My 2023 Readings - Tumblr Posts
Book Review: The Suicides Club, Robert Louis Stevenson.
To surprise of my forgetful memory, I had already read this short novel, but given that I didn't quite remember the specific details of it, I took great pleasure in reading it again.
The plot is quite simple, really: prince Frorizel of Bohemia is a man quite brave but easily bored, always on the hunt of new adventures. Fortune puts him on the path of a stranger acting extravagantly on the streets of London, gifting people cream cakes or eating them if they refuse it. When asked about his behaviour in private, the man reveals to the prince and his confidant, colonel Geraldine, that he's a member of a private and very secret club, the Suicides Club.
The Club is exactly that: a group of men who want to die but for one reason or another can't muster the will to take their own lives. But the real kick is how they decide who dies next and how they solve the problem of the suicide: homicide at the hands of a fellow member of the club.
I don't want to spoil any further the story, so I will just give a general overview of the structure and what I liked.
This short novel is divided in three chapters, each one from the perspective of a new character. The first, that of Florizel. The other two return eventually to the storyline of the prince, but succeed somehow into generating confussion in the reader about where the story wants to go or why it changed so drastically its perspective.
Given the collection this book is part of, I am a little puzzled at why would someone consider it a Crime and Mystery novel, at least in the traditional sense associated with Sherlock Holmes and Herculè Poirot.
Even more so considering this particular edition of the novel includes another short one: "The Misadventures of John Nicholson". I found it a very funny story on itself, but it stumbled like its main character through the plot without much thought or point to it.
I include the first chapter because it has a stellar hook for a reader, and a translation below:
"John Varey Nicholson — one has to admit it — was what one could call a stupid man; nonetheless, men much stupider than our friend sit today at the Parliament [...] [John was] a creature totally abandoned by the Gods."
Overall, it was a pleasant and rather quick read, but not one I'll think much about in the future.
Again, I apologize for any crude error in my writing, I'm trying to practice more my English skills and this proves a helpful challenge.
My other readings of 2023.
What are you currently reading? :)
I'm reading the third book of Philip K Dick's complete works :)
This one is called "The Father-Thing", I read that one short story already, didn't stand out much, but I really liked "The Hangman" and "Some peculiar things about the eyes" (a funny observation about some linguistic expressions)
Book Review: The Invisible Man, H. G. Wells
My review in a Tweet:
"Would men turn evil if they were free from society?" is a frequent question in fiction and phylosophy in general, and while it's present in this book, it has been exaggerated on literary analysis that followed it. Overall, an interesting read with a very dull middle part.
Complete Review:
I decided to pause my other readings to dive into special thematic books for Halloween, while also complementing the nights I watch movie classics. So, for the first special review, I chose "The Invisible Man", by Herbert George Wells.
Years ago, I read "The Time Machine" by the same author, and it left a good impression of his writing skills. This time, while it wasn't bad, I'd say it left me a little unimpressed. The prose and descriptions, like the dialogues, were precise and well written but a bit dense. Wells would go over too many details, and although it's probably a common product of its time, it lacks a more deep or meaningful story.
The book it's divided in chapters, but I think the plot it's separated in four parts:
The arrival of the Invisible Man to a small town, his secret protected by the costume he wears.
The reveal of the secret and the following chaos.
The origin of the Invisible Man, told by himself to an old friend he runs into.
The manhunt of the Invisible Man.
The first part it's quite interesting as a reader, because we know what his secret is, so it's fun to read the guesses of the townspeople and the "mysterious events" that surround the stranger.
The second part is also fun, because of the paranoia and desbelief that the reveal of the Invisible Man provokes.
This third part, his backstory, the one I was most eager to read about (driven by the curiosity of getting to know how would the author explain or justify Griffins' invisibility) turned out to be so dull and slow. The proccess is a bit uninteresting (applying the refracting properties of an object to another thanks to a machine barely described), but the tedious first days of Griffin as an invisible man and his laments for all the unfortunate stuff that happens to him because no one can notice him is so... unsufferable. Specially because H.G. Wells decides to describe a lot the most boring stuff. We barely get to see a truly evil Invisible Man.
