Book reviews: Things Fall Apart | Disgrace | Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

Title: Things Fall Apart

Author: Chinua Achebe
Original title: Things Fall Apart
First published: 1958
Genre: Classic, Historical
Series: The African Trilogy #1
Publisher: Penguin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 152
Finished: 27/08/2020
Summary: Okonkwo is the greatest warrior alive. His fame has spread like a bushfire in West Africa and he is one of the most powerful men of his clan. But he also has a fiery temper. Determined not to be like his father, he refuses to show weakness to anyone - even if the only way he can master his feelings is with his fists. When outsiders threaten the traditions of his clan, Okonkwo takes violent action. Will the great man's dangerous pride eventually destroy him?

My thoughts: This was the first novel that I got to read for the English literature course that was part of my university studies this fall. Out of the five I read for the course, this was one of my two favourites. "Things Fall Apart" follows a character that I both cared for and still frustrated me at times; a combo that is typically good. Okonkwo is incredibly conservative and strongly believes in the values and ways of his clan and its religion. He has very set ideas of what is masculine and does whatever he can to reach his own standards, as well as encourage his eldest son to follow his footsteps. However, despite his successes in early life, Okonkwo lives to face brutal failures and disappointments. One thing that I admired about his character was his persistence to endure the consequences of his actions and resist the changes his community faces when encountering Christian missionaries and colonizers. Achebe skilfully contrasts many aspects of the story; feminine and masculine, strong and weak, Okonkwo's tribe and the colonizers. There is no clear good or bad side. The language used is smooth and simple, but Achebe manages to use English, the language of the colonizer, while also weaving words from Okonkwo's language into the text, creating an accessible piece of literature without abandoning what the story is really about.

I had not read anything similar to this before and I learnt a lot. I'm glad this novel was part of our reading plan in uni, and I will try to continue reading this trilogy in 2021.

Rating: 4/5

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Title: Disgrace
Author: J.M. Coetzee
Original title: Disgrace
First published: 1999
Genre: Literary fiction, Contemporary
Series: --
Publisher: Vintage
Format: Paperback
Pages: 220
Finished: 13/10/2020
Summary: A divorced, middle-aged English professor finds himself increasingly unable to resist affairs with his female students. When discovered by the college authorities, he is expected to apologise and repent in an effort to save his job, but he refuses to become a scapegoat in what he see as as a show trial designed to reinforce a stringent political correctness.

He preempts the authorities and leaves his job, and the city, to spend time with his grown-up lesbian daughter on her remote farm. Things between them are strained - there is much from the past they need to reconcile - and the situation becomes critical when they are the victims of a brutal and horrifying attack.

My thoughts: Another novel from the English literature course that was part of my fall semester at university. Sadly, I did not enjoy this one very much at all. Let's just say that I could not stand David (the protagonist) and the story did not appeal to me. David was snarky and self-centred in a way that was not charming in the least and he did not change. In fact, he kept insisting throughout the novel that he was too old to change, and therefore would make no effort. Despite his misfortunes, I never felt sorry for him and I feel like he kind of got what he deserved. However, neither did I celebrate his misfortunes, because they also affected other characters negatively, and they did not deserve it at all. So did the story incite emotions in me? Yes, but as with other books that sit wrong with me, these feelings added nothing positive to the reading experience. I would not recommend "Disgrace" and I hope to forget it soon.

Rating: 2,75/5

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Title: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

Author: Jeanette Winterson

Original title: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

First published: 1985
Genre: Classic, Contemporary
Series: --
Publisher: Vintage
Format: Paperback
Pages: 224
Finished: 24/11/2020
Summary: Jeanette has issues--"unnatural" ones: her adopted mam thinks she's the Chosen one from God; she's beginning to fancy girls; and an orange demon keeps popping into her psyche. Brought up in a working-class Pentecostal family, up North, Jeanette follows the path her Mam has set for her. This involves Bible quizzes, a stint as a tambourine-playing Sally Army officer and a future as a missionary in Africa, or some other "heathen state". When Jeanette starts going to school and confides in her mother about her feelings for another girl, she's swept up in a feverish frenzy for her tainted soul. Confused, angry and alone, Jeanette strikes out on her own path, that involves a funeral parlour and an ice-cream van. 

My thoughts: Quite a charming novel that I had the pleasure to read for the English literature course at university this fall semester. This novel, while dealing with heavy topics in a time period when they were much more taboo than they are today, manages to keep a light-hearted and humorous atmosphere. Jeanette was a marvellous character to follow, both for her story and her wit. Clearly, this was my favourite out of the five literary works I got to read for university this semester.

Rating: 4,25/5

Book reviews: Dr Jekyll och Mr Hyde | A Darker Shade of Magic | Beloved

Title: Dr Jekyll och Mr Hyde (Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde)
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Original title: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Genre: Classic
Series: --
Publisher: Bra Böcker
Format: Hardback
Pages: 95
Finished: 18/03/2018
Summary: In this harrowing tale of good and evil, the mild-mannered Dr. Jekyll develops a potion that unleashes his secret, inner persona—the loathsome, twisted Mr. Hyde.

