Frankenstein

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was revolutionary as being part of the gothic revival in the British Romantic era. This meant that it was filled with controversy and poetic language - the question of the fine line between morality and liberation was always blurred and the scientific analysis behind it made it heavily controversial for its time. Obviously, when we look back into the history of authorship - it was more controversial for such topics to be written about by women than anything else. But, a strong activist and a strong atheist, Mary Shelley (and her husband, poet, PB Shelley) made a fortune off selling their life-changing fiction with Mary debatably more famous than her husband. This is only because Mary Shelley, at 19, created the world's first real Sci-Fi novel. 

Characters:

Okay, so my favourite character was the monster. But, this was not for sympathetic value - but for the way he introduces his narrative in Chapter 11. He explains the art of discovering the senses and Mary Shelley writes this so intricately that we can almost believe that this is a real sensation of discovery. The monster creates more of an awesomeness than Victor did with creating him - it is almost as if the monster foreshadows himself becoming more powerful than his maker. This character persona of the monster is then exemplified yet again in the novel with the deaths of Elizabeth and Justine.

Themes:

My favourite theme in this has got to be exploration of the self. The act of exploration and discovery runs throughout the novel in three different narratives: the first being that of Robert Walton in the first four letters. Robert Walton explains himself going on an expedition and this is done in letters to his sister - not only does he describe the place as "the seat of frost and desolation" but he also explains his explorations of his own emotions as his "hopes" become "depressed" and he becomes more and more uncertain. This is also foreshadowing the next narrator of exploration of emotion and the self; Victor Frankenstein. Victor explains that (in Chapter 10) he is now becoming slightly weary about creating the monster he was once so interested in - now worried that it was the wrong thing to do, he sits to listen to the tale of self discovery told by the monster themselves (beginning Chapter 11). This, therefore puts us into the 'listener' shoes for the next chance at exploration of the self - the monster. The monster narrates this section as his own exploration of everything in the world once he has been created. He explains that he explores the sun, the moon, the sensations of being and the very emotions of existence itself. So raw and unlike Robert Walton's discoveries - it is like we are reducing ourselves. At first, we have Robert Walton, who is an educated man who has his "hopes fluctuating" by the middle of his journey. Then we have Victor Frankenstein, who believes he can play God. Obviously, he too is educated - but not educated enough to know that it is illegal to steal the parts of dead humans to create a monster. We are reduced in the discovery of self from Robert to Victor. We are then reduced again to the discovery of self in the monster - which is completely new and impulsively animalistic. 

Storyline:

After reading this book many times over many years - the narrative is still the best part of the storyline. Each narrative brings a different perspective on to the novel and treats people differently. I mean, I love the way the monster describes Victor, because the only question you can ask yourself afterwards is: Who is the monster, really? And you get an ambivalent answer until the end of the novel. Robert Walton's section seems a little irrelevant until you get to the end. All in all, the narratives are like pieces of a jigsaw that all fall into place by the end of the novel - very cleverly as well. 

Verdict:

I give this book a 9.

100% for characters: This is a brilliant novel for studying the perspective of character and the binary opposition of hero/villain and God Vs Creation - the relationship between Victor and the Monster offer such interesting pieces of analysis that will be studied for centuries to come. 

100% for themes: The theme of exploration and discovery of the self is brilliantly put forward in the theory of reduction and the act of attachment and separation. This is only able to be viewed through the rotation of the narrative from Robert to Victor, then to the Monster, and finally back to Robert. 

100% for storyline: This storyline has endured over a century of radical belief and scientific grotesqueness and I believe that this novel will always mark the beginning of the modern horror era. This was the book that began all the horrific beauty of the Gothic Revival blended with the picturesqueness of 

The Iliad

Homer's Epic Poem "The Iliad" has endured centuries of analysis and close-reading and yet has a long way to go in terms of fame and remembrance. In fact, I know many people who read it today for pleasure. Here's my verdict of a poem that created one of the greatest heroes know to mankind: Achilles.

Characters:

My favourite character was, in fact, Achilles. Now, there are several reasons for that - the first and most foremost one is that whenever you think of "Achilles", you think of this:

Damn straight. Brad Pitt as Achilles in the film Troy. 

Well, Achilles the hero is an immortal and he's extremely stubborn. As a demigod, he is the only one that shows an actual three dimensional vision of every human emotion physically possible. He is a great antihero who then turns into a human/god superpower and is emotionally damaged by the death of Patroclus - which haunts him until the end. 

