSOM. Ultimately, this is a novel that has all of the pieces to make a fantastic read, but some parts were not used to their fullest potential, albeit the final taste was still pleasant. Lets run it down…

My biggest problem lies within the lengthy exposition to the world(s), in which Schwab does introduce relevant characters, but plot points are sometimes dangled in front of the audience’s noses and never addressed again. A specific case is with King George III and the issues of Grey London – it felt like he was just brought up to give context to the story, but his life, and ultimately the role of a whole world was largely ignored. As interesting and riveting Red and White London is, there has to be joy in life without magic, some sense of adventure, and thrill. When Kell and Lila leave on their adventure, its as if Lila is rejecting her past life, a life filled with ups and downs that seem interesting in its own right. One of her earliest scenes is a scuffle with 3 street ruffians, which showcased both her weakness, and the immense promise that Grey London held in entertainment. While I acknowledge ADSOM is meant to be a fantasy novel, if it intends to bring in our reality, then I do not feel that it is right to simply shrug it off as a naive child who has forgotten the taste of magic. Where is its technology, its culture, its vibrancy? Missing. Schwab starts with the promise of several Londons, but in the end, she only really focuses on two of them.

Also missing is the presence of a complex and well-developed, refreshing villain. A genre as vast as fantasy already possesses blood thirsty rulers, tyrants, dark shadows, mysterious artifacts, and misunderstood heroes as villains in abundance. At the same time, there really is no such thing as a truly evil person, or at least there is nothing believable in a villain who has lost all of their humanity. Whether or the not the villains possess a shred of their morales any longer, Schwab never really gave them a chance to show it, and that is my second big issue with ADSOM – hackneyed and underdeveloped villains. (I feel no struggle, nothing as I am forced to root for Kell, whereas the presence of a strong, multifaceted villain would leave the reader torn, a feeling which shows that the book is truly getting to me.)

Along the same lines, the main characters of ADSOM remind me of … the flat cardboard cut outs that populate much of modern fiction. When I hear the name Kell, I think more of his powers, and his physical traits (especially with the eyes), rather than his “unique” personality. When I hear Lila, I think of thief, pirate, and also her eyes. I never envision this rich blend of emotional rawness from either of them, and even when Lila sheds her tough girl persona, it feels almost false, and a betrayal of what she had previously stood for. As for the rest of the cast, I can hardly remember their names.

My final main issue with ADSOM is with the writing. For the most part, Schwab is very fluid, but in some action scenes, or descriptions of what is generally going on, I had to read some lines twice. Now this might just because the font in my edition was spaced pretty tightly, but I found that this generally interrupted the flow, especially if it was in the middle of an action sequence. Also, I felt for some reason that she had lost her stylistic flair that was present in Vicious, which I would dare say is miles better than ADSOM.

As for the story, the payoff at the end was intense, satisfying, and full of the bells and whistles that characterizes a fantasy climax. But the very end (which I will not spoil) felt almost cheap, too easy, and it seemed like Schwab threw out one of the main driving forces of the book – the tragedy – in place of a more convenient ending. Much simpler, less cathartic, and ultimately made the end not quite worth the 300 page buildup (or maybe that says more about my sadism).

All in all, ADSOM did not quite deliver what it had led me to expect in its exposition, but the promise of future books with the initial groundwork worldbuilding complete is quite delicious. I am expecting a lot from Books 2 and onward (so I guess the answer is yes?)!

Who else is pumped? You don’t have to raise your hands…

3 Stars

The Sound and the Fury: Themes, Motifs, and the Significance of Love (Whatever Kind There Is)

Well, not really, but I will go through some of the things that stood out for me. It should also be noteworthy to mention that even if my opinions of the book were … less than satisfactory, I can still appreciate what he was going for. Or so I think. Oh well – this is the last post (I swear) that I will be writing about this book, so this horrid affair will soon be over. LET’S END IT (contains spoilers, proceed at your own risk)

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The Internal and Interpersonal Conflicts

Theme: We can go to extreme measures to protect those that we love because having something to cherish in turns makes ourselves have greater strength, even if it means tearing down those around us.

Basically for the whole book, Faulkner uses his characters and specific motifs to develop this theme – but where it really comes out is the incestuous emotions of Quentin. His crazed obsessions with Caddy is perverse, but at the same time, is reflective of how much he loves her, and how willing he is to keep her “pure”. His therefore “pure” intent is actually what causes one of the major rifts in the family. Him being sent off to Harvard was not just a move to improve the family standing, but also an attempt to remove him from the toxic Southern environment. Except, we learn that the North is even more toxic.

