Honest Book Reviews!

The Way It Is by Shirani Rajapakse My rating: 4 of 5 stars *I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.* The Book ‘The Way It Is’, is about a poetry collection ranging from politics and racism to war and death. Even though the poems don't rhyme most of the time, it still has a great flow while reading. I really liked about this book how wide ranging the topics were in it. After reading about war, I was reading about how woman dress and misogyny and then after that about slavery. Poems express so much more than outspoken words ever can and Shirani Rajapakse kept me intrigued with her poetry collection till the end. While reading I felt that these poems felt extremely personal and heartbreaking for me. The way the words were chosen for each poem, made me feel heard and understood, as I express the same feelings to certain topics that were covered in this collection. The poems were also not overly complicate...

Lord of the Flies by William Golding My rating: 3 of 5 stars Summary of my review Inspired by 'The Coral Island', great use of symbolics and methapors, insightful and brutal, unlogical and unrealistic aspects ‘There aren’t any grown-ups. We shall have to look after ourselves.’ - Ralph If you leave kids alone, stranded on an Island without any adult to supervise them, what do you think would happen? That's what this book is about, perhaps not original as Lord of the Flies was inspired by a different story which was similar to this one here (‘The Coral Island’), but still a story which gained lots of popularity and a fan base. When I finished the book I asked myself the question: Why or how is it so special from the other ones, if it wasn't the first? I honestly can't answer the question as I never read 'The Coral Island' or a similar story, but I'm also not sure if it is really that special. I had a hard time to get use...

A Nervous Breakdown by Anton Chekhov My rating: 4 of 5 stars Even though I expected to see a nervous breakdown and that was truly the only reason for my interest in this book, I was surprisingly impressed to get more out of it. Since the description isn't telling anything about the story of this book I will add one here: The short story 'A Nervous Breakdown' is about 3 students who visit a brothel. The philosophical meaning behind this book is about the question: “Is prostitution an evil or not?” I was admiring Vassilyev (the law student) so much! He showed respect towards women, which most men don't unfortunately. There were so many moments he just spoke facts and I was like: Yes, yes, yes! “Don’t you dare to hit the women! I won’t let you, damnation take you! You scoundrels!” I think the meaning behind this book is certainly important. Therefore I'm wondering why it isn't that popular. I belive that this book is quite straig...

The Giver by Lois Lowry My rating: 3 of 5 stars Summary of my review Great writing style. The Giver and the Receiver bonded in a very beautiful way. There were some shocking moemnts and I liked how I was able to feel sad for the Giver when I realised many things while reading. Unfortunately, the execution of the concept behind this book wasn't as well done as I hoped for it. The ending felt rushed, the plot twists were hinted on way too early before they were revealed and the whole story lacked depth, which a dystopian and meaningful story needs. The Review The Giver is about a society that has strict rules and prefers 'sameness' over 'difference' and 'change'. Everything needs to be the same and everything gets assigned to you. Your professon, love interested even your children gets assigned to you. There is no freedom of choice as there is also no freedom of expression. Jonas receives memories from the Giver that no one ...

The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde My rating: 4 of 5 stars Short summary of my review The Picture of Dorian Gray is a great read for anyone who believes to like stories about the soul and body and how easily it can get influenced or 'stained'. The character development for me in this book took me by surprise as I didn't expect it to turn out in the way it did. A few chapters before the ending was a tense moment, which felt like a great plot twist as I didn't expect the things that happened there. Despite Dorian Gray appearing to be smart and proofing it multiple times, he did some fatal mistakes that could have ended very badly for him. So, it left me confused as to why he was rewarded with luck, for his not well-thought-out plan. Disclaimer I read the original edition, which is the uncensored version of The Picture of Dorian Gray. Note The following review is spoiler free, which misses a few aspects. If you want to ...