Themes:

Well, one of the main themes - (if you haven't guessed) - is war and redemption. The entire basis of the war is not the actual war, but the war that Achilles and other characters have with themselves. For example, when Patroclus died, Achilles had to up his courage to Hector - and when Hector died, the women had to put through a point in order to get his body back for a funeral. A brilliant interweaving of mass war and personal war. 

Storyline:

The storyline is sometimes a little difficult to follow, but the emotions are put together very strongly. Each piece and character are finely tuned like a melody, to suit their own said piece. My favourite part is probably the face/off between Achilles and Hector. 

Verdict:

I'm not doing a rating for this because you can't rate something so beautiful....like Brad....I mean Iliad. 

It's brilliant. Whatever you say, it's brilliant. 

Here's some pictures of Brad as Achilles - F-Y-E:

One Thousand Splendid Suns

This book is on the top-ten-books list of every Asian girl I know. It is a dramatisation of cultural constraints in a society that every single Asian girl/woman can relate to. When I read this book a few years ago - I felt somewhat connected to something I felt such a distance from. More applicable today than ever, I can assure the future readers of Modern Asian Fiction that this is one of the great Modern Novels, not only of Asian Fiction, but of ALL fiction. 

Characters:

My favourite character (as is everyone's) is Mariam. Mariam is a great heroine of counter-culture and the represents the harsh reality of everything that is wrong with Asian culture. The ability that Mariam has to overcome this is only put through by her horrible circumstances of living with Rasheed. This is then mirrored completely on to Laila's condition and her concentration on finding and marrying Tariq. Mariam is the symbol of heroism in a world spinning violently out of control. Ultimately, she is a tragic character and her only freedom is death. One tragedy after another causes depression, but the feeling accumulates from the very beginning of what is, a great novel. Her mother suicides, her father is a horrible man who takes her in only to marry her off early to get her out of the house. Mariam is one of the greatest characters created in the culture of Modern Asian Literature. 

Themes:

The theme of freedom and confinement is the greatest one of them all. Mariam is the exact representation of the confinements that most Asian girls have. Each of her confinements is made to jigsaw to another and each of them represent the Asian-female everywoman. The fact that Asian girls are expected to be homely and not go out much, the fact that Asian girls are expected to do all the housework, the fact that Asian girls are expected not to get angry and not to talk much and not to be/dress/act loudly. Yet men can. Mariam breaks these restraints as Rasheed pushes her over the edge. And this has not only given her courage, but given her Asian-girl reader courage as well. I feel that this book connects with Modern Asian Female culture on a much deeper level than in would've if it were written 50 to 70 years earlier. Back then, it was normal for every woman to be homely and do these things - it was a natural process. Now, because of modern feminism - every woman wants to break from constraints and find their own selves. Yet, some are still not allowed to. The higher sense is obviously felt by Asian women who live in Western Societies - they see the freedoms but are forbidden from experiencing them. The die tragically, just like Mariam. Mariam is the everywoman for the Asian Woman. 

Storyline:

An intricately woven storyline that encompasses so many different emotions, characters and themes - we get a sense that tragedy may never end. Khaled Hosseini gives us a dramatisation of an Afghani cultural mess in which the storyline is the only thing that is certain is complete destruction. 

Verdict:

I give this book 9:

100% for characters: Mariam is carefully constructed to give us an insight to the life of the oppressed woman, and the fact that it is written in such a poetic style only adds to the catharsis of her life in comparison to the lamentation of freedom. 

100% for themes: The theme of freedom and confinement is only one of the many great themes covered in this novel. It has such a standing that it almost gives a new outlook on to the characters and story each time you read it. Each time you see the themes, you see that they can be applied to more things and this is the true beauty of the novel. 

100% for storyline: When a story is so carefully constructed, like this. It is hard to miss the great detail that has gone into it. No spoilers, but it is tragically perfect. 

Breakfast on Pluto

Where to begin?

This is one of my all-time favourite books (and my favourite film!) and I absolutely love EVERYTHING (and I mean EVERYTHING) about it! The storyline is just beautifully crafted and has a lovely set of catharsis to accompany it. The themes are always dreamy and twisted yet decadent and tragic - creating an atmosphere of a post-modern Nabokovian novel. The characters! PATRICK! OH MY GOD! Patrick Braden is my all-time favourite fictional character and I absolutely love him to bits. There is nothing I can find that is wrong with this book, nothing at all. 