On the other hand, we have Benjy’s love for Caddy – one that isn’t incestuous, but more of a son-mother variety. Caddy is often described as cradling Benjy, and she is often one of the few that can calm his fits. Ironically, it is these fits that become a binding staple of the story. The recurring motif is what brings things back into focus, particularly in later sections when parts of the plot being to unravel. Back to the theme, one can also interpret Benjy’s moans as a way of him protecting Caddy – not dissimilar from Quentin’s incestuous claims. Faulkner also makes references to how Benjy is quiet whenever Caddy smells like “leaves”. In the end, I still never got what he was going for.

Contrary to all of this, is Jason’s supposed lack of love – his apathetic views of the world, and how much he despairs about the incompetency of those around him. That said, I think that this is actually his way of revealing love, and in a way, by rejecting the things he cherish, he is protecting himself. We actually never get to see Jason’s inner thoughts, unlike how we are privy to Benjy and Quentin, and perhaps Faulkner was aiming at something significant here. In fact, Jason realizes the second half of the theme, in which he tears down those around him, to ultimately protect them (in a strange roundabout fashion). But maybe that is the complexity of life, all wrapped up in a torturous 321 pages.

Review: The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

If you have seen any of my Chapter reviews, then you will basically know my thoughts and how they went from being impressed to spiraling down into the pits of literary despair. I really wanted to like this book. I had personally expected it to be a five star book after the first chapter, but after those first 75 pages, my expectations fell lower and lower until they hit rock bottom – this is probably the lowest score I have ever given a book that I finished. Sorry Faulkner, I tried, I really did.

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The Compsons’

Meet your typical decaying family (I will try my best not to divulge any spoilers): you have the dad who is always drunk; the mom who only really likes one of her children and thinks the rest are punishments for her sins; the aforementioned children, one of which is mentally challenged, another is promiscuous, and another who yearns for forbidden love, yet another one, cold and calculating; they are served by a host of black servants, who seem to lead the majority of their lives as servants (they only get breaks to go to Church on holidays). I may sound quite critical, but I am really unmotivated to talk about characters that I did not care about at all. If anything, I would like to erase them from my memory. Each of their actions didn’t make any logical sense, and a lot of important things about them were left in the shadows. It wasn’t the stumbling that was apparently throughout The Outsiders, but more of a personal opinion – I just really didn’t like them, though if one were to look at them from a development perspective, they are not quite as stunted as I have stated. That said, they are definitely not the epitome of fleshed-out complex characters.

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Faulkner’s Writing

This did not sit well with me at well – I do enjoy freedom of individual expression in writing, but Faulkner really took that to a whole new level, literally breaking the language – there is a reason we spell “I”, not “i”. Additionally, his “style” lacks a truly distinguishable quality like the writing of Nabokov or Hemingway; instead, it feels very “standard” (I am mainly referring to the third and fourth chapters). On the other hand, his style and writing is so bizarre in the first two chapters of The Sound and the Fury, I am not sure what to make of it exactly. On one hand, I was never very big on the whole “string-of-consciousness” thing that modernism loves, but then again I really did grow used to the first chapter, which is basically a meditation on exactly that. At this point, I would recommend reading the first chapter and seeing what you think, though I would advise stopping after that because past the initial greatness, I found a landmine of confusing phrases that ran so tightly that the descriptions began to blend and the events became indistinguishable. Then again, maybe this writing is a bit too “high-level” for me at this point, and perhaps if I revisited this text in two or three years, I would be able to recognize Faulkner’s “genius”. However, at this point, I cannot say that I particularly like it.

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Final Verdict

I grew to love the first chapter, but the remaining 245 pages fell short of my initial expectations. I would definitely recommend that everyone check out the first part, though I would not advise continuing on. At this point in time, I am willing to admit that perhaps trying to tackle this monstrosity was above my level, and that I am not to the point where I can appreciate it (I mean, Sartre loved it). Either that, or Faulkner’s tale of the dying South just didn’t sit well with me. Either way, I came out of this novel gasping for air, and relieved that it was finished.

