Mike > Recent Status Updates

Almost at the end. It feels only mildly conclusive, like Höst wasn't sure if it would be a conclusion or not as she was writing it.

The characters seemed kinda like blank slates at first, but I'm starting to like them a lot better. Particularly Shogo. (And man, that twist involving him was great.) The writing is also getting better - it was blatantly a translation at first, but nothing has stood out as being awkward for a while.

Okay, now it feels like a closing. A bit abrupt, but it's still a pretty nice ending that's taking shape.

I knew this was gonna be bloody. But I didn't know it was gonna be this bloody. This is intense.

This is roughly where the climax should be. So why does this just feel exactly like the rest of the story?

The number of characters that I have to keep track of is steadily decreasing, which is helpful, at least. This is going to be very, very bloody.

Action sequence! And a very realistic one, too.

That was a little infodumpy, and I think I'll have trouble keeping track of all the characters. Still, I'm very excited about the premise.

This is a very realistic portrayal of what it would be like to have psychic powers that you can't control. Cass's guilt at reading Nils's dream was done very well.

This is the part that I really had trouble reading the first time around. It's a little easier this time, but not much.

I don't feel like this is leading up to any particular climax. It feels just like the first two books of the series in that manner.

Well, this is strange. Orwell seemed to have such a good grasp on how societies worked, but now I'm not so sure. O'Brien just seems to be spouting whatever seems the most evil.

Oh, dear. And so it ends. This is gonna be difficult to get through again.

And... things with Alice are getting creepy. Called it! Overall, I think I prefer the short story - this is a little more fleshed-out, but the short story has a better idea of what it's trying to say, and it says it more concisely.

This is really interesting. Höst does a good job of capturing how the kids would think in this situation.

It's really interesting how little understanding Charlie has of people. It really shows the extent of his mental illness. Keyes is really, really good at this.

This part feels really tacked on. Orwell has clearly said what he came to say - there's not much of a point to including this part.

They've been together for, like, 3 weeks, and they already (kinda) have kids. That's impressive.

I feel bad for Norma. I mean, not nearly as bad as I do for Charlie, but growing up with him doesn't seem like fun. It doesn't just benefit him when there's a good education system for the mentally ill - it benefits everyone.

I suspect any papers on this book will be aided heavily by SparkNotes. Why, oh why was this assigned as summer reading?

This would make a good essay. But a good book? I'm not sure - Winston is a pretty bland narrator, and infodumps are abound.

This is fascinating. I like how Cass has subtly become more and more like the Tarens, in how she thinks and acts.

This whole thing with Mrs. Kinnian was a lot less... there in the short story. I feel like it's going to get kinda creepy soon.

As if the language wasn't hard enough, I also had to tolerate a 3-week break. Wonderful. I'm completely lost.

I don't know why, but I really like Ghost. Maybe I just like cats.

Charlie's childhood is sad. Because of course it is.

Ugh, sexism. I like how the protagonist of the story casually lifts a girls skirt without her permission in public, and then less than ten pages later, we find out that the villain of the story sexually harassed students and that makes him evil. Well, so is the protagonist!

I can see why fans thought this was a bit of a step down from the first two books. So much sex! I mean, Cass has been with this guy for two weeks, and they're already getting married and having sex every other chapter. It's really not believable. Still, there are some interesting parts about the book.

Man, this is heartbreaking knowing the ending ahead of time.

Will this be as good as the short story? Well, that might not be possible, but I hope it'll at least be really good.