He does tell to his old friend that he needs an accomplice to declare his Reign of Terror, but by the time we reach this point, we have 10% or 15% of the book left, so the last part is mostly his friends saying No to him and helping the local police capture him (because the narration of his first days invisible gave him the information he needed). Griffin kills a man and injuries badly a few more men, but besides that and stealing money and food, he's no more evil than any person left behind by society.
So maybe, another possible interpretation to this story is not "Do men turn evil when free from society's watchful eye?" but rather "Men will do what they must to survive in a society that won't notice (help) them". Then, maybe, after a life like that, they will grow resentful and bitter like Griffin.
Score: 6.5/10.
My other 2023 readings.
Book Review: The Father Thing, Philip K. Dick
My Review in a Tweet:
In retrospective, I felt like I read it more like a chore, trying to read all five volumes this year. It has some good stories that left me thinking about the implicancies, but it was mostly filled with basic or uninteresting science fiction stories.
Complete Commentary:
I'm back! I just finished the third volume of Philip K. Dick's short stories, "The Father-Thing". I have to say, from the get-go, that it was probably the weakest one so far, with lower lows and not so great highs.
The more frequent topics and themes on this anthology are:
Ideologies and their radical extremes: from absolute polarization of society to political opinions taken to their most extreme realization, the author critizices and explores different ideas of his time, some of them being direct comments on recent publications.
Humanity and evolution: what will it be of humans in the future? The fate Philip K Dick envisions for us is rather dark or depressive in most of his stories.
Technology and humanity as a trait: Our relationship with technology is an evergreen topic in science-fiction, but in this anthology, it has a withered quality.
Clash of civilizations and classes
I'll make a short commentary for every short story, already ranking them from the one I liked the most to the one I liked the least:
Upon the Dull Earth: I realized while ordering up the stories that this was the one I liked the most and not the next one on the list. It feels more like a fantasy short story, but the ending is closer to a (cosmic?) horror tale.
The Golden Man: fantastic pace, fantastic ending.
Shell Game: the absolute paranoia of this colony and the TWIST. Loved it.
Sales Pitch: PKD said many people didn't like this story's ending and that he agreed with them. I disagree with both, the ending is great, but maybe because we like more cynical stories nowadays.
The Hanging Stranger: I love the ending, more themes of paranoia.
The Last of the Masters: it's unusual to read about anarchy, but it was very interesting, specially on the efforts to preserve some kind of hierarchy and burocracy.
Foster, You're Dead!: amazing satire, still relevant today.
War Veteran: I would really like to see this story adapted in a movie or series, it has great potential as a political intrigue/thriller.
A World of Talent: I rank it this high because of how convoluted and complicated the mutants' powers were. The plot itself dragged a bit too much.
Strange Eden: I like the ethereal feel of the story and the kind of "cautious tale" of the ending.
To Serve the Master
Fair Game
Pay for the Printer: I feel like we are headed this way with automated production and the lack of appreciation for manual crafts.
The Turning Wheel
Tony and the Beetles: relevant in today's political landscape.
Exhibit Piece: I despise the nostalgic feeling present in science fiction stories that imagine such a disastrous future that anything is preferred than that present, even flawed pasts. Even then, it's well narrated.
Null-O.
The Chromium Fence: I liked this satire as a valid commentary on today's need to always "pick a side", how pointing out valid critics to either viewpoint is considered as expressing symphaty for the other one. I disliked the ending, it felt like an easy way out.
The Eyes Have It: I liked it because it was fun, but I put it lower on the list because it feels very out of place in this anthology.
The Father-Thing: I liked better the author's explanation of this story, not the story itself.
Psi-man Heal My Child!: after reading A World of Talent, it felt very repetitive and unnecessarily complicated.
The Crawlers: pretty uninteresting.