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Overall: F or 0.53/5 Stars

Character/Setting (30%): 0.6

• Compsons: 0.3/1.5 – Poor development, little empathy/connection to their struggles
• The Rest of the Cast: 0.1/1.0 – were brought up, then discarded (little development across the board)
• Setting: 0.2/2.5 – Played little role in the story, and was not developed well at all

Writing (35%): 0.5

• Mechanics: 0.2/1.0 – I know he was going for effect, but a capital I would be nice once in a while
• Style: 0.2/2.0 – Wasn’t memorable in any way, and kept shifting
• Consistency/Flow: 0.1/2.0 – Increasingly difficult to read, was quite painful in some sections

Story (25%): 0.7

• Premise: 0.7/1.0
• Chapter 1: 0.8/1.0
• Chapter 2: 0.4/1.0
• Chapter 3: 0.1/1.0
• Chapter 4: 0.2/1.0
• NEGATIVE POINTS FOR HOW BORING AND PREDICTABLE IT WAS -1.5

Enjoyment (10%): 0.0

Review: The Sound and the Fury Chapter 4 Part I

Warning: Contains spoilers for the first half of Chapter 4.

April Eighth, 1928

Dilsey from the movie. Though this is also my expression whenever I read this book – “PLEASE LET IT BE OVER SOON, GOD SAVE ME”

If listening to Brahms and Elgar violin sonatas while reading can’t make me like a book, then I have nothing left that will convince me that The Sound and the Fury deserves the praise that it gets. Maybe I am too young/not mature enough to appreciate it, but the more I read of it, the closer it heads towards the “F/1 Star” region. Sorry Faulkner, but you have joined the list of authors that I find overrated.

The ironic thing is that I really like the first paragraph of this section:

“The day dawned bleak and chill, a moving wall of gray light out of the northeast which, instead of dissolving into moisture, seemed to disintegrate into minute and venomous particles, like dust that, when Dilsey opened the door of the cabin and emerged, needled laterally into her flesh precipitating not so much a moisture as a substance partaking of the quality of thin, not quite congealed oil. She worse a stiff black straw hat perched upon her turban, and a maroon velvet cape with a border of mangy and anonymous fur above a dress of purple silk, and she stood in the door for a while with her myriad and sunken face lifted to the weather, and one gaunt hand flac-soled as the belly of a fish, then she moved the cape aside and examined the bosom of her gown.”

-Faulkner, 265

It reminded my of Morrison meets Warren, though the next few pages quickly distinguished any flicker of hope of that fusion ever occurring in this quickly dying work. The Southern dialogue soon took on a Mark Twain aka evoking a feeling of “Is this even English?”. Plot-wise, this chapter was the continuation of the Jason-Quentin drama in the previous chapter, though now it is 3rd person, and mainly focusing on Dilsey, the black servant of the Compson. As the first section in 3rd person, I must say that Faulkner should stay away from it – the way the point of view is set up, it strips him of any individuality he had in 1st person, and soon the prose becomes quite typical and exactly what one would expect from your stereotypical Southern novel. That is basically what made me like the first section of this novel, and by now, I am only reading because I have like 25 pages left. But I am hating every moment of it – this hatred is slowly spreading to the point where I find Benjy annoying (I never thought that would happen after how much I ended up liking his perspective) and now I feel every page turn is tedious. I can’t wait for this torture to be over.

Review: The Sound and the Fury Chapter 2

I THOUGHT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE EASIER TO UNDERSTAND AFTER MANCHILD BENJY.

Warning: This post will contain mild spoilers for The Sound and the Fury up through Chapter 2.

If you thought the first chapter was confusing, Quentin (the guy Quentin, not the girl; yes I know, how confusing) is one of the most discombobulated and chaotic narrators I have ever read. It was not like a dream-inducing prose like that of Jim Burden in All The King’s Men but rather a stream of horrid, endless thoughts:

one minute she was standing there the next he was yelling and pulling at her dress they went into the hall and up the stairs yelling and shoving at her up the stairs to the bathroom door and stopped her back against the door and her arm across her face yelling and trying to shove her into the bathroom when she came in to supper T.P. was feeding him he started again just whimpering at first until she touched him then he yelled she stood there her eyes like cornered rats then I was running in the gray darkness it smelled of rain and all flower scents the damp warm air released and crickets sawing away in the grass pacing me with a small travelling island of silence Fancy watched me across the fence blotchy like a quilt on a line I thought damn that nigger he forgot to feed her again I ran down the hill in that vacuum of crickets like a breath travelling across a mirror she was lying in the water her head on the sand spit the water flowing about her hips there was a little more light in the water her skirt half saturated flopped along her flanks to the waters motion in heavy ripples going nowhere renewed themselves of their own  movement I stood on the bank I could smell the honeysuckle on the water gap te air seemed to drizzle with honeysuckle and with the rasping of crickets a substance you could feel on the flesh

