A Poised Quill: 3.8 stars

Showing posts with label 3.8 stars. Show all posts

Review: Pachinko

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This review is also found on Goodreads! :)
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Actual Rating: 3.8 stars
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To be honest, I dived into this book with the wrong mindset. During the first book, I was waiting for a noble and heroic twist to the story--something loud, grand, and thundering. Gradually, I realized this isn't always played out as such in real life. It’s usually a steady progress and manifolds from generation to generation. It's probably the reason why I didn't shed any tear on any tragedy the characters went through. That doesn't mean I didn't feel their pain, but it was subtler than resounding.

This book was not an easy read. A family saga told through four generations and gave me a glimpse of the relationship of Korea and Japan. Much like the author herself, before this book, I was not aware of the Japan Annexation of Korea. This book gave an insightful and educational tale of the state of Korea during World War II and the plights of Koreans in the hands of foreigners.

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This review is also found on Goodreads! :)
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Actual Rating: 3.8 stars
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What I love about Sleeping Giants:

1) The premise is so interesting. It was fast-paced and it was filled with exciting twists. It has a lot of potential to be a full-blown sci-fi series that will reel in any robot-loving nerd next door. I can't exactly go into detail without revealing spoilers, but believe me when I say, I did not find anything predictable at all with Sleeping Giants.

2) It wasn't a lot of info dump as I expected. I've read sci-fis that presented a shitload of info within the narrative guaranteed to fry your brain, and this isn't one of them. The science was explained enough for the reader to understand.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This review is also found on Goodreads! :)
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Actual Rating: 3.8 stars
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To be completely honest, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I'd expected. I love mysteries and I love Christie (despite my still-limited knowledge of her works), but this book didn't really took hold of me, unlike And Then There Were None. As full disclosure, aside from the fact that this being penned by Christie, the only other reason I gave this book a try was because it served as an exordium to reading the book that completely changed Christie's career: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, a book awarded as the best crime novel ever.

The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This review is also found on Goodreads! :)
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Actual Rating: 3.8 stars
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This is one of the most disconcerting read I've had in my life. (I think I might be starting to develop a knack for buying very disturbing books on my Kobo.) It has all the elements to make the story morbid, unnerving, and scary, but with a fucked-up (but rather predictable) twist that got hard to follow and raised a lot of questions towards the end. (view spoiler) was predictable, the rest of the twists were truly crazy surprises.

The Girl Before by Rena Olsen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This review is also found on Goodreads! :)
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Actual Rating: 3.8 stars
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First: This story is nothing like Gone Girl. I was right when I expected a different flavor between the two, and that was what I got. The Girl Before is so eerily realistic, because it can happen (or is already happening) in real life. And that's what makes it as scary (but not as amazingly deranged) as Gone Girl.

I went through a whirlwind of emotions as I read this book: scared and angry, wistful and teary. What Clara went through was painful. Even as the reader, I felt it. I marveled at how Olsen accomplished that. The book shifts between then and now--a technique that was so skillfully demonstrated by Olsen when she seamlessly chronicled Clara's story. The stark contrast between her Then and Now showed a life of love, sins, regret and forgiveness. Glen and Clara's relationship also provided a different insight as to what victims of human trafficking go through, with realities questioned, and normalcies shadowed with fear and doubt. I wanted Glen redeemed because Clara loved him so much, but I know if that happens, it won't be realistic. And it would be a slap to the faces of his victims when justice isn't served. Clara's "sentence" actually wasn't enough for me. I wanted her healed, but I also think she got off easy with the punishment. But at the same time, I know that her painful recovery and intense guilt is punishment enough for her. I don't know, I'm a bit undecided on what I want for Clara at this point.