I usually read anything anyone suggests to me, which is how I came to read Story of O.
This is an erotic novel about a young woman's journe...moreI usually read anything anyone suggests to me, which is how I came to read Story of O.
This is an erotic novel about a young woman's journey into the BDSM lifestyle. While this is not a lifestyle choice for me, I am curious as to why others participate in it, so I hoped this book might give me some insight.
Unfortunately this book did as poor a job of shedding light on the motivations of that lifestyle as it did in creating believable characters. The latter was what really killed the book for me, none of the characters were believable, and I was actually left disliking the protagonist, O.
The content of the book was far from erotic, and the tortures experienced by O were grossly shocking, at times it more felt as if I was reading a gore-filled horror book.
I kept on reading the book with the hope that it would conclude with some great revelation where everything became clear. I was sorely disappointed here because the book isn't even finished. It concludes with barely a paragraph of notes on two possible endings of the book.
The first novel I've given a thumbs down to.(less)
While not a total stranger to the cyberpunk genre thanks to film, Neuromancer was the first cyberpunk book I have read.
Having only just re...moreWhile not a total stranger to the cyberpunk genre thanks to film, Neuromancer was the first cyberpunk book I have read.
Having only just read it in 2009, the abstract notion of jacking in to the matrix (i.e. internet) does not seem as far fetched to me as it must have done when the book was originally written.
Through many parts of the book I felt as if I was loosing track of what was going on. Although, I think this is partly intentional, as Gibson expertly crafts his words so that you feel as if you are in a dream like state. It is no coincidence seeing as how the main character, Chase, often takes drugs, and is the cowboy who jacks his mind into the matrix throughout the book. The descriptions of Chase's experiences while jacked in to the matrix are well described, which is helped by the use of primitive shapes and colours. The most trippy parts of the book are when Chase's time on the matrix are interrupted by a powerful artificial intelligence called Wintermute. These are very much like dream scenes, and they are not always explicitly announced in the text. Therefore, as the reader, you will find yourself trying to discern reality from virtual reality.
Most of the way through the book, besides the futuristic setting, the book looks like it will be about a criminal plot, which is in contrast to the book's esoteric undertones of virtual and altered realities. However, you'll find later in the book that something equally abstract is orchestrating all of the real world events. Which in itself I think blurs the conceptual lines between the real world and the on-line world.
Twenty five years after it was written, this is still a relevant and engaging book.(less)
The book does finally come together in what I can only describe (without spoiling) as a hear...moreThe Idiot is a book you can loose yourself in.
The book does finally come together in what I can only describe (without spoiling) as a heartfelt conclusion. However, the bulk of the book follows a loose pattern of plot movements, almost meaningless meandering, and profound philosophical observations about life and the human condition. It was the latter, even more than the plot, that kept me reading this book. It was so striking to me how these observations (which I understand to have contributed to the creation of the existentialist movement) are as valid today as they presumably were when they were written at the end of the 19th century.
The main character, The Prince, is the subject of the book's title. People refer to him as an idiot because of his epilepsy. Although, it is evident that he is far from an idiot, and many characters in the book realise this too. However, he is perhaps still worthy of the title as, he is pure in spirit to the point of naivety, for which I had a great deal of sympathy. Kudos to Dostoevsky for making such a straight laced good guy someone who you want to keep reading about!.(less)
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