My thoughts: So I decided to read the Swedish translation of "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" for my novel analysis in literature class. I originally had my eyes set on a collection of shorter works by Oscar Wilde, but changed my mind about halfway through that novel. Instead, I pulled out my leather bound edition of this classic, that I had bought just a week or so before in a second hand shop. After finishing this short novel/short story (depending on who you ask) I decided to do a literary psychoanalysis of Robert Louis Stevenson's work. I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to delve into the story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, even though I sadly wasn't allowed to do it with a copy in its original language. My teacher strictly forbid analyses of anything that wasn't in Swedish. Nevertheless, I drew countless connections between Stevenson's life and the novel, as well as carefully researched the circumstances under which it was written. What my discovery was might not be important to you, but it truly was interesting to me, to realise that the characters and relationship between Mr Hyde and Dr Jekyll might very well be based off the effects of cocaine; the drug under which influence Stevenson was when he authored the classic. Stevenson was also inspired by historical figure; one by the name of William Brodie, who lived a devilish double life, and the other named Louis Vivet, one of the first ever mental patients to be diagnosed with multiple personality disorder.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. The characters acted in that peculiarly dramatic way that seems typical for 19th century literature. People seem to have flung themselves on a lot of furniture back then. I am saddened, however, by the fact that I did not read this in its original language, since I felt that the wording in my edition was heavily simplified by the translator. But all in all, it was a quick and enjoyable read, and certainly a fun analysis to write!

Rating: 3,5/5

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Title: A Darker Shade of Magic
Author: V.E. Schwab
Original title: A Darker Shade of Magic
Genre: Fantasy, Adult
Series: Shades of Magic #1
Publisher: Tor Books
Format: Hardback
Pages: 400
Finished: 26/03/2018
Summary: Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black. 
Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

My thoughts: I had this book on my shelf almost since the day it came out. It took me a few years to read it, though. Why? Well, first of all, I think I sometimes get intimidated from expecting a lot from a single book. I guess I'm scared of being let down in case it doesn't live up to those expectations. Secondly, I was in a reading slump that lasted for years. Thirdly, this is a very white edition and I barely dare to touch it in case I accidentally smudge it. So, there were a few things keeping me from picking this book up. Intimidation, laziness, and an impractical, yet beautiful, cover. When I finally picked it up, it was to read it along with some friends. This time, Emilia, Karin, and Emmy joined in on the reading, and I decided to read it out loud to Camilla, mostly over phone.
To give a quick review, as I usually do with books that I liked, I found that V.E. Schwab continued to deliver in her beautiful yet flowing writing style and magnificently detailed world building. The concept of the world isn't brand new, but it's certainly taken to a very interesting level and done incredibly well. The characters, likewise, were easy to get to know and equally easy to distinguish from each other in personality. What I will complain about was the plot, which was really good, don't get me wrong, but which seemed to lead to a somewhat anticlimactic finale that made me feel a bit nonplussed. Alas, I shall forgive it, seeing as this is merely the first novel in a trilogy, and as with many other fantasy series, the first book is mainly for world building and giving a steady ground for the plot. I'm therefore looking forward to pick up the next book, eventually.

Rating: 4/5

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Title: Beloved
Author: Toni Morrison
Original title: Beloved
Genre: Historical
Series: --
Publisher: Vintage
Format: Paperback
Pages: 324
Finished: 25/04/2018
Summary: It is the mid-1800s. At Sweet Home in Kentuckhy, an era is ending as slavery comes under attack from the abolitionists. The worlds of Halle and Paul D. are to be destroyed in a cataclysm of torment and agony. The world of Sethe, however, is to turn from one of love to one of violence and death - the death of Sethe's baby daughter Beloved, whose name is the single word on the tombstone, who died at her mother's hands, and who will return to claim retribution.

My thoughts: I read this book for English class this spring. My teacher's intent was for us to delve deeper into the subject of African-American history through the means of literature. My group, consisting partly of Matilda and Agnes, settled for this novel after not being quick enough to dive for "Gone Girl", which was the book everyone in class wanted. So although this was not my first hand pick, I was still excited to read it, just for the fun of reading something as a group project.
"Beloved" was first published in 1987 and became a movie in 1998, starring Oprah Winfrey as Sethe, one of the main female characters. All in all, there are five protagonists with varying amounts of time in the spotlight. There's Sethe, the former slave who fled together with her children, pregnant and in less than mint condition, so to say, having lost track of her husband in the process of escaping. Denver, who never had to experience life as a slave, was born while her mother was on the run and grew up in a relatively safe home with her siblings, mother, and grandmother, Baby Suggs. Baby Suggs is deceased when the story takes off, but we still get to follow her partly in the novel and see things that happened in the past from her point of view. She's the mother of Sethe's husband and Denver's father, and was bought out of slavery from that very one son of hers. A man who also used to be a slave is Paul D, one of several Pauls that lived on the same farm as Sethe and Baby Suggs. He manages to fin Sethe again after all these years, having also escaped slavery at last. Lastly, there's Beloved, the child which was slain by her own mother. Now she's coming back to face Sethe again, once and for all.
My overall opinion of the novel is mixed, to say the least, so I will divide it into sections, starting with the characters. I found that while each character was its own, they were all confusing. Sometimes I had a hard time understanding their decisions, thoughts, and the reason behind their actions, and sometimes when I thought I finally got the hang of a character, they did a 180 turn in their behaviour. Perhaps this was due to the peculiar layout of the story and unusual writing style. Due to sudden jumping between perspectives, tense and points on the timeline, I had a hard time keeping up with the novel at times. At first I had no idea what the plot-line even was about, and it wasn't made better by sudden inserts of bizarre and befuddling scenes. The writing style is also the kind that starts a sentence off in one way and ends it in a way that you'd NEVER anticipate. Sometimes I found it poetic, sometimes I found it beyond puzzling.
So my final opinion is that it definitely was an interesting read, but perhaps not something that I'd look at reading again. My motivation to keep reading it mostly surfaced from a desire to know what weird scenes and wordings would come up next. My rating is therefore low, but I will not look back at this novel with too strong of a dislike. Rather, I will look back at it with a wrinkled forehead and a strange inability to remember what the main point of the plot even was.

Rating: 2/5