Book reviews: Klara and the Sun | Wonderstruck | The Time Machine

Title: Klara and the Sun

Author: Kazuo Ishiguro

Original title: Klara and the Sun
First published: 2021
Genre: Sci-fi
Series: --
Publisher: Faber Faber
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 307
Finished: 21/11/21
Summary: From her place in the store, Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, watches carefully the behaviour of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass in the street outside. She remains hopeful a customer will soon choose her, but when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change for ever, Klara is warned not to invest too much in the promises of humans.

My thoughts: It's been such a long period of time between me reading this book in November 2021 to me writing this review in May 2022. What I remember of my opinion on this book is that I enjoyed it, but that the story had an anticlimactic ending and a writing style that never quite managed to pull me in. It was the first book I ever read by Ishiguro and despite my somewhat lukewarm feelings for Klara and the Sun in particular, I still look forward to reading more of his work, especially the books of his that are more beloved, like Never Let Me Go.

Rating: 3,25/5

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Title: Wonderstruck

Author: Brian Selznick

Original title: Wonderstruck

First published: 2011
Genre: Historical, Middle grade
Series: --
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Format: Hardcover

Pages: 629
Finished: 17/05/2022
Summary: Ben and Rose secretly wish for better lives. Ben longs for the father he has never known. Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. When Ben discovers a puzzling clue in his mother's room and Rose reads an enticing headline in the newspaper, both children set out alone on desperate quests to find what they are missing.

Set fifty years apart, these two independent stories - Ben's told in words, Rose's in pictures - weave back and forth in symmetry.

My thoughts: I was lucky enough to find this in a pleasantly cluttered second hand in Morecambe on the coast of Lancashire. Having read Selznick's earlier book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which is presented in text and illustrations in the same manner as Wonderstruck, I didn't hesitate in buying it and immediately reading it. I knew it would be a quick and fun read to get me started if I wished to engage in more reading for pleasure this summer. Indeed it was a relatively fast read, for I bought it only three days ago. I'd summarize it as a fast, almost too fast, and enticing reading experience. The storytelling that is woven between Ben's text and Rose's illustrations is compelling as a format. I must argue, however, that the format needs the support of a strong story to reach its full potential. What I found with Wonderstruck was that despite finding the 400+ pages of artwork enjoyable, I was not so invested in neither Ben's nor Rose's tales. I hoped that Ben would achieve his goal, but I got no satisfaction in following his journey. With Rose, I found that the lack of textual storytelling created a gap between me and the character - a hole that was never filled. I didn't get to know her, didn't make a connection. The concept of deafness, both long-term and temporary, could have been explored at an even deeper level. I could have been prompted to feel deeper sympathy for Ben, or to share his panic even more. But I didn't, and that may in part be due to the relatively small amount of text in the novel as well as the writing style. The sentences are generally very simple and didn't invoke much emotion in me. The writing style felt flat and plain, which resulted in Ben sadly being a rather mediocre focalizer. In the end the novel achieved what I wanted it to, which was to offer a quick and interesting read to get my desire to consume literature on a roll. I appreciate the format and the artwork, but other than that this wasn't a great hit for me personally. I'd definitely recommend The Invention of Hugo Cabret over this.

Rating: 3/5

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Title: The Time Machine
Author: H.G. Wells

Original title: The Time Machine
First published: 1895
Genre: Classic, sci-fi
Series: --
Publisher: Fab Audio Books
Format: Audiobook
Time: 3h 36min
Finished: 30/04/2022
Summary: The time? 802,701 A.D. The place? An Earth stranger than you can imagine. The people? A pretty, childlike race, the Eloi-and their distant cousins, the Morlocks: disgusting, hairy creatures who live in caves and feed on the flesh of-what? Enter the Time Traveller, who has hurtled almost a million years into the future. After the Morlocks steal his machine he may be trapped there...and at their mercy.

My thoughts: The Time Machine was part of a Victorian Literature course I took this spring. I decided to consume it in audiobook format because I was running out of time to read it before the deadline and my brain was too tired to read text. Regardless of the format, I ended up really enjoying this short novel and the ideas that Wells presents in it. So much so that I wrote about its villains/monsters, the Morlocks, in an essay about the links between evil, physical ugliness, and contemporary Victorian issues. My focus while working with this novel was on class and the Victorian idea of degeneration in the lower classes of the UK. The Morlocks reflect that in that the Time Traveller imagines them to be the future evolution of the working class, whereas the beautiful but weak Eloi are a progression of the upper class. The description of the Time Traveller's panic in seeing what the future has in store for the human race was intriguing, and the way Wells presents his ideas was interesting and entertaining. I absolutely look forward to reading more or his work in the future, and will recommend this novel to anyone who has an interest in sci-fi and classics.