is benjy crying

I dont know yes I dont know

poor benjy

– Faulkner, 149-150

This isn’t even the worst of it – he often mixes the past into present events, jumbling the viewer even more. He also mixes others’ thoughts into his own showing both reactions, giving me countless headaches.

As for what this chapter did for the story, I am actually quite pleased with the progression and development – we first find out that Quentin is at Harvard, among other interesting things. Some of the main things that revealed are the other family members’ feelings toward Benjy, in addition to some of the more “lucid” family interactions. Quentin is especially key here because while he is integral to the Compsons, he is the first narrator that is allowed to roam through society – it is even remarked several times how well he is received by his peers. This reveals the greater social climate beyond the internal family dynamics. His own pondering nature (probably why he is at Harvard) brings up really interesting metaphysical quotations, particularly regarding time and innocence – the “negative conundrum of virginity”. However, above all of that is perhaps his incestuous love for Caddy. While I do not think (sorry it was too jumbled for me to tell whether the love affair was there or not) it was physical, Quentin’s love for his sister shows a greater depth of the time. He consistently, even brazenly, remarks to his father of their incest, but his father (being experienced) recognizes that Quentin’s earnestly only shows that it his attempt to protect Caddy from other men. However, as we can see, Caddy has her own agenda – namely, to ensure that Benjy is not sent to Jackson, which requires her to attain individual sovereignty through marriage. Of course then there is the issue of their mother who wishes the best for her “children”, but only really cares about Jason, who is the only one who even resembles her, but don’t forget that some of Caddy’s suitors could make life better for Jason, oh but then Quentin hates him, so they fight. And don’t you dare forget about dying Uncle Maury, and we haven’t even gotten to all of the North/South drama in Boston. Yeah, basically this chapter makes the family and social drama complicated on a whole new and circuitous level. Interestingly, Quentin doesn’t make note of the Compsons’ black family servants in any significant vein – I hope we get more follow-up on this.

Well, if you could follow my thoughts on Chapter 2, it either means you read it and understood some fragment of it (like me), or you are just good at following my nonsense logic. Either way, I hope that Chapter 3 is a break from this linguistic insanity!

How I felt about this whole chapter.

The Sound and the Fury Chapter 1

Note: This is the second post in my series of ten posts on The Sound and the Fury in accordance with a school project.

April Seventh, 1928

Initial Feelings

That was so good… though initially painful. My edition’s first chapter was 75 pages, and it is narrated by the “manchild” Benjy, who has some difficulty with keeping all of his stories straight. In total, I had counted over ten fragmented memories, all of which weave in and out of each other, displaying Faulkner’s incredible technical skill and mastery of the English language. The beginning of the chapter starts out a bit confusing, though if the reader prevails and pushed through, the story unfolds and becomes increasingly more satisfying. To me, it seemed in many ways like a detective story, where the reader has to unravel a confusing and somewhat jumbled tale. Interestingly, even though Benjy is introduced and continued emphasized as “mentally-challenged”, his thoughts exhibit lucidness, provided he doesn’t switch to another story. Faulkner’s use of implied situation added a great deal to his character and the individuality of the story – a prime example is where Benjy is repeatedly told “to stop moaning”:

“Then they all stopped and it was dark, and when I stopped to start again I could hear Mother, and feet walking fast away, and I could smell it. Then the room came, but my eyes went shut. I didn’t stop. I could smell it. T. P. unpinned the bed clothes.

‘Hush.’ he said. ‘Shhhhhhhhh.’

But I could smell it. T. P. pulled me up and he put on my clothes fast.

‘Hush Benjy.’ he said. ‘We going down to our house. You want to go down to our house, where Frony is. Hush. Shhhhh.'”

– Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury, page 34

This use of “flipped perspective” reveals a great deal not just about Benjy’s state, but also the surrounding characters, especially through their individualized tones and how they address him. For example, his sister Caddy’s interaction with him is very caring, not dissimilar from a mother and a child. Their relationship, while showing the physical limitations of Benjy, also characterizes Caddy as a maternal figure. Her quick understanding of his emotions illustrates her compassion and their subsequent bond.

