Title: The Little PrinceAuthor: Antione de Saint-Exupéry
Original title: Le Petit Prince
Genre: Children, Classic
Series: ---
Publisher: Wordsworth Editions
Format: Paperback
Pages: 109
Finished: Early 2016
Summary: A pilot crashes with his plane in the middle of the desert. Expecting to be miles away from civilizations, he is shocked to meet a little boy there, a little prince.
My thoughts:
Did you know this book is one of the five most sold books in the world? Or so Wikipedia tells me, at least. Impressive, isn't it? Just under it is Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Most sold, amongst the purely fictional works (or the Bible would've won), is A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
The Little Prince was written by a French pilot, such as the main character of the story, whose name was Antione de Saint-Exupéry. This story was released for the first time in 1943, about a year before he and his plane disappeared somewhere. Rather ironic, when you think about it.
So I adored this little book. It's so quirky and I love the fun illustrations that come with it. It's been a while now since I read it, so I don't remember much, but I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed it and it wouldn't surprise me if I were to reread it again in the future.
Rating: 4/5
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Title: Extremely Loud & Incredibly CloseAuthor: Jonathan Safran Foer
Original title: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Genre: Contemporary
Series: ---
Publisher: Penguin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 326
Finished: 23/10/16
Summary: Nine-year-old Oskar Schell is an inventor, amateur entomologist, Francophile, letter writer, pacifist, natural historian, percussionist, romantic, Great Explorer, jeweller, detective, vegan, and collector of butterflies. When his father is killed in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Centre, Oskar sets out to solve the mystery of a key he discovers in his father's closet. It is a search which leads him into the lives of strangers, through the five boroughs of New York, into history, to the bombings of Dresden and Hiroshima, and on an inward journey which brings him ever closer to some kind of peace.
My thoughts:
This book had me sad 4 pages in, and it had me crying by the end of it. The story is like a punch to the gut, and it left me feeling emotional and a little overwhelmed. I read this for English class. We were asked to pick one book to read for novel discussions, and I'm happy I picked this. It's a great book, really, however at times the sadness became too much. I mean, the whole book is just pages upon pages filled with tragedy and depression, though in the most beautiful way (still left me feeling hollow though). Another thing that bothered me slightly was Oscars character, and how he at times felt a bit too unreal for a 9-year-old. Even if he was special, his character was a little exaggerated at some points and it didn't feel natural. Other than that, I really recommend this book! It's not a favorite, but it's absolutely worth the read!
Rating: 3.5/5
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Title: Ett öga rött (An Eye Red)Author: Jonas Hassen Khemiri
Original title: Ett öga rött
Genre: YA, contemporary
Series: ---
Publisher: Månpocket
Format: Paperback
Pages: 251
Finished: 23/10/16
Summary: Halim har genomskådat allt. Han har genomskådat Integrationsplanen. Han har genomskådat fiskpanettsrasismen i matbespisningen, han har kommit till insikt om hur Allahs makt hänger ihop med ödet och varför intellektuella liknar halta kameler. Tyvärr har han också genomskådat sin pappa, som har övergett Kampen och i stället bara talar om vikten av att tala bra svenska.
Men Halim har en egen plan: han ska bli Sveriges mäktigaste revolutionsblatte. En tankesultan, som knäcker koderna och får de snyggaste gussarna.
My thoughts:
(Ett öga rött translates to An Eye Red - the incorrect grammar is intentional)
So we had to read this for Swedish class, the main reason being we'd study the language of the writing, which doesn't follow the V2 rule (ah Swedish stuff I'm too lazy to explain). I had a hard time getting used to the grammar and the flow of the writing in the beginning, but I got into it pretty quickly. I found the language pretty interesting, but I had other major issues with this novel.
Firstly, the main character. Or really, it's all about the main character. His name is Halim, and he's a second generation immigrant to Sweden (don't really remember where his parents were from). That's chill, that's all cool, but the novel is in diary form and let me tell you, Halim is not holding back on the racist comments. Or the sexist and homophobic comments either. Like chill bro, learn some respect. He'd use words (in Swedish) that would be translated to fag, whore, bitch, nigger, blackhead and more. I found this offensive and was unsettled by reading it. Halim also made a lot of bad decisions which I couldn't really understand, and the way he treated the people around him was so rude. He also mentions his masturbation moments a lot. I didn't appreciate that much...
Anyway, I read it for the different grammar, not for the plot. Would not reread.
So we had to read this for Swedish class, the main reason being we'd study the language of the writing, which doesn't follow the V2 rule (ah Swedish stuff I'm too lazy to explain). I had a hard time getting used to the grammar and the flow of the writing in the beginning, but I got into it pretty quickly. I found the language pretty interesting, but I had other major issues with this novel.
Firstly, the main character. Or really, it's all about the main character. His name is Halim, and he's a second generation immigrant to Sweden (don't really remember where his parents were from). That's chill, that's all cool, but the novel is in diary form and let me tell you, Halim is not holding back on the racist comments. Or the sexist and homophobic comments either. Like chill bro, learn some respect. He'd use words (in Swedish) that would be translated to fag, whore, bitch, nigger, blackhead and more. I found this offensive and was unsettled by reading it. Halim also made a lot of bad decisions which I couldn't really understand, and the way he treated the people around him was so rude. He also mentions his masturbation moments a lot. I didn't appreciate that much...
Anyway, I read it for the different grammar, not for the plot. Would not reread.
Rating: 1.5/5
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Title: Alice in WonderlandAuthor: Lewis Carroll
Original title: Alice in Wonderland
Genre: Classic, fantasy
Series: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland #1
Publisher: Barnes & Noble
Format: Hardback
Pages: 124
Finished: 27/10/16
Summary: Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, "and what is the use of a book," thought Alice, "without pictures or conversations?"
So begins the tale of Alice, following a curious White Rabbit down a rabbit-hole and falling into Wonderland. A fantastical place, where nothing is quite as it seems: animals talk, nonsensical characters confuse, Mad Hatter's throw tea parties and the Queen plays croquet. Alice's attempts to find her way home become increasingly bizarre, infuriating and amazing in turn.
My thoughts:
I finished the first part yesterday night, and I'll be moving on to part two, Through the Looking-Glass, and I'm looking forward to watch the movie by Tim Burton after that!
I found this book so entertaining! The illustrations are amazing, and the story is so strange and full of things to philosophise about, all the hidden meanings in the text. Seriously though, Carroll must've been high on something when he wrote this, and I love it. Alice is a little know-it-all, though I still enjoyed her character, and she's being bossed around by all the other quirky characters and it's just so fun to read. It's a short book, so I don't have much more to say about it except that you should go read it right now! It's wonderful!
I found this book so entertaining! The illustrations are amazing, and the story is so strange and full of things to philosophise about, all the hidden meanings in the text. Seriously though, Carroll must've been high on something when he wrote this, and I love it. Alice is a little know-it-all, though I still enjoyed her character, and she's being bossed around by all the other quirky characters and it's just so fun to read. It's a short book, so I don't have much more to say about it except that you should go read it right now! It's wonderful!
Rating: 4.5/5
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