Rating: 4/5

Book reviews: Oryx and Crake | All Systems Red | Annihilation

Title: Oryx and Crake

Author: Margaret Atwood

Original title: Oryx and Crake
First published: 2003
Genre: Sci-fi, Adult
Series: MaddAddam
Publisher: Virago
Format: Paperback
Pages: 433
Finished: 20/07/2021
Summary: Pigs might not fly but they are strangely altered. So, for that matter are wolves and raccoons. A man, once named Jimmy, now calls himself Snowman and lives in a tree, wrapped in old bed-sheets. The voice of Oryx, the woman he loved, teasingly haunts him. And the green-eyed Children of Crake are, for some reason, his responsibility.

My thoughts: I read this for my summer studies but also for my own Reading Rush (since there was no official one this year). I used it for the challenge to read a book by an author who's first initial is the same as my own. My name is Maja and this author's first name is Margaret. As for my opinions of the novel, I did like it a fair bit. Watching the development of society and humankind lead to destruction and mass death was interesting and I think Atwood managed to present it in a way that really seemed plausible, which made it all the more horrifying. She creates bizarre creatures and odd social structures that felt alien but might not be far ahead of us on the timeline.

Some details set back my enjoyment of the novel. What really interested me here was the apocalypse and man's decent into chaos and destruction (a destruction based on playing God rather than wars). However, a good chunk of this novel revolved around the protagonist's family drama, love interest, and childhood memories. Not to say this was pointless, as these parts helped build his character. Through these flashbacks to the past, we also catch glimpses of what society was like and can compare it to how Atwood describes the post apocalyptic world that Snowman inhabits. But it became too much for me. This is a rather long book, and it becomes especially evident when one reads it over the course of two days that a lot of pages are dedicated to things that I just didn't care about. Snowman/Jimmy was not a character I cared for, and I don't think that's even the point. I think his role is just to be a vessel from which we can observe Atwood's intricate imaginations. That is why I got tired of learning more about our protagonist, because he wasn't much of a person.

All in all, I enjoyed the novel and would like to continue reading the series at some point in the distant future, preferably within the upcoming five decades or so.

Rating: 3,25/5

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Title: All Systems Red

Author: Martha Wells

Original title: All Systems Red
First published: 2017
Genre: Sci-fi
Series: The Murderbot Diaries #1
Publisher: 
Format: Paperback
Pages: 148
Finished: 23/07/2021
Summary: On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid — a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is. But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

My thoughts: I read this for my summer studies and for my own Reading Rush of 2021, which I insisted on participating in though no official readathon was held. I decided to read this for the challenge to read an entire book outside, and so I did. It was an excellent opportunity to acquaint myself better with the parks around my apartment, and I could not complain about the weather either. Under these perfect conditions, I was happy to enjoy the story of Murderbot. It is a short book and my review will likewise be so, for as is the case with some stories, I liked it well enough but have little to say about it. The story, especially Murderbot's perspective, is charming and entertaining. Compared to earlier sci-fi (this is very modern sci-fi), it contains adrenaline-inducing scenes of action while still posing questions like "what is it to be human?" and "can I feel love/empathy for an alien/robot?" as is common in older works like Solaris and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. It was a fun and quick read which I would recommend for long train rides, flights, or long peaceful days of rain or sunshine.

Rating: 3,75/5

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Title: Annihilation

Author: Jeff VanderMeer

Original title: Annihilation
First published: 2014
Genre: Sci-fi
Series: Southern Reach #1
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Format: Paperback
Pages: 208
Finished: 25/07/2021
Summary: For thirty years, Area X has remained mysterious and remote behind its intangible border - an environmental disaster zone, though to all appearances an abundant wilderness. The Southern Reach, a secretive government agency, has sent eleven expeditions to investigate Area X. One has ended in mass suicide, another in a hail of gunfire, the eleventh in a fatal cancer epidemic. Now four women embark on the twelfth expedition into the unknown.

