aclassicalmess's reviews
137 reviews

Daisy Miller and The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I was so excited for The Turn of the Screw but James’s writing style is just so wordy that I struggled to stay focused and get through it.
The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses and the Rise of the Tudors by Dan Jones

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 67%.
I was enjoying this but I’m a little lost in what’s happening and reading it is starting to feel like a chore. Will revisit at some other point in time.
Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair: Dual-Language Edition by Pablo Neruda

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reflective fast-paced

2.25

I have come to realize that maybe Neruda isn’t for me, as a lot of the poems when made my head. But it could also be this translation which when reading the poems already felt pretty bad and it feels nice to see that other people on this app agree with me.
Overall I liked five of the poems within this collection:
1. Body of a woman
5. So that you will hear me
8. White Bee
11. Your Breast is enough
16. In my sky at twilight 

And loved one:
20. Tonight I can write
This one almost almost almost brought me to tears and kind of made reading this collection full of poems that I didn’t like worth it because of how it contained this one.
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 24%.
I still want to read this, as I enjoyed everything I ready but I’m not currently in the right mindspace and I don’t want readers this to start feeling like a chore.
Recitatif by Toni Morrison

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reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

When Mr. Prizada Came to Dine by Jhumpa Lahiri

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Who Will Greet You at Home by Lesley Nneka Arimah

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reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield

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reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

After close reading this text during my second reading I learned to appreciate it a lot more and come to the conclusion it’s actually really brilliant. Going from 2 stars to 4 stars.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.
The Awakening by Kate Chopin

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reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

She began to look with her own eyes, to see and to apprehend the deeper undercurrents of life.