sophiefreeman's reviews
214 reviews

The Pendragon Legend by Antal Szerb

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

The Memorial by Christopher Isherwood

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challenging reflective slow-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

Isherwood structures this novel in chapters, switching perspective each time to give the reader a broad understanding of the social dynamics at play. I particularly enjoyed reinterpreting characters as more information was revealed about them. You do have to concentrate on this book because it often changes perspective and time period, and also there is a large cast of characters to remember who are all interconnected. If you enjoyed Isherwood's other novels, or books by Jane Austen, E.M. Forster e.g., I recommend picking this one up, despite it not being his most accomplished novel. My only problem with this book is that I don't know what Isherwood wants the reader to take away from the novel, and the blurb on my edition doesn't help. Apparently this book was written to explore the grief he felt when his father died during the war - which does make a level of sense to me. Definitely a no plot just vibes kind of story, but do check content warnings.

Content Warnings

Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

If you were disappointed by My Policeman I would recommend this book as an alternative. It is much more complex and the prose is beautiful. A bittersweet story of love and life in 50s America.

Content Warnings

Tove Jansson: Work and Love by Tuula Karjalainen

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slow-paced

3.5

Obviously a lot of research has gone into this book and it was fascinating to find out about Tove's life. My only complaint would be that the structure wasn't completely chronological and the author kept re-introducing stories and people we had already been introduced to previously. It was a bit confusing at times to create a full timeline of what Tove was up to in each period, although if you are interested in Tove I would still definitely recommend giving this a read.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

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dark mysterious medium-paced