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Novel Reviews
Topic Started: Aug 12 2013, 04:39 AM (597 Views)
Harmoneia
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Since I have a slight obsession with long lists..

Please post your brief book reviews here, too, and let's recommend books to each other!

I'll start with my Max Barry collection in a while :)

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Harmoneia
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Ha, Jennifer Government - the book where this game was based on.
Taxation is abolished, the government is privatized, and you take the last name of the corporation you work for: hence, Jennifer Govrnment - A Rothbardian dystopia and a really satirical but funny take on Consumerism. I love Max's humor: witty, intelligent, in-your-face.
I've actually read this two times, but skipped parts the second time around. I really love it but some parts were a bit dragging. I think he might have been holding back on the humor here, but I also think great works have the ability to insult you without saying so directly. It is one of his earlier books though, so I don't blame him for that, it's still a great work for a young author.

Take note, however, that I'm a sucker for dystopian novels, and my two favorite books of all time are 1984 by Orwell and Brave New World by Huxley, which I will also later review. :) Anyhow, I don't align Jennifer Government with those two, but it comes close in its modern twist. Barry criticizes a total submission to the order, whether they be under the motivation of good or bad interests, in the form of John Nike, a neurotic who would do anything to get to the top but ends up at rock bottom, or in the form of Violet, a career woman who starts with the best intentions but ends up losing her own humanity; conversely Barry advocates here a negation of the current order whether it be for your self interests in the form Hack, or for a higher Cause as with Jennifer.
It's a really great novel, but I'd say that there's something lacking here. There's that invitation to question the current order of things, to revolt against norms and against oppression (after all, as Houellebecq would say in The Possibility of an Island, to be a revolutionary is to be confronted with brutality, and to respond with increased brutality), but amidst the spite, the engagement on the emotional level hangs. One is left without a personal attachment to Jennifer nor Hack, because you weren't able to identify with them in the first place. There's that sadness from the threat of impending doom, of feeling it's immanence, but you're not scared enough, it doesn't sink into your soul and scare you to death as with Orwell or Huxley, in other words it doesn't give you enough reason to abhor capitalism or consumerism and I think a good dystopian novel, whether it makes you laugh or not, should do.
Reading Jennifer Government, I laughed, but I didn't cry. If one has to laugh his or her heart out, shouldn't one have it sink deep down first?

Final Rating: 4/5


(I just realized I didn't have a collection, I just read two! (the other being Company - will review later! I have Machine Man, too, though. I also want to read Lexicon, but the books are only available in the US, Canada, and Australia, afaik. :( )
Edited by Harmoneia, Aug 12 2013, 05:15 AM.
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Ravenna
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Wow, you're back! :O
Edited by Ravenna, Aug 12 2013, 07:43 AM.
Alissa Fontainon
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Harmoneia
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Hi Alicia! Yes, I am :)

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Company was more enjoyable to me than Jennifer Government.
Company tells of the absurdities of corporate life, and that in the end, well... employers don't care about their employees and that doesn't change anything about "business as usual."
Anyway, I think the twist here is nicer than that of JG's, but it is utterly satirical, and immanent in that regard. It's very relatable, though it still doesn't touch you while you read it, it can do that the first few days after putting it down.
The characters here are also well-developed, not to a point where there is a shock-load of meaning, but there are significants: John, the critical mind with a promising future, Daniel, the evil genius, Eve the artificial corporate slave but successful because of her beauty, and the rest - regular corporate slaves, the mortals.
The corporate world involves a lot of politics, and Barry was definitely able to show that. However, I'm not sure if he made challengingly inviting, or something that must disgust us. I would bet on the letter, of course, but it can give you the feeling of the former. In the end, the jokes are a bit too bold, and the effect is a bit too blurred, which can go both ways: it can either be bland, or it can be a good thing, in as much as one has a mind like that of John's - critical, confronting, inquisitive, all needed to have an actual dialogue with the text.
It might have paid to have beefed up the characters more, so we can interact more with them. Nevertheless, it's a very interesting arena which opens up new horizons for us mundanes, and allows us to, at the end of the day, just laugh at our own absurdities, our own human nature, because the corporation is the "I" which holds no regards for the Other, most of the time.

Rating: 4.5/5


Yes, I get pleasure from my obsessive spontaneity.
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Libetarian Republics
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A quick intro about the book from Wikipedia

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The Poisonwood Bible (1998) by Barbara Kingsolver is a bestselling novel about a missionary family, the Prices, who in 1959 move from Georgia (U.S. state) to the village of Kilanga in the Belgian Congo, close to the Kwilu River. (The nearest town, an impossibly long journey away, is Bulungu.) The Prices' story, which parallels their host country's tumultuous emergence into the post-colonial era, is narrated by the five women of the family: Orleanna, the long-suffering wife of Baptist missionary Nathan Price, and their four daughters—Rachel, Leah, Adah, and Ruth May.


Some quick credentials on the book itself; The Poisonwood Bible was selected for Oprah's Book Club in 1999. The book won the 2000 Boeke Prize and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 1999. Author has been nominated for numerous of awards as well.

Personal Opinion

This happened to be my summer reading book for my senior year AP English Literature & Composition class. Like every other english summer reading assignment, I dredge reading it mostly because I HAD to read it. Nevertheless, like every other book I had to read, the book had to have some "distinguish" awards that set this book at the top.

