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I can only describe this as plot and characters by Dostoevsky written with the style of Micheal Cisco. Very niche and yet. very much written for me

The fact Nabokov called this one of the best books of the 20th century and yet despised Dostoevsky makes no sense to me. One could not exist without the other

Sometimes I think my inability to enjoy perfectly fine genre fiction is due to some kind of internalized snobbery (which might be!) but then I find pieces like this, which are wonderfully written on top of being just pure fun and I am reminded that I am, indeed, capable to enjoy a good thriller. The author just has to know how to write

Whoever has written the synopsis of this book is a criminal because I’m 170 pages into it and there is no murder to mystery over. I’m loving it, but the target audience has been missed I fear

I’m convinced this book has such a low rating because most people didn’t understand a word of what Soyinka was writing.

First chapter: religious cult vibes. Second chapter: scathing political satire. It should also be a murder mystery. If this doesn’t become one of my favorite books of all time I’ll be. So sad.

It’s always kind of annoying whenever a book that people say is Good™️ is in fact that good

Ci siamo e non ci siamo. Ci siamo perché libri di questo genere la narrativa italiana ha un bisogno disperato, non ci siamo perché manca, a mio parere, la cifra personale al virtuosismo. Alcuni capitoli (quello di Hitler e gli anglicismi, la fabbrica di colori, il racconto iniziale dei due disertori) riuscitissimi, altri (quelli su Tilde, i poeti suicidi) decisamente meno

Per il momento apprezzo struttura e humor, devo dire che a volte l’accumulazione di immagini passa dal lirismo alla supercazzola e viceversa but that might be just me. Se riuscissimo ad avere un romanzo postmoderno in cui le donne non si riducono alla guida spirituale del protagonista o ad oggetti sessuali sarei felice, ma non si può avere tutto dalla vita

I don’t believe in book-burning but the chapter on Virgina Woolf is making me reconsider my opinion

I hope Chade Fallstar knows I would die for him on the spot, no questions asked

Hobb is the only writer I know that can bring tear of emotions to my eyes with an insanely powerful scene and then victim-blame a woman for her own rape not even 50 pages after

It’s actually kind of crazy how much Hobb’s writing just. soars the moment the story focuses on court intrigue, interpersonal relationships and completely bypasses young women

*heavy sigh* The things I do for Fitz…

Sometimes you have to indeed read the books that people gift you

I have a very high tolerance to disturbing content. These last 40 pages are making me want to clean my eyes with bleach

If you ever wanted to read about Stalin’s two oldest sons crossdressing and flirting with a Spanish officer then this is the book for you

If you ever stared at the ceiling wide awake at night intensely wondering what take a clone of Dostoevsky would have on the Human Centipede this is the book for you

In case any of you want to read this book: there IS a glossary at the end which is integral part of the novel. Don’t follow my example, aka waste 10 minutes desperately googling Chinese words and made-up slurs. I truly wonder what the FBI agent spying on my phone thinks I’m doing

Don’t look up the reviews on this if you don’t want to be hit by abysmal levels of reading comprehension

The introduction begins with the author wishing Salvador Allende had thrown Pinochet off a plane into the ocean. I foresee an interesting read

Content of the book aside, I absolutely recommend this edition for the reading, as it provides the original introduction to the first printing, a note to the text, a second introduction by the editor and two sets of footnotes (one on geopolitical context and another on footnotes per se, which are linked to the first set with abbreviations). An extensive labor of love on a literary text.

“Country people cannot understand why the emissaries of Christendom don’t drive about in cars; indeed, it’s unlikely that Saint Paul would have been flogged in Thessalonica if he had a jeep in working order.”

Considering the weight gendered language plays into this book I deeply regret not having picked the Italian translation from Spanish. But alasssss

Plot that would not have happened had someone lent our dear Edward one and a half brain cells.

Maybe the real rote were the plot holes Hobb lost along the way

What has the fashion industry ever done to Robin Hobb…

I’m 14 books into this series so no way I’m abandoning Fitz at this point but truly one must wonder how Hobb managed not to unpack her internalised misogyny in this amount of pages

I can promise you. No way you can guess what this book is about

June really is the month of absolute bangers apparently