Analysis of Emerging Themes and Issues

A multitude of themes and issues were developed over the course of Benjy’s story, and it was fascinating to see continuities and changes that occurred across the ten+ stories. One of the most prevalent was how race and social expectations will determine a person’s actions, though at their core, they can remain unchanged. In all of the stories, the Compson family have many black servants, and a lot of them end up watching over/”helping” Benjy. In particular, Dilsey (another maternal figure to the younger Compson) is their black servant, and what she is allowed to do and say is extremely limited. She can scold and exert slight influence on the children, but there is always a “stabilizing” presence in their parents, in which she excludes little to no significance. She never criticizes the actions of the family, even berating other servants when they mention anything negative. However, despite this social limitations as a black woman, she continues to raise the Compsons like a true mother, displaying her innate maternal nature. Racial inequality and interaction is a big issue in this section, despite the fact that Benjy may not fully comprehend the nature of the exchanges, he realizes something is wrong. Other themes (though I will not go into extensive detail) include the boundaries of love, the strength of family, and the judging nature of society of things they are not aware of. Gender bias is revealed even in Caddy’s actions, in which simple actions (appropriate for her brothers) are completely off-limits to her. Faulkner covers a lot in this section, and develops them extensively, and as I continue to read the novel, it will be fascinating to view this progression of ideas.

Verdict and Future Predictions

I would have to give this first section an A- or around a 4.5 stars, mainly due to the confusion that barraged me in the beginning. As for the future, since I already know that the narrators for the other sections will be different, I can definitely see Faulkner making use of multiple perspectives to develop the various facets of the characters, which I am very excited for. Thank you Benjy, and I hope it gets easier to understand from here!

Review: Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison

Warning: This book is for mature audiences, and covers a lot of topics that are not suitable for a younger audience.

I am having trouble deciding how I want to review this book, but I am going to attempt to articulate how I feel about this amazing read. Its amazing because of the diverse and cast that you have to love, some of the most accessible and yet powerful writing, and a story that reveals the complexity of human relationships – good or bad and everything in between. Bastard Out of Carolina tackles race, social, economic, and gender divides in the south while at the same time depicting a harrowing family drama that will shake your morals to the roots. At least that is what Allison’s book did to me.

Met the Boatwrights

Narrated in first person, this tale starts off by introducing us to Bone, and the rest of her family, the Boatwrights. They aren’t your stereotypical family; the men get drunk, shoot at each other, while the women have too many children for them to handle and leave their husbands without “reasoning”. They are the scum of the town and their values are completely contrary to everyone else’s – particularly the belief that someone can’t be a real man if he hasn’t spent a sufficient amount of time in jail. Or at least that is what everyone believes, but don’t say it to their face because then you will get beat up. The Boatwrights look out for each other and their familial bond is one of the strongest things in the universe – maybe even stronger than Hulk’s elastic shorts. Every single one of them is unique and through them, Bone learns a great deal of stuff about life and by growing up. She goes through phases, first idolizing her uncles to living with her aunts, but I was never tired or bored with this family. They have a certain charm about them that grabbed me from the moment they were introduced and never let me go.

Bone herself is the quintessential rebirth of Scout Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird, and in fact, there were parallels between both of these great books all the way through but more about that later. Bone is a tomboy and she isn’t afraid to let anyone know about that. She is fiercely independent and she is a bastard. Quite literally – her mother was unconscious during her birth so when they were making her certificate, nobody was sure who the father was. As a result, Bone feels an obligation to create a new title for herself, and really the whole story is narrated from her birth to her almost-13th birthday.  She is charming as a narrator, and easily of the most complex adolescents in literature.

Young Jenna Malone as Bone in the movie adaptation

*Note: There are other characters but I will refrain from mentioning them due to spoilers.

Remember Those Summer Days?

Some may say that the plot of Bastard Out of Carolina drags on, but I feel that it is the opposite – Dorothy Allison’s writing is extremely fluid and accessible to a lot of readers, and every event serves to build up the characters and establish a moral (though everyone’s interpretation would be different). There is also a sense of heightening dread and “disgust”, coupled with visceral terror of some of the events that occur in this book. Saying this book is boring is basically saying that To Kill A Mockingbird was boring. In many regards, Bastard Out of Carolina does feel a lot like To Kill A Mockingbird, and I actually prefer Allison’s over Harper Lee’s rendition. Although some of the events in the former are a little less memorable than the timeless vignettes of Mockingbird, it also has a greater impact and sense of magnitude when compared to the latter.