If you're into historical fiction, this book might be for you. The details at the beginning are a bit slow for my pace but like any other book, it builds up to the climax. Once around the climax, things get pretty intense afterwards. The book has lots of allegoric details that represents the multiple themes in the book.

You have to keep in mind that the book is consists of certain events from the perspective of FIVE different people. Therefore, you must keep everyone straight :P but the author did a great job on characterizing each individual thereby helping us distinguishing their voice and thoughts about certain topics that arises.

Little bit of humor. Lots of thoughts and some dialogue.

Overall, I have to say. I can see why I have to read this

Ratings: 4/5


Son of NES & Rachel Anumia
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mcmasterdonia
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This is a great thread :)
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Libetarian Republics
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A quick info about the book from Wikipedia

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Life of Pi is a fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist, Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, a Tamil boy from Pondicherry, explores issues of spirituality and practicality from an early age. He survives 227 days after a shipwreck while stranded on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.


Credentials:
The novel won the 2003 Boeke Prize, a South African novel award. In 2004, it won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature in Best Adult Fiction for years 2001–2003.
In 2010 Barack Obama wrote a letter directly to Martel, describing Life of Pi as "an elegant proof of God, and the power of storytelling".
In 2012 it was adapted into a theatrical feature film directed by Ang Lee with a screenplay by David Magee.

Personal Opinion

I'll tell you how much meaning this book has. 227 days he was stranded in the ocean. 22 divided by 7 = 3.14 (Pi)

If you have seen the movie, that's great. Personally though, I haven't and usually the book is always better than the movie because the movie usually cuts out details and isn't able to grasp the meaning/themes of the book. This also happen to be one of my summer reading for my junior (last) year AP Language & Composition class. We were lucky to read the book before the movie came out (as this was a standard policy for reading novels that were highly considered for film companies)

This book explores the concept of the human mind, religion, and the will of survival. My AP Language teacher has taught this book for literally a decade and she always finds something new and interesting concept found by her students each year. This book is pretty much excessive in meaning and detail. If you want to have the most intelligent debate about something, the Life of Pi is a great choice for you.

The book is a bit confusing in the beginning. There's a mixture of the interview with the protagonist and the actual story of the journey. However, like any great novel, it builds up to the climax but the buildup is even more intense than the climax itself. After the climax, you expect things to die down but the end simply blows you mind. No joke. You'll simply say "What the fuck?" at the end.

Lots of emotions brought out when I read this. You'll be sad. You'll be mad.

Ratings: 4.8/5


I try not to give too much detail about the book usually because I don't wanna spoil it for people
Edited by Libetarian Republics, Aug 13 2013, 11:35 AM.
Son of NES & Rachel Anumia
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Harmoneia
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Aug 13 2013, 10:33 AM
If you have seen the movie, that's great. Personally though, I haven't and usually the book is always better than the movie because the movie usually cuts out details and isn't able to grasp the meaning/themes of the book.

...

Lots of emotions brought out when I read this. You'll be sad. You'll be mad.

Ratings: 4.8/5
I've read the book when i was in high school (5 years ago?) and watched the movie as well. The movie was boring and wasn't an inch close to how good Life of Pi was. Though I think there are some films which are better than their books(very rare cases indeed) you are definitely correct on this one and I agree with you here.
I'd rate it as more of 4 flat though - too emotional for my taste, and when this happens, it's the intellectual meat that usually suffers. it drowns... the way Mitch Albom does.

but yes, it's a good book worthy of the attention.
Edited by Harmoneia, Aug 13 2013, 12:40 PM.
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Libetarian Republics
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Harmoneia
Aug 13 2013, 12:34 PM
Libetarian Republics
Aug 13 2013, 10:33 AM
If you have seen the movie, that's great. Personally though, I haven't and usually the book is always better than the movie because the movie usually cuts out details and isn't able to grasp the meaning/themes of the book.

...

Lots of emotions brought out when I read this. You'll be sad. You'll be mad.

Ratings: 4.8/5
I've read the book when i was in high school (5 years ago?) and watched the movie as well. The movie was boring and wasn't an inch close to how good Life of Pi was. Though I think there are some films which are better than their books(very rare cases indeed) you are definitely correct on this one and I agree with you here.
I'd rate it as more of 4 flat though - too emotional for my taste, and when this happens, it's the intellectual meat that usually suffers. it drowns... the way Mitch Albom does.

but yes, it's a good book worthy of the attention.
Ah I see. I've heard that the movie is just in the graphics.

I wouldn't say the emotional aspect brings down the intellectual part of the book. While it's true that in reality emotional bias can hinder intellectual judgement (good examples are some recent criminal cases..), I think that the author did an excellent job in exciting emotion to enhance the intellectual aspect of the novel. But then again, I have a different taste in novels than you :P
Son of NES & Rachel Anumia
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I'm reading 1984 at the moment for my government class, it's really good. Anybody else read it?
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Zeorus
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Libetarian Republics
Aug 23 2013, 06:42 PM
I'm reading 1984 at the moment for my government class, it's really good. Anybody else read it?
One of my favorites.
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I loved the life of pi and unfortunately have never read 1984. I'll post some reviews here too :)
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I'm currently reading The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey.
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Has anyone here ever read anything by Terry Pratchett? Most of his stuff is exceedingly good. My personal favorite is The Long Earth
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