Characters:

To start off with, Patrick Braden (as I said earlier) is an amazing reckless savage of a woman that goes looking for his mother in London, even though he's from Ireland. He travels around with rock bands, magicians, politicians, rich guys, his best friends AND members of the IRA in a 1970s Ireland where everything is falling apart so quickly. Patrick seems lost and depressed, yet keeps his hopes up by shopping and playing the gold-digger girl. Patrick McCabe really knew exactly what he wanted when he created Ms Braden! You got that from my best side darlings! 

Themes:

The hardest hit theme revolves around the theory that every cloud has a silver lining. Patrick Braden spends his time getting into trouble in nightclubs, getting almost blown to bits in London by the IRA and getting almost-shot by some gun dealers in Ireland. Yet, he still manages to 'strut the catwalks' as he puts it (and better than everyone else as well!) This theme is more than nailed into the walls of the Catholic church ("St-f****'s-good-for-nothing" as Paddy calls it) in the film as well (which was brilliant).

Storyline:

Where do I begin with the story? It was perfection! Patrick grows up in the parish with a few friends and then decides he wants to be a woman. He leaves the church in search of his mother and all whilst the IRA bombings are unknown as where they're striking next. Some of his friends die, some leave him, some come looking for him and some get in deep with the wrong people. All of it happens whilst Patrick is in search of himself and all is told through a 1st person perspective of Patrick Braden as he wants to be 'flash lite by a halo of yellow bulbs'. Oh how charming, Patrick! 

Verdict:

I give this book 10/9

4/3 for characters (yes, I know): But Patrick! HOW CAN YOU SAY NO TO PATRICK?! If you can, I'm sorry - we can't be friends. Ever. Patrick is everything that is right with life. 

100% for themes: I absolutely love his optimism even though the world he knows shatters around him in fire and war and death. He remains positive and strikes his pink heels at the ground towards London - without a single penny to his name. 

100% for storyline: The charming Patrick leaves nothing out and contains us within his world only long enough to be able to let us get back to our own lives. He's a perfect hero in the form of a better woman than I will ever be! I feel somewhat sentimental towards Patrick because of his story and regularly like the re-read the book - just to check up on him. 

P.S - Back in 2005 I fell in love with Cillian Murphy because of this film. This and Red Eye. Is that weird?

Measure for Measure

Get ready again, for another rant. Angelo is such a little idiot that I cannot believe he even made it to the final act! But, maybe Shakespeare wanted us to hate Angelo so that we feel more sympathy towards the Duke...(?) Or maybe, he wanted us to concentrate on hating Angelo so much that we forget that it's the Duke that put us here in the first place. This is my perspective of William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. 

Characters:

My favourite character was probably Isabella, who was the only one who was doing what she thought was right as opposed to something for self-gratification (Angelo) - or what he thought the 'people' would like (Duke). She was the only character with half a brain. But still, she was naive enough to let that Angelo anywhere near her. 

Themes:

My favourite theme in this is religious hypocrisy. The entire theme is portrayed through Angelo's character and it's William Shakespeare's hand at mocking the Catholic religion (with a Latin Italian name like Angelo - meaning "Angel" or "Saint") - what an absolute legend Shakespeare is, hey? Religious hypocrisy can be seen in many of Shakespeare's other plays as well: Othello, Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, Antony and Cleopatra and Julius Caesar are only some of the many religious hypocritical plays written by the bard. 

Plot:

I think the plots and sub-plots of this particular play are far from amazing. They are some of the best sub-plots in English theatre and need to be better recognised:

- At first we've got Isabella's brother (Claudio) in jail for accused rape

- Then we've got the Duke leaving Angelo in charge in order to spy on Angelo to see whether he is doing things accordingly

- THEN we've got Isabella's "relation" with Angelo

-  Then we've got the Mistress Overdone and the Pimps going to prison and what not

- THEN we've got the Duke's secret love for Isabella

- Then we have the trials and appeals of Isabella 

Look at all those plot-lines....

Verdict:

I give this play an 8/9

2/3 for characters: Only because I loathed Angelo entirely. But I really liked how forward-thinking Isabella was and Claudio's character didn't seem too unbearable. 

100% for themes: Religious hypocrisy is set out so well in this play that it takes the embodiment of Angelo as a parody of the audience itself! Remember: this is how pious Elizabethans would've been!