My thoughts: Like the other two books in this review, I read this for university and the Reading Rush (for the challenge to read a single word title). In hindsight, I should have reviewed this sooner, for I can not recall very few opinions that I had about this novel. I will try to list and many as I can remember, though I apologize in advance for not offering more. I liked that the cast was all female. This was a pleasant break off from most of the sci-fi novels I've read this summer. In fact, this has been the only sci-fi novel so far that has featured a female protagonist. The escalating tension and distrust between the individuals of the expedition could surely put some readers at the edge of their seats. Like I said about All Systems Red, this modern piece of sci-fi literature mixes action with philosophy, though perhaps not as well as in Martha Wells' novel. I was fond of the main character, though not so much that I would have grieved her death. However, she was intriguing enough. Did I love this novel? Did I hate it? No is the answer for both questions. Will I soon forget it? Here, the answers is yes. Though VanderMeer's story and ideas have potential, they seem to be presented to me in a way that doesn't rouse curiosity. And the way the novel ended (spoiler, highlight to view white text: with the almost religious experience the protagonist had with the creature in the tunnel) was just not the way I wanted the story to progress, which makes me hesitant to continue the series.

Rating: 3,25/5

Book reviews: Animal Farm | The DUFF | Liftarens guide till galaxen

Title: Animal Farm
Author: George Orwell
Original title: Animal Farm
First published: 1945
Genre: Classic, Dystopian
Series: --
Publisher: Penguin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 95
Finished: 23/07/2019
Summary: A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned –a razor-edged fairy tale for grown-ups that records the evolution from revolution against tyranny to a totalitarianism just as terrible.

My thoughts: My second read for this year's Reading Rush! "Animal Farm" was read to complete the challenge "read a book with a non-human main character".
Wow! A really good story for its length (95 pages). It manages to fit a surprising amount of character depth, political satire, and storyline into a short tale about animals on a farm. I’d love to reread it sometime at a slower pace, and maybe attempt to write an analysis on it, just to really get into the morals and ideas of the piece. For now, I don’t have a lot more to say.

Rating: 4,25/5

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Title: The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend
Author: Kody Keplinger
Original title: The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend
First published: 2010
Genre: Contemporary, YA
Series: --
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 277
Finished: 24/07/2019
Summary: Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "the Duff," she throws her Coke in his face.  But things aren't so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.  Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone. And eventually, through this realization, Bianca begins to see how harmful her unhealthy way of dealing with her problems has been, and finds a way to confront them head on.

My thoughts: This is the third book I read for this year's Reading Rush! "The DUFF" was read to complete the challenge "read and watch a book to movie adaption".
Also, lo and behold, this is the 222nd book on my "read" list!

This is a book that receives a (to me) low rating not because it is exceedingly bad, but because it was exceedingly not good. I just can’t think of anything that I particularly liked about it. On the bright side, I didn’t struggle with reading it, which means it wasn’t horrible. I’d compare it to unsalted pasta, perhaps a bit overcooked. Sure, I can eat it, and in the right mindset I won’t outright disapprove of it, but I certainly won’t savour it like actual good pasta.
The character did have different personalities, but none of them really stuck with me, and I was hardly rooting for someone. The storyline was basic af; idk how many times I’ve seen this exact plot in a low budget American high school movie. The not-super-girly girl and the school’s hottest and rudest guy fall for each other and everybody’s minds are blown… not. I can honestly see how this novel tries to twist the cliché tale, but the added elements that hope to achieve this just aren’t enough or miss the mark. I have a hard time appreciating the effort, since coming up with something a little more original would have been a lot more admirable. In the end, I’ve had too much good pasta to like “The DUFF”. Sorry.
(Oh, and the movie seems so different from the book? Why did they change so much about the plot? If possible, they made it more like the cliché story than the book already was.)

Rating: 2,75/5

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Title: Liftarens guide till galaxen
Author: Douglas Adams
Original title: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
First published: 1979
Genre: Sci-fi
Series: Liftarens guide till galaxen #1
Publisher: Månpocket
Format: Paperback
Pages: 168
Finished: 26/07/2019
Summary: Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor. Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox—the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.

My thoughts: My fourth read for this year's Reading Rush (AND my fortieth read this year)! This one was read to complete the challenge "read a book in the same spot the entire time". I had some business outside my house the day I read this, so I had to squeeze it into my schedule before and after daily activities. I didn't manage to finish it the day I intended, but luckily I had it finished the day after before noon.