Another similarity is how Bastard Out of Carolina analyzes and looks closely at the social, economic, race, and gender divides of the time and setting. She never explicitly states them, but instead reveals them masterfully through character interactions and the dialogue of the story.

Final Verdict

So the main thing is, should everybody read Bastard Out of Carolina. The answer is that everyone should read it at least once in their life – I know that I probably will not read this again for a little while (give it some time to digest), but I do think I will end up rereading it. Its distinct cast and flowing prose elevate the everyday life of Bone Boatwright to an allegory of the complexity of human nature and relationship. Its not only a case study into gender roles of the South, but of family obligations of the modern world. Just pick it up (if you are a mature audience) and try the first few pages. I guarantee you will be drawn in.

Overall: A (91.8/100) OR 4.59/5 Stars

Character/Setting (30%): 4.5 (+0.4 Bonus) = 4.9/5

• Bone: 1.35/1.5
• The Rest of the Boatwrights and Everyone else: 1.4/1.5
• Greenville County (Setting): 1.75/2.0
• BONUS points for how diverse the cast is (and feels) +0.2 and BONUS for the ubiquitous yet unique atmosphere of the setting that reflects gender, social, and economic climate +0.2

Writing (35%): 4.2 (+0.2 Bonus) = 4.4/5

• Flow: 0.9/1.0
• Style: 1.5/2.0
• Consistency/Suitability: 1.8/2.0
• BONUS points for how accessible the writing is: +0.2

Story/Plot (25%): 4.3 (+0.3 Bonus) = 4.6/5

• Exposition: 0.75/1.0
• Rising Action: 0.9/1.0
• Climax: 0.85/1.0
• Falling Action: 0.85/1.0
• Resolution: 0.95/10 (Bonus +0.1 for how uncertain, hopeful, and concrete of an ending this was)
• BONUS points for how the plot slowly peeled away the complex layers revealing a true gem of a story +0.2

Enjoyment (10%): 4.3

• General Enjoyment: 1.6/2.0
• Personal Preference: 1.8/2.0
• Recommendation: 0.9/1.0

Review: The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thorton Wilder

Why can’t we all appreciate this amazing work? Its so good, its message is despairing and yet many of the characters are so full of hope. Thorton Wilder’s Our Town was one of my favorite works of last year, but I have to say – this one trumps it. The Bridge of San Luis Rey has even replaced The Bluest Eye as my favorite work of 2015 so far.

So What is it About?

“On Friday noon, July the twentieth, 1714, the finest bridge in all Peru broke and precipitated five travelers into the gulf below.”

This monumental and loaded sentence ingites this tale, and the whole narrative ends up revolving around it. On the moment of the bridge’s collapse, Brother Juniper (he is a monk) serves witness, and becomes empowered by his religious zeal to discover why those five were the ones killed in this “act of God”. Yes, this book does have religion in it, but its not in the usual way. On his journey of discovery, Brother Juniper finds that not only is there no logical reason, religious or moral, for why these five were killed, other than by chance, and that perhaps we are more powerless than we would like to believe.

The Futility of Life

When we go about our daily lives, we pay little attention to whether or not we really have the power to make decisions for ourselves. The structure of the novel is split so that we follow the lives of the 5 victims, and through their tales, we discover how they found their futility. In the first, we realize the futility of religion and relationships, and in the second, of loyalty and the love of life. In the final, we learn of the futility of our actions to impact our dreams and asprirations. Each of the characters is on a journey, and while some have realized more of their desires than others, all of their lives are filled with regrets and a sense of aimless drifting. They feel as if they are independent when they make their decisions, but in the grander scheme of things, everything they do fits into place with the whole picture. This brings up questions of why we do certain things, and really whether what we do affects the final outcome – in this case, their death. We begin to realize that if there is a righteous deity out there, then there would have been better people to dispose of – people morally, socially, and technically inferior to the unfortunate five. But then again, perhaps we cannot see the bigger picture.