100% for plot: The plot, as I said before, has an amazing interweaving that entails every characters' story and makes sure that each life is woven into everyone else's. What careful planning is this? 

And remember: "Our doubts are traitors..." 

The Book of Lost Things

The Book of Lost Things follows a child who discovers a goblin-like shadow of a creature in his room and decides to follow it into the woods. Resonating a dark "Alice in Wonderland" -esque picture, this novel is hard to fault as a YA modern classic. 

Characters:

David is 12 years old and has a bad relationship with his father after he's due to get remarried. His father does sound like a really horrible man who seeks only to get his son out of the way - but David proves his own bravery by finding the "Book of Lost Things" and making his way around the course, only to decide his own fate at the hands of Jonathan. 

Themes:

The theme of "lost and found" is an obvious one, but also one that the book delves into extensively. It not only gives you a cyclic reality of David finding the "book" and then it being called "the book of lost things" - THEN you find the book and read David's tale as a kind of allegory in "the book of lost things". But, this book also explores the "lost" as David's biological mother and the "found" as his new one. 

Storyline:

The storyline reminds us of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Grimm's fairy tales",  just both of them are blended together and the line between real and unreal becomes lost itself. It is complex enough to write about, but not so complex as to lose the main train of thought. 

Verdict:

I give this book a 9.

100% characters:

David is a complex 12 year old with relatable qualities, yet also unbelievable strength. This makes David one of YA's modern great heroes.

100% themes:

The themes are well developed and the theme of "lost and found" is well explored in many real and unreal concepts that David himself must encounter. 

100% storyline:

An appropriate, yet original storyline that takes slight inspirations from Carrollian fiction and Grimm Tales; we see that David is growing up and now must let go of these fantasy worlds that he encounters in fairy tale fiction and this is what he must seek to lose. Another brave and close encounter with the lost and found. 

The Haunting of Hill House

The Haunting of Hill House was a great book - sometimes it lacked three dimensional characters and a good storyline, but the haunting itself was excellently written. 

Characters:

My favourite character was Dr. Montague. This was purely because he was the only character that I felt a connection with. The only character that I felt partially sorry for; he seemed so sure that the house wasn't haunted, but then - well, it was. He had all of his beliefs challenged and expelled and finally, only after he left did he realise what that house was really capable of. 

Themes:

The gothic. A brilliant theme to perceive horror through. A lens of discomfort and disengagement that only makes it so uncomfortable that we want to read it. This is a funny human thing but works well when it comes to horrific and graphic gothic literature. Some of the quotations are amazing; especially when describing the house. It almost makes you ask the characters: why the hell would you go in there? 

Storyline:

I have to admit, I don't like the typical 'haunted house' storyline, but I enjoyed this because language, form and structure were able to pick it up - rather if it didn't have that; I probably would've had a Gatsby rant about it. 

Verdict:

I give this book 6/9

100% Characters: 

Dr. Montague was relatable, yet unreliable. He was corporate yet emotional and he was scientific yet superstitious. I think he had the best character equilibrium I have seen in the entire book. 

100% Themes: 

A brilliantly written gothic horror modern classic, I believe that this book could be rated just for its use of language around the topic of gothic horror.  

0% Storyline:

I think the storyline needed to be a little more multi-layered than a simple haunted house. I think there could've been more depth to the novel and a better sense of the supernatural (as some of the descriptions were cut short or not focussed enough). 

All in all, I did like this book - but I wouldn't read it again for pleasure. It was mediocre and had a brilliant cast with some well-developed themes, just a let down with the storyline.

The Exorcist

The scariest novel of all time... apparently 

Characters:

My favourite character here was most probably Father Karras as he seemed the most three dimensional. It was almost as if we were getting the story of him and not the story of Reagan's possession. He starts off as a normal man, but descends into depression and drink with the death of his mother. He then gets (what Christian Volger would name as) the "call to adventure" as he is asked to exorcise Reagan. A number of other mishaps happen to him and he just seems like the unluckiest guy in the world - we do support him though, when he takes the exorcism on. 

Themes:

My favourite theme in the novel was most probably 'faith VS doubt'. Father Karras not only has numbers of doubts when he has a 'call to adventure' - but Chris McNeil also has doubts about her daughter's condition being something religious - but both regain faith with the exorcism of Reagan. Which almost makes her exorcism and possession seem like a good thing, doesn't it? 