The concept of “random is funny” has seen many failures, but also a few successes. I believe this book is one of those few. At first, I was somewhat put off by the seemingly incoherent plot, but as I continued reading, I found logic and pattern in the madness as the pieces slowly started to come together and become understandable. I was definitely able to appreciate the book’s humour, and I laughed out loud at several points while reading. It would surely seem that in the case of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, random is funny.
My main complaints about the book are that it took me slightly too long to get into it, that I didn’t really find the plot exciting (though it was entertaining still), and that the text was too small for my liking. Other than that, I liked it! I am very likely to continue reading the series (since I have the whole thing in this bind-up edition).

Rating: 3,5/5

Book reviews: Bilbo: En hobbits äventyr | Steelheart | Cinder

Title: Bilbo: En hobbits äventyr
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Original title: The Hobbit
Genre: High fantasy, Classic
Series: --
Publisher: Rabén & Sjögren
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 306
Finished: 12/6/17
Summary:  Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than the pantry of his hobbit-hole in Bag End. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard, Gandalf, and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an unexpected journey ‘there and back again’. They have a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon.

My thoughts: Honestly, this time, I don't have a lot to say. At least not at the moment (being early in the morning just after I finished the book). What I can say is that I'm proud over myself for finally reading this and I'm very happy that I did. It's a fun, exciting adventure to take part in, even as a reader. Gandalf was sassy, Thorin Oakenshield was grumpy, Bombur was fat, and Bilbo just wanted to go home. A lot of things were different from the movies. Radagast wasn't in the book, and neither was Azog the Defiler, and I was at first very confused at his absence, as he plays a very big role in the movies. Not here, though, in fact he plays no role at all really.
All in all, I liked it! It's a great summer read for both fine days and bad.

Rating: 4,5/5

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Title: Steelheart
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Original title: Steelheart
Genre: Science fiction, YA
Series: Reckoners #1
Publisher: Gollancz
Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
Finished: 18/6/17
Summary: Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics. But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills. Nobody fights the Epics...nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them. And David wants in. He wants Steelheart - the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David's father. For years, like the Reckoners, David's been studying, and planning - and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience. He's seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.

My thoughts: Wow. I can't believe I put off reading something by Brandon Sanderson for so long. I mean, I've been wanting to delve into one of his series for ages. I was originally planning to start off with the Mistborn trilogy, but I ended up purchasing Steelheart instead at the Swedish Bookfair in maybe 2015, I think? This book is half the size of The Final Empire, so I guess this was the better one to start off with. And I have no reason to regret that decision! It's action packed, fast-paced, and exciting beyond measure! I was so fascinated by the villains of the story, in particular Steelheart and Nightweilder. I love the idea of humans with superpowers going evil (hence my fave novel being Vicious by V.E. Schwab, hehe), so I knew from the start that this aspect of the story would appeal to me a lot. One of the small faults that I found in the novel what that since it focused so much on plot and excitement, it lacked somewhat in its descriptions of certain characters. Now, I don't mean that the characters were shallow and all the same; it's the opposite and I guess that's why I was disappointed when I didn't get to know some of them as close as I'd have wished. Cody and Abraham could definitely need some more time in the spotlight and I can't say that I know much about Thia either. These characters were all still awesome, though!
My reason for not giving this a full five stars is because I feel like there is room for improvement. I like the writing style and the characters and the plot, but I still felt like it missed that little extra that earns a full score. Of course I'll be continuing the series, because this was awesome, but I think I'll look into some of his other series first maybe... especially Mistborn :)

Rating: 4,5/5

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Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Original title: Cinder
Genre: Science Fiction, YA, Retelling
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #1
Publisher: Puffin Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 387
Finished: 23/7/17
Summary: Cinder, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She's reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen - and a dangerous temptation.


My thoughts: I loved this. This was so great. It's so refreshing to read a YA novel that stands out from the rest; that doesn't stick to the norms and that dares to challenge the similar structure that most modern YA novels follow. Cinder was such an amazing book, and what made the experience even more wonderful was reading it together with my dear friends Matilda, Emmy and Karin.
The characters were on point. They weren't shallow or just there to alter the course of the plot; they had actual personalities and acted according to those, not just to be convenient. The writing style had me capture from the sentence to the last, and although it was not beautifully poetic it had a way of gripping me as a reader. The pages flew by and I had a hard time putting it down. The whole concept of the setting and the story is just amazing and I love it. I can't believe this book has been collecting dust on my shelf for so many years, but all the same I'm glad that I waited until now to read it. It was a good book for a book club! I just wish that we'd gotten to see more of the universe and that the book had been maybe 50 pages longer. Anyways, it was amazing!

Rating: 5/5