Dreamscape of the Unknown

While Thorton Wilder brings up some really difficult questions that no one really likes to answer, he sure makes you want to read about them. His writing and prose in The Bridge of San Luis Rey is a lot better than what it was in Our Town and with some more complicated issues, his execution is definitely what elevates this from an inquiry into the human condition to a timeless tale of love. He never tells us whether we should accept the futility of our lives, nor does he tell us to reject it. He simply brings up the question, and that in of itself is intriguing.

Final Verdict: Love in the Frame

Its got everything – great developed characters, interesting well-incorporated setting, incredible dreamlike writing, and a unique intertwining story. So what is stopping this from becoming the perfect novel? Just a few things – not all parts of the book were equal, and the pacing was slightly awkward in the beginning and the end. But does that really matter? Its message brings up more questions than it answers, and none of those questions have easy resolutions. Its full of despair, but at the same time brimming with the infinite potential of the human species. From the fantastic beginning to the contemplative ending, we see a transition from the physical world into the metaphysical. Wilder deconstructs our reality, and reuses the materials to create something much more filling, and much more inspiring.

Overall: A (92.4/100) OR 4.62/5 Stars

Character/Setting (30%): 4.6

• Brother Juniper: 0.3/0.5
• Rest of the Cast: 1.75/2.0 (BONUS +0.3 for how well they meshed)
• Setting: 2.05/2.5 (BONUS FOR ITS TRANSCENDING QUALITIES OF +0.2)

Writing (35%): 4.7

• Style: 1.9/2.0
• Flow: 1.85/2.0
• Consistency: 0.95/1.0

Plot (25%): 4.5

• Introduction: 0.4/0.5
• The Marquesa de Montemayor: 1.45/1.5
• Esteban: 0.85/1.0
• Uncle Pio: 0.85/1.0
• Perhaps an Intention: 0.95/1.0

Enjoyment (10%): 4.7

• General Enjoyment: 1.8/2.0
• Personal Preference: 1.95/2.0
• Recommendation: 0.95/1.0

Review: Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

I feel like I need to read it again.

Waiting For Godot is something that I believe one needs to read if only to go through the circular nature of the piece and the interesting thoughts it has on the lackadaisical nature of humanity. You don’t even really have to understand what is going on, although that does help. Personally, minimalism is not something that I relate to, though I do like postmodern works (is that contradictory?), and this work is both of those. Meaning I really liked some aspects of it, but I was not on board for others.

Characters?

Vladimir and Estragon^^^

The first thing one has to realize going into this work is that the two main leads – Vladimir and Estragon – are extremely difficult to tell apart, and it can be a bit bothersome when you have to constantly reference the margin to see who is the speaker. With that in mind, there is something very interesting about them – by the end, it is realized that they are interchangeable, a fact that is constantly emphasized throughout the writing. This is achieved from the way they repeat certain lines, and how they sometimes even trade them. Another interesting aspect is how they cannot live without another – Vladimir says that Estragon cannot leave because he needs the former to protect him. However, there are instances where Vladimir is the one that needs Estragon’s help. In such a way, they share a constantly switching interdependent relationship.

On the other hand, the other characters (only 3 more appear) are pretty distinguishable, if not by their actions, then by their tendencies of speech. The boy is spare, and fairly polite, Pozzo is more talkative, and Lucky either doesn’t talk or goes into long contradictory rambling monologues.

Pozzo and Lucky

Beckett’s Language

Another thing one has to realize is that Waiting for Godot was initially written in French, and translated to English. Because of this, there may be some loss in translation, but nothing major. The strength, in my opinion, of the writing is how it can be morphed and altered with fluidity, a feat only capable of a master. This fluidity has a great impact on the effectiveness of the characters, and also the general feeling of the show. The actual style and flow aren’t of the same substance of the writing that I like such as Nabokov’s, but is excellent nevertheless.  Some may feel it is plain, but that is the beauty of minimalism – it is up to the reader to individualistically interpret the subtle nuances of the twists and contexts of words. As a result, how one feels about Waiting For Godot is directly related to how much one pays attention, though that begs the question:

Snooze fest or Masterclass?

First of, let me just say that Waiting For Godot has to be read without the expectation of an exciting plot or interesting occurrences, because at its heart, it is about the circuitous and unchanging nature of humans. On the other hand, it is filled with little devices that begged to be picked apart, and as a result, is probably something that is good for longer term study and analysis. Beckett had a message to convey, and it is ultimately up to the reader whether they wish to hear it or not. I personally thought it was a snooze fest at first, but once Lucky and Pozzo were introduced, I began to see the inner workings and slowly learned to appreciate it.

