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The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo
Originally published in 1946 The Honjin Murders is a locked-room murder mystery. Throughout the course of the novel, the author pays homage to Golden Age detective novels, by alluding directly to authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie and their works and by being quite self-aware when it comes to the conventions that…
1930S, 2 STARS, Adult, aristocracy, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, CRIME, DETECTIVE, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), drama, golden age detective fiction, heavy on telling, HISTORICAL FICTION, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, locked-room mystery, male authors, manor/big house, My reviews, MYSTERY, published in 1946, read in 2021, reading, TRANSLATED FICTION, wedding drama, whodunnit -
The Setting Sun by Osamu Dazai
In The Setting Sun Osamu Dazai captures a nation in transition. Set during the early postwar years Japan this novella is centred on an aristocratic family fallen on hard times. Kazuko, our narrator, and her fragile mother who are forced to move to the countryside and give up their family home. Gentile Kazuko has no…
1940s, 1st pov, 20th century, 3 STARS, ALIENATION, aristocracy, books about writers, class, CLASSICS, cultural dissonance, existentialism, family, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, japanese classics, male authors, modern classics, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, Osamu Dazai, philosophical, published in 1947, read in 2020, siblings, suicide, The Setting Sun, TRANSLATED FICTION, war, WWII -
The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James — book review
“A large fortune means freedom, and I’m afraid of that. It’s such a fine thing, and one should make such a good use of it. If one shouldn’t one would be ashamed. And one must keep thinking; it’s a constant effort. I’m not sure it’s not a greater happiness to be powerless.” The Portrait of…
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The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton — book review
Step aside, Becky Sharp. Move over, Scarlett O’Hara…make way for Undine Spragg, the most unscrupulous anti-heroine I have ever encountered. “[S]he could not conceive that any one could tire of her of whom she had not first tired.” Wharton once again focuses her narrative on a young woman’s unrelenting attempts at social climbing. While Wharton…
1910s, 20th century, 3rd pov, 4 STARS, affairs, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, american classics, aristocracy, bad love, beautiful prose, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, BOOKWORM, class, CLASSICS, Edith Wharton, favourite authors, FRANCE, HISTORICAL FICTION, Italy, LITERARY FICTION, MARRIAGE, NEW YORK, PRIVILEGE, psychological, published in 1913, READ IN 2019, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, The Custom of the Country, travel -
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton — book review
“The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.” As many readers have already pointed out, there is little mirth to be found in The House of Mirth (and I thought that The Age of Innocence and Summer had despairing endings…what a…
20th century, 3rd pov, 4.5 STARS, affairs, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, american classics, aristocracy, beautiful prose, class, CLASSICS, Edith Wharton, favourite authors, female authors, HISTORICAL FICTION, introspective, NEW YORK, psychological, published in 1905, READ IN 2019, ROMANCE, satire, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, The House of Mirth, tragedy -
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton — book review
“I mean: how shall I explain? I—it’s always so. Each time you happen to me all over again.” A few months ago I read Edith Wharton’s novella, Summer. Although I thought its obliqueness to be rather fascinating, I was frustrated by its relatively short length, and thought that the characters would have benefitted from having…
1870s, 19TH CENTURY, 4 STARS, affairs, AMERICAN AUTHOR, american classics, aristocracy, beautiful prose, class, CLASSICS, Countess Ellen Olenska, Edith Wharton, favourite authors, female authors, gilded age, MARRIAGE, May Welland, NEW YORK, Newland Archer, psychological, published in 1920, pulitzer prize winners, READ IN 2019, ROMANCE, satire, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, The Age of Innocence -
A Room with a View by E.M. Forster — book review
A Room with a View evokes a gentle Edwardian idyll: we follow the story’s characters through their paced long walks, their wanderings through Italy (in Florence there is the lovely view of the River Arno, Basilica of Santa Croce, Piazza della Signoria, and later on in Fiesole’s high fields Lucy, our main character, will undergo…
1900s, 20th century, 3rd pov, 4 STARS, A Room with a View, aristocracy, ART/CREATIVITY, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, british classics, class, CLASSICS, drama, E.M. Forster, Edwardian era, england, Florence, HISTORICAL FICTION, HUMOR, Italy, LGBTQ+ Author, male authors, MARRIAGE, READ IN 2019, ROMANCE, Rome, satire, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, summer reads, travel -
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen — book review
It isn’t surprising that Pride and Prejudice has become such a classic, one that inspired thousands of adaptations and re-tellings. Many of the story’s components have become conventions…and to dismiss this novel as a ‘girl’s book’ is not only incredibly superficial but it negates Jane Austen’s clever social commentary. While many of its characters are…
1800s, 1810s, 19TH CENTURY, 3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, aristocracy, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, British author, british classics, class, CLASSICS, drama, england, family, female authors, HISTORICAL FICTION, HUMOR, jane austen, MARRIAGE, novel of manners, Pride and Prejudice, published in 1813, READ IN 2019, Regency era, REVIEW, ROMANCE, satire, SISTERS, SOCIAL COMMENTARY -
THE REMAINS OF THE DAY: BOOK REVIEW
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro ★★★★★ 5 of 5 stars “Indeed — why should I not admit it? — in that moment, my heart was breaking.” …and now I am sad. This hit me harder than expected. I find it impossible hard to believe that this book was written by Kazuo Ishiguro…
1920s, 1930S, 1940s, 1950s, 1st pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, aristocracy, booker-prize, British author, class, england, existentialism, favourite authors, HISTORICAL FICTION, identity, introspective, Kazuo Ishiguro, LITERARY FICTION, MEMORY, modern classics, morality, mr. stevens, philosophical, published in 1989, READ IN 2019, The Remains of the Day, unreliable narrators, unrequited love, WWII -
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
To say that I was expecting more would be an understatement.Perhaps, the kinship I initially felt with this novel was caused by my sharing the first name of its title character. I wanted a story that delivered an array of conflicting feelings in its portrayal of illicit liaisons. Sadly, Anna Karenina only delivered a great…
2 STARS, affairs, ANNA KARENINA, aristocracy, bad love, class, CLASSICS, drama, existentialism, family, LEO TOLSTOY, male authors, MARRIAGE, MELODRAMA, morality, philosophical, read in 2017, RUSSIA, russian author, russian classics, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, suicide, toxic relationships, TRANSLATED FICTION
luce [is reading] 