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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Measured, some beauteous descriptions of beauty, amusing and easy to read. I can't say I was ever impressed . . . but Billy Ray Cyrus much to think about.jpg
I honestly have no clue how to rate this. The religious themes and tension is really interesting. I really liked the prose, it was simultaneously cold/disconnected and incredibly descriptive. I didn't really know much going into this book so the journey it took was surprising to me. The MC is a totally jerk, especially by the end, but everyone is entertaining enough that it's bearable.
emotional
reflective
sad
AUDREY'S ONE-SENTENCE BOOK REVIEWS
Waugh pits the stifling values of Catholicism and English aristocracy against bisexual bohemian whimsy; love of God and country versus love for beauty and life. The author seems to think he has written the triumph of Catholicism. I, the reader, and therefore the deciding party on the matter, disagree.
Waugh pits the stifling values of Catholicism and English aristocracy against bisexual bohemian whimsy; love of God and country versus love for beauty and life. The author seems to think he has written the triumph of Catholicism. I, the reader, and therefore the deciding party on the matter, disagree.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow! From almost the very beginning I knew this was going to be a favorite of the year. The prose is absolutely beautifully written. The relationships are complex and despite being a book written on reminiscing past memories, so much of Charles' past is revealed and we as the reader get to watch him and those around him grow and change. A great story on reminiscing on a seemingly idealistic past that contains a melancholic cloud. A exceptional book that reflects the innocence and freedom of youth and the path to adulthood.
Spoiler
The love that Charles feels for both Julia and Sebastian and the focus on both of the relationships show the various forms of love and affection one can feel for others. Julia and Sebastian are much like many siblings; they are quite different from one another; lack a great relationship, but there exists a common thread of a sad cloud surrounding them which extends from their family background.
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
(3.75) Due to a comedy of errors on my part, that I won't get into, I had no idea what I was getting into when I picked this one up and at first I was like, "eeeeh" but then we get to the messy ass Flyte family and I was like, "oh okay, these are my people". It was compulsively readable because I really just wanted to know what all of the fuss was about.
-Charlie and Sebastian's relationship was...*cough* interesting *stage whispers * they was fucking and you can't tell me otherwise which also impacted Charlie's relationship with Julie *stage whispers* they was fucking because S wasn't around anymore so this was the next best thing for Charlie...Julia was the runner up in the parlance of the novel .
-I thought of the movie Saltburn A LOT while reading this (especially the back half). Saltburn is like BR taken to the extreme.
-There were so really beautiful passage in this one ("Living in sin, with sin, always the same, like an idiot child carefully nursed, guarded from the world. 'Poor Julia,'' they say, 'she can't go out. She's got to take care of her sin. A pity it ever lived,' they say, 'but it's so strong. Children like that always are. Julia's so good to her little, mad sin'"). Lovely. And shout out to our problematic princess, Julia.
-Speak of sin, I completely missed the religious undertones in the first half of the book but it really ramps up in the second half and I had a moment of realization that it had been lurking there in the shadows the entire time.
-Jeremy Irons did the audiobook and it was just as good as you would expect it to be.
This came out of nowhere and was really delightful.
-Charlie and Sebastian's relationship was...*cough* interesting *stage whispers *
-I thought of the movie Saltburn A LOT while reading this (especially the back half). Saltburn is like BR taken to the extreme.
-There were so really beautiful passage in this one ("Living in sin, with sin, always the same, like an idiot child carefully nursed, guarded from the world. 'Poor Julia,'' they say, 'she can't go out. She's got to take care of her sin. A pity it ever lived,' they say, 'but it's so strong. Children like that always are. Julia's so good to her little, mad sin'"). Lovely. And shout out to our problematic princess, Julia.
-Speak of sin, I completely missed the religious undertones in the first half of the book but it really ramps up in the second half and I had a moment of realization that it had been lurking there in the shadows the entire time.
-Jeremy Irons did the audiobook and it was just as good as you would expect it to be.
This came out of nowhere and was really delightful.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Beautifully written, but tedious and sad.
the prologue felt like the beginning of a war novel while the first part had me guessing whether this would be to similar to ripley for me to enjoy, it is neither. tied to its setting the novel is a depiction of british aristocracy between ww1 and ww2 and the imposters, academics, artists and servants that operate in its cycles. charles ryder, upper middle class college student (semi self insert of the author), is infatuated with an old aristocratic family, the flytes, at first with sebastian, a fellow student, the youngest son and a rake who's life becomes increasingly tragic, then bit by bit with the whole family caring for and dealing with sebastian. throughout his life ryder aims to flee the sterility of his family and acquaintances by latching on to the flytes. gradually he is forced to recognize that their very own way of magical thinking resulting in a complex family mythology will be the object of his studies but never really open up to him assigning the role of a graced spectator he at times eagerly, at times defeatedly assumes.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hate to hate it, expected to love it from the synopsis, but it was so boring. AND evelyn is a man, which was devastating to find out