Final Verdict

Waiting for Godot is something that almost needs to be analyzed, and to be looked at with an inner eye. Its not flashy, nor does it want to be. It rarely seeks to impress, instead forcing the reader to invest in it. While not one of my own favorites, I hold the opinion that it is something that should be read because it could tell you more about yourself than you would like to admit.

Overall: B+ (84.1/100) OR 4.205/5 Stars

Character/Setting (30%): 4.1

• Vladimir and Estragon: 1.2/1.5 (+0.1 BONUS for interchangeability)
• Lucky, Pozzo, the Boy: 0.7/1.0
• Setting: 2.1/2.5

Writing (35%): 4.4

• Flow: 1.7/2.0
• Style: 1.75/2.0
• Consistency and Meshness: 0.95/1.0

Plot (25%): 4.3

• Overall Story: 1.7/2.0
• Structure: 1.85/2.0
• Plot: 0.55/1.0 (Parallel BONUS + 0.2)

Enjoyment (10%): 3.6

• General Enjoyment: 1.2/2.0
• Personal Preference: 1.55/2.0
• Recommendation: 0.85/1.0

I feel like I need to read it again.

Review: The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Short stories still haven’t grabbed me in the way that I had previously hoped. I have tried short stories from a lot of my favorite writers such as Nabokov, but I still have yet to find one that I have genuinely cherished. Perhaps there is an issue with how the character development and world building is accomplished – I have never found a short story that excels in both. Writing in short stories are usually decent, but if I am not attached to the story or the actions of the characters, then it already holds less meaning for me.

With that said, The Yellow Wallpaper was probably one of the better short stories I have read. Gilman’s writing was good, though it lacked a particularly distinct style, and some parts of it were a bit confusing. Overall, I would still recommend one check it out, though probably not of the utmost urgency.

The Narrator and the Yellow Wallpaper

I will be brief since I don’t want to spoil it, but basically our narrator is writing to us in the form of a diary or journal without headings or dates included. She is the wife of a doctor, and feels that she is ill, though her husband sees otherwise. At the beginning of the story, they are on a 3-month vacation, and when they arrive at their rented estate, they are surprised at what they got for the price that they paid. In the end, they end up residing in the attic.

So that is the basic set-up, which is somewhat standard for shorter fiction, but then Gilman introduces this “yellow wallpaper”, and this is where things start getting interesting. The wallpaper isn’t strictly yellow, but rather a multitude of different hues and shades. The main thing is that it drives the narrator crazy. She can’t stand it, and soon emotions regarding it begin to clash. I will not say any more, but if that hooks up, then I would go check it out.

Themes

The Yellow Wallpaper does address some themes, but most are up for individual interpretation. One recurring theme regarded how marriage trapped women and essentially cut off their voice of free speech. Throughout the story, the narrator tries to speak up, but each time she is either ignored or not taken seriously. Ironically, it is her husband that does this the most, and the eponymous yellow wallpaper becomes a playground for the narrator to be herself (and really, the only place she is allowed). By the end, the yellow wallpaper that served as a “cage” becomes her “liberation”.

Final Verdict

Yeah, so since this one is going to be short, I will be brief. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. I had read it because I had heard about how good it was, but let me just say don’t go into it expecting something completely new and different. Because you might not get that, depending on what you have read before. Personally, I will probably never read it again, but then again, it certainly is short, and interesting in some concepts that it explores.

Overall: C+ (71.8/100) OR 3.59/5 Stars

Character/Setting (30%): 3.2

• Narrator: 1.45/2.0
• Rest of the Cast: 0.2/0.5
• Setting: 1.55/2.5
• BONUS POINTS FOR THE NAMESAKE YELLOW WALLPAPER +0.3

Writing (35%): 3.8

• Style: 1.35/2.0
• Flow: 1.6/2.0
• Consistency: 0.85/1.0

Plot (25%): 3.8

• Exposition: 0.7/1.0
• Rising Action: 0.75/1.0
• Climax: 0.8/1.0
• Falling Action: 0.75/1.0
• Resolution: 0.8/1.0

Enjoyment (10%): 3.5

• General Enjoyment: 1.5/2.0
• Personal Preference: 1.3/2.0
• Recommendation: 0.7/1.0