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Crime and Punishment was written in 1866. It is a literary landmark known to all, whether you are inclined towards literature or not. It’s often considered one of the greatest classics, and some claim it’s among the world’s most widely read novels. I wonder how you investigate such a claim, but that’s a separate matter. The edition I’ve read is translated by Hans Björkegren, and though it would be interesting to compare translations, that’s a...
I’ve previously acquainted myself with the story of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy through the 2005 film and the 1981 BBC series. Consequently, the plot was not new to me in any way. However, since it’s often said that the book is always better than the movie, I gave it a chance. My expectations were a hefty brick that would take quite a long time to get through with countless paragraphs of bureaucratic explanations. So,...
I read a Study in Scarlet many years ago. before the time when I became more or less an active literature opponent. Back then, I had some favorites, which still linger in the nostalgia gene. I liked the ingenious murder mysteries by Agatha Christie, and I liked Sherlock Holmes. To the extent that even in my youth, I acquired a complete bibliography of Conan Doyle’s stories about Sherlock Holmes. If my memory doesn’t fail me...
I actually don’t see Calamity Jane’s Letters to Her Daughter as a book but more like a collection of historical documents. It’s about the letters that Calamity Jane wrote to her daughter. Which, according to the book, were supposed to be handed over to her after Jane’s death. In many ways, it’s a somber collection of texts, but often they are still hopeful about the future. I think you get a picture of Calamity Jane...
Enter Night is the rock biography that outshines all others! Admittedly, I haven’t read all other rock biographies, but among those I have, this one is the king! It might sound like a cliché, but putting it down was genuinely challenging. My evening sessions with the book extended beyond the usual few pages before my eyes crossed. Even when utterly exhausted, I found new energy in reading this. What makes it so good, and how...
Classic Novel There’s something special about reading a classic novel like The Three Musketeers that everyone is supposed to have read, though evidently, not everyone has. Books like this one, where the plot is so well-known that it’s almost obligated knowledge to be familiar with it. But how many of us have actually read it? How many of us can proudly say that we have that experience? How many of us can be proud to...
My previous acquaintance with Stephen King is quite sparse, at least when it comes to literary sources. However, I have seen many of the films based on his works, including The Shining from 1980 and the miniseries from 1997, which is based on this book. Since people constantly need to compare books with movies, I thought I do the same this time In this case, almost everyone considers that the 1980 film is not faithful...
I would be lying if I said that this wasn’t a tough book to get through. It’s not only that the theme is totally horrifying, dealing with child abuse and torture. There are graphic descriptions of incest and even murder of infants. That isn’t the worst part. The worst part is the Yolanda is a real person and that this is her story of what happened to her. I’ve read my fair share of extreme...
Apparently, the infamous Marquis wrote this story in 37 days while being imprisoned in the Bastille 1785. Furthermore, the 120 Days of Sodom was written on a 12-meter-long roll of paper smuggled into the prison. You can say what you want about its content and about the Marquis himself. You may call him a lunatic and dismiss his work as perverted nonsense but you cannot say that anyone reads this book without emotion. 15-20 pages...
It’s easy to read this book as a statement against Islam but I don’t think that is the purpose. Safiya refers to Allah time and time again and she’s thankful for her beliefs. Allah is greater. You can have what opinions you like about her situation but for her, it’s reality. If your opinion after reading this angers you against Islam I think you’re making your own assumptions. I realize that it’s hard to separate...
The Lost boy is the continuing story that began with A Child Called It. The first chapter kinda stays in the story told in the previous book. Maybe it’s a little more in-depth than the story that was told in A Child Called it. As a whole, I feel that this isn’t filled with descriptions of physical abuse. That doesn’t mean that it’s any easier to understand how a mother can treat her child this way. And even...
I found Please Daddy No in a second-hand bookstore a few weeks ago. Actually, I had seen it there many times before I bought it. I usually but a lot of books without ever starting to read them. It’s the same with movies and music, I buy stuff but never find the time to enjoy many of my findings. Recently I’ve started to read again though. I might not be a fast reader, and I...