Overall, I would give this book a:
6/10.
My other 2023 readings.
Since we are nearing the end of the year, I want to start organizing my readings for 2024. I'll post one more review for sure for a comic book I read last week, and maybe two more from books I'm finishing this week.
(My three last books of the year probably)
So, my goals for next year are both broaden the type of books I read and practice more reading in foreign languages.
Send me a book you like and I'll consider it for my 2024 readings.
You get a prize if you also tell me why you like it (?
Book Review: Ultimate X-Men, Mark Millar, Adam and Andy Kubert.
My Review in a Tweet:
I like how corny Marvel comics are. Being so cuddled by the MCU, it felt refreshing to see many characters just existing there and moving the plot by acting rather than being, like they didn't need to justify their existence for a greater plot and could just inhabit the universe.
Full Review:
Being primarily an MCU enjoyer (I wouldn´t call myself a fan now), seeing the plot of the Sentinels as the first thing in this comic book was jarring, as I was expecting a more introductory story before anything like that. It is an early story anyway, as the X-Men as a group are barely getting started in Men of Tomorrow. Scott Summers/Cyclops serves as the founding leader of the team under the tutelage of Charles Xavier as a group of mutants who seek to discourage the U.S. Government from implementing the Sentinels program, protect other mutants and impede Magento from recruiting them to his side.
The hard-cover book includes a second story arc, Return to X-Weapon, where Wolverine takes center stage and fights to rescue his newfound team after nearly betraying them in the previous story.
I rescued that panel in particular because it was hilarious to me for some reason (Quicksilver complains to Scarlet Witch that Magneto said that his superspeed mutation was effeminate).
Both story arcs were neatly written, with not much time to spare on developing the mutants, but maybe it's commonplace on issues dedicated to a team rather than to an specific character. Magneto and Xavier, as well as Wraith, have their time to shine and expose their views. I was delighted to see Nightcrawler on this, so half an extra point for that.
Overall, an amicable reading, not too deep, fun for moments. The artstyle is a bit underwhelming and there aren't many interesting compositions, but besides that, enjoyable.
6.5/10.
My Other 2023 Readings.
Book Review: The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss
My Review in a Tweet:
I haven't been this enraptured, this mesmerized, this captivated by a book in years, and I don't say that lightly. It's great on every aspect you could think of, and then some other you couldn't even conjure. Can't believe I neglected it for so long. Highly recommended if you like fantasty of any kind.
My Full Review:
I had it sitting on my bookshelves for months before I decided to start reading this book. It felt menacing, despite it being the pocket edition. The sheer volume, the brickness of it felt like a challenge I hadn't the courage to face.
But once I did, I realized the real danger was being unable to let it go: I was prisoner of the author, being held by his marvelous ability to thread the story of Kvothe in seamless chapters, that natural the flow of the story felt, you couldn't even tell where he jumped from present to past and back.
The vivid images still dance in my mind hours after I finished reading the book. I rushed past the other reviews I had pending so I could write this one because I neded to talk about it. My copy of the book was a present from a friend so I texted her inmediately, but that didn't suffice, I had to write longer than all caps screaming to each other.
The rich world the author builds feels vast and mysterious, with a lot of hidden things lurking just beneaht the surface waiting for both the writer and the reader to discover them. I really hope (haven't looked it up yet) that there are books in the vein of the Silmarillion and Tom Bombadil where the myths and tales of this universe are further expanded.
The prose of Rothfuss is so elegant, filled with clever descriptions and unexpected analogies that not even the most fictitious elements of his story remain ungraspable to the reader.
The characters are so diverse and interesting: each and every one of them leaves a perdurable memory, no matter how brief and casual their impact and presence on the story is.
Kvothe is our main character, but he gets to be a narrator of his own story whenever we dive into his past, becoming a somewhat unreliable narrator. The whole book feels like that: we as readers submerging in the story narrated by Kvothe himself, gasping for air during the interlusions where the omniscient narrator takes the job back to move the story in the present time.
A wonderful work of worldbuilding, characterization and narration only hindered by the bittersweet taste of finishing the book eager for more. I hope to get my hands on the sequel soon, but I probably should let this world rest a little before diving in it again.
9/10.
My other 2023 Readings.
Book Review: Historias de Cronopios y de Famas, Julio Cortázar
My Review in a Tweet:
Imagine you get a box filled with puzzle pieces, but they are all from different puzzles. You may see a familiar figure here, another face there, but no matter how you try to arrange the pieces together, you are sure it's not the meant image. Reading this book is like that.
My Full Review:
I became aware yesterday of my inappropriate lack of Argentinean authors in my reading list this year, and trying to mend that a little, I found this little book in a bookshelf while visiting my parents for the holidays.
While quite short, this book reminded me how much I ignore. I felt in a clear cultural disadvantage, where Cortázar (who some people may call the greatest Argentinean author) was playing a joke at my expense. I don't say this negatively.
Historias de Cronopios y de Famas is a collection of short stories, vague poems and... Nonsense. That's when the ignorance I felt started to creep in. I'm not sure of the exact literary current Cortázar belongs to, but this book read to me like an absurdist ramble without crossing over to dadaism.
I tend to believe that there are some clear themes of social and economic classes coating the short stories of the Cronopios, the Famas and the Hopes: they work as fictional and bizarre versions of Argentina's middle-to-low, high and (cultural) elite class respectively (I'm not sure about the Hopes). Cronopios are despised and treated condescendingly by the Famas, mocking their behavior and traditions, all too jovial and effusive and lazy; the Famas think too high of themselves and tend to use and abuse the other two; the Hopes seem to be trapped in an academic gasp, stunned by the lack of refinement of the Cronopios.
Even the short stories not directly related to the Cronopios and Famas act as a display of Argentina's idiosyncrasy, helped by the explicit mention of some elements, some places of this country (and more specifically, from Gran Buenos Aires).
But you have to remember that none of the stories really make sense. They are almost poetical, oneirical, nearing the realm of magical realism, very popular in Latin America.
The narration and writing themselves demand a lot of the reader's attention and time, forcing them to engage with the book to find some sense.
Again, I say all of this in a positive light: it's a challenging book in almost a literal sense, it presents itself innocently, like a bunch of nonsense, but soon you start to feel like there's something more underneath, like if under this outer coat of surrealistic and abstract tales laid a more tangible and grounded coat of the same color, merely a different tone but same color nonetheless.
I'm not sure how well this book would be received by non-argentinian or non-spanish speaking persons, but it's a good book anyways.
7,5/10.
My Other 2023 Readings.
Book Review: El Juguete Rabioso, Roberto Arlt
My Review in a Tweet:
It felt like reading The Catcher in the Rye but from Argentina, tinged with the economic and social issues of the early 20th century. Silvio Astier is a boy too old to be called a man and a man too young to be called a boy (no mistake made there).
My Full Review:
I read this book because of a sack of small reasons: it was short, I was one book shy from 30 in 2023, I wanted another argentinean author on my list and I had a physical copy of it.
El Juguete Rabioso (literally: The Rabid Toy) is the first novel of Roberto Arlt and, according to the copy I read, one of the founding books of the modern novel in our country. Commonly given as a mandatory reading in high school, I often saw this book here and there, postponing it indefinitively.
Now that I have finally read it, I think Arlt's place in our literary pantheon of writers is rightfully earned. The short novel is a quick glimpse into the life of Silvio Drodman Astier, a poor young boy from Buenos Aires, living in Floresta (at least from the second part on), fighting to stay out of the street and help his mother and sister.
The problem is, Silvio is too smart, too culturally cultivated for any of the jobs he can get as a poor boy from Floresta. He struggles with a feeling of entitlement to a better life in contrast with a sense of defeat while facing the circunstances he lives in.
