Andrei's bookshelf: read
This book was a difficult and creepy topic to write about I would imagine, and its somewhat bad reputation is a classic case of readers associating a character with the writer himself. The problem, however, that I have with it isn't the ...
This is without a doubt the best short story I've ever read, it has everything I like in it: descriptive family gatherings, humor, coziness, tension, anxiety, lust, love, sadness, nostalgia and some bits of magical realism as well. It is...
"Maria had to laugh and say she didn't want any ring or man either; and when she laughed her grey-green eyes sparkled with disappointed shyness and the tip of her nose nearly met the tip of her chin."
Quite incredible how an 18 year old wrote this masterpiece. The prose is marvellous, which I didn't expect to be honest, and the plot has more layers to it than the pop-culture depiction as "mad scientist gone wrong". It is, first and fo...
"I pretended to pray but I could not gather my thoughts because the old woman's mutterings distracted me."
"The day had grown sultry, and in the windows of the grocers' shops musty biscuits lay bleaching. (...) The sun went in behind some clouds and left us to our jaded thoughts and the crumbs of our provisions."
Probably the funniest story from Dubliners.
Three men help a drunkard get up to his feet and promise his wife to "make a new man of him", alluding to easing him into the Catholic way of life. They get together at his house, drink lots o...
"She respected her husband in the same way as she respected the General Post Office, as something large, secure and fixed"
A short story (in the form of a play) about 3 roman soldiers after they crucified Jesus, having a few drinks and chatting in a bar run by a jew... yes, the setting is quite interesting :)
I wish it were longer, it had potential.
"3rd s...
"I said I was a different man, James", he said. Looking into the mirror he saw that this was quite true.
A fun book to listen to (especially considering it was narrated by Norm himself). While it was quite unstructured and rambling at times, Norm's narration was entertaining. Personally, I'm a fan of his dry humour, but it's not for everyon...
To be honest, the book rehabilitated itself only towards the end, starting with chapter 11, "Realms of Value". During that chapter and in the next two there were actually things that interested me: understanding the core of conservatist ...
