Books #51 to #55
51 THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY Douglas Adams (England, 1979)
Because it's such a popular book, I was expecting to laugh much more than I actually did. It was quite funny but not hilarious. I'm not sure if i should read the second part. Maybe one of these days, when I get the time. I felt the same about McEwan's Atonement last year: "What's the big deal?" 2/5
52 TWILIGHT OF THE IDOLS Nietzsche (Germany, 1889)
When I had philosophy lessons (in France they are compulsory) , Nietzsche was the philosopher whose ideas appealed to me the most. Yet I never got to read any of his books before. I thought Twilight… was a good introduction to his work and definitely a good choice for a first read as it is quite clear and concise. 3/5
53 EQUAL RITES Terry Pratchett (England, 1987)
My first Terry Pratchett is a disappointment on the whole. I was expecting something more unconventional. But I’m aware that I may not know enough about feminism to understand the subtilities of the book.
There are so many books in the Discworld series that it was hard to choose where to start and I’m sure I just picked up the wrong one. I want to try another one as soon as I can. Mort is a popular one, and they have it in my library. 2,5/5
54 BELOVED Toni Morrison (USA,1987)
A few years ago I had to read Sula by the same writer and it was a really bad experience. I don’t think there’s single thing I liked about that book. This year we’re working, among other things, on Beloved and of course I was curious to know if it’d be as bad as Sula.
It was not. It was not because slavery and many terrible events that are depicted in this book are bond to move the reader. But these emotions have nothing to do with the talent of Toni Morrison I’m afraid. It is touching only because we know these things happened so many times in History.
Her story could’ve been and should’ve been a spiritual one, it is about a dead coming back to life and coming back home after all. But it was not.
I’m definitely not a fan of Morrison’s work. 1,5/5
55 INVISIBLE MAN Ralph Ellison (USA,1953)
I struggled to finish this book on time for the lecture. The topic was interesting but I just don’t like the writing style. I found it very repetitive and heavy-handed on the one hand, and emotionaly detached on the other. The whole book was very hard to « digest » because of this. 1/5
Beloved and Invisble Man are required readings for the Ethnicity and Diversity in American literature I'm taking