The novel is carefully written, with a mix of refined language and old local slang that reflects on the dual nature of the character: a street rat at worst, a curious and smart young man at best.
His inner monologues are some of the best and most interesting parts, as his feelings of guilt, resentment and fear clash against each other.
The secondary characters function as common figures of Argentina's society from the early 20th century, when inmigration and poverty were high and people struggled to stay afloat. Their jobs, their cultural background, their relationships with one another highlight Silvio's own characteristics.
7/10.
My Other 2023 Readings.
And with those two last books/reviews, I finish this year's reading list. 30 books doesn't sound bad at all, I hope I can read that many and maybe some more next year!
📚 Mis lecturas del 2023 📚
¡Hola!
Lo venía haciendo en Twitter y decidí darle un mejor formato y mayor espacio, así que acá están mis lecturas de este año, en el orden en que fui terminando los libros.
Algunos los arranqué antes pero los pausé y continué con otro. Están clasificados y ordenados según la fecha en la que los terminé.
Enero:
Le Guin, Úrsula K. (1976) El Nombre del Mundo es Bosque. Editorial Minotauro
Albertalli, B. y Silvera, A. (2018) What if it's us
Klune, T. J. (2020) The House in the Cerulean Sea
Klune, T. J. (2020-2022) The Extraordinaries, Flash Fire, Heat Wave
Febrero/Marzo:
Continué lecturas, pero no terminé ningún libro, estaba preparando finales.
Abril:
Hall, Alexis (2020) Boyfriend Material
Doyle, Arthur C. (1902) El Sabueso de los Baskerville. Editorial Salvat.
Dick, Philip K. (1988) Cuentos Completos I: Aquí Yace el Wub
Hall, Alexis (2022) Husband Material
Mayo:
Marcos, Álvaro (2021) El Mago Merlín y el Poder del Dragón
Hall, Alexis (2022) Paris Daillencourt is about to Crumble
El-Motar, Amar, Gladstone, Max (2019) This is How you Lose the Time War
Miller, F., Janson, K., Varley, L. (1986) Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Editorial OVNI.
Lewis, R., Mazzuchelli, D., Miller, F. (1988) Batman: Año Uno. Editorial OVNI.
LeBlanc, Maurice (1907) Arsène Lupin: Caballero Ladrón. Editorial Salvat.
Junio:
Dick, Philip K. (1989) Cuentos completos II: La Segunda Variedad.
Julio:
Silvera, Adam (2022) The First to Die at the End
Jemas, B., Bendis, B. M., Bagley, M., Thibert, A., Buccellato, S., Javins, M. (2001-2002) Spiderman, Poder y Responsabilidad. Marvel Comics. Editorial Salvat.
Álvaro, Marcos (2021) El Mago Merlín en la Torre Oscura
Agosto:
Machado, Antonio. (1899-1939) Poemas Esenciales. Selección de Jesús García Sánchez. Editorial Salvat.
Septiembre:
Stevenson, Robert Louis (1894) El Club de los Suicidas. Editorial Salvat.
Octubre:
Wells, Herbert George (1897) El Hombre Invisible.
Shelley, Mary (1818) Frankenstein, o el Moderno Prometeo
Capullo, G., Kubert, A., Lee, J., Snyder, S., Romita Jr., J. (2017-2018) Dark Nights: Metal. DC Comics. Editorial OVNIPRESS.
Noviembre:
Dick, Philip K (1989) El Padre-Cosa
Diciembre:
Millar, M. Kubert, A. & A. (2001-2002) Marvel Ultimave: X-Men. Men of Tomorrow. Return to Weapon X. Editorial Salvat.
Rothfuss, P. (2007) The Name of the Wind. DAW Books.
Cortázar, J. (2023) Historias de Cronopios y de Famas. 9a Edición. Buenos Aires, Punto de Lectura Editorial.
Arlt, R. (1926) El Juguete Rabioso. CAPÍTULO Biblioteca Fundamental Argentina. Centro Editor de América Latina.