Storyline:

The intricacies of the storyline were well adapted to the novel - but some seemed a little unnecessary. I mean, when the whole Iraq thing was happening, there was a sudden requirement to keep flicking back to it; we understood it the first time. This made the possession and exorcism itself seem a little cut-short and not as catastrophic as Blatty could've made it. As for 'most terrifying novel of all time'; the novel is quite terrifying, but the 1973 film? I've met bread scarier than that. Most of the film just deals with Father Karras's drinking problem and dead mother. In the book it was much more sinister in description, especially about how he regains strength. 

Verdict:

I give this book a 7/9.

3/3 for characters: Father Karras was so well developed and three dimensional, it seemed like he was the everyman who was also nobody important. 

3/3 for themes: The juxtapositions that appear constantly in the book give themselves room to expand and become extended metaphors for more things. I find this a brilliant adaptation of skills into writing technique. 

1/3 for storyline: Although the characters and themes are very good, the storyline was a little lacklustre for me. I didn't find it overly frightening and felt like there could've been more exorcism/possession stuff happening. Also, the ending could've been written a little bit better - it seemed rushed and a little cut-short. 

A Clockwork Orange

This book by Anthony Burgess follows Alex, a young delinquent, through the streets of his chaos caused by him and his friends. It's more famous film A Clockwork Orange by Stanley Kubrick seemingly has some discrepancies, but not many. There's a certain charm about this novel that never fades as the whole thing is written completely in a made-up language called NADSAT (a mixture between colloquial Russian and Cockney rhyming slang). Most editions have a copy of the glossary telling you what the words mean in the back. 

Characters:

I think, as Alex gains a better knowledge of himself and starts to learn what's happening in biblical literature whilst in prison - we have a better insight to him as a narrator as now he cannot move around as much as he is confined to a cell. This means we get a more psychological look at him and how he is 'changing' to fit a new schema of 'good behaviour' as stated by government officials. As the novel moves, we go from feeling horrible towards Alex to having sympathy for him - this is done over only 2 sections and the change in Alex is drastic - and completely juxtaposes the ending. 

Themes:

My favourite theme in this novel is dystopia. I think that it lies differently to books like 1984 in which the dystopian world was simply dark, dull and completely controlled. This book, on the other hand, has a dystopia which is completely out of control - and that's why it's so colourful and satirical; it has the properties of a utopian vision (in which the people control their own rights and they do what they feel like doing - because 'liberation'). Yet, it shows the reader exactly what happens in a world without rules. Probably telling us that we require a balance somewhere in there. 

Storyline:

The storyline, although sometimes difficult to follow, has a series of major events that take place one after the other - one catastrophe after another happens. It is as if we experience a new side of Alex in each chapter, and he knows that he's narrating his own biography - which is even weirder as we don't know as to why he includes such horrible things that he does if he wants to make us like him at all. 

Verdict:

I give this book a 7/9

Characters = 100%

Alex is crafted wonderfully into a world where everything is slowly crumbling around him and he stars in his own tragedy. Yet, we still have a rise at the end. A beautifully tragic character. 

Themes = 2/3

Some of the themes were a little lacklustre, such as the biblical notion in the middle - it sort of just ended. But, saying that, Burgess did dystopia and human rights brilliantly.

Storyline = 2/3

I feel it cut a little short and that goes for the ending as well. The ending was a little brief and could've done with more explanation about why it happens - and it also ends at such an odd pinnacle in his life that we feel a little underwhelmed. On the other hand, where there is real dystopian drama, there IS real dystopian drama. 

Interview with the Vampire

Now this is a novel gets nowhere near enough credit. It was like a brand-new horror revolution. The Gothic was reborn alongside this book and with it came these terrifying Byronic Heroes. So let's first talk about the sheer volume of information that is in this novel; I think it's absolutely amazing what this book can teach us about describing the afterlife and really putting vampiric tendencies into more personal contacts; something that Dracula didn't have. 

Characters:

Now, my favourite character is Lestat, this is because he's the absolute hero. He's the one that all of the others are trying to be like. Yet, they'll seem to want to kill him. I think this is brutally unfair and Louis has no right to be a vampire everybody knows that Lestat is the vampire. I mean our hero has an entire novel in the series dedicated to him! The whole series revolves around him! Why would you be Team Louis? Louis doesn't even come back from most of the series. There is nothing to stop Lestat taking over the vampire world; only Armand, Daniel, David, Tarquin, the Mayfair witches, Akasha and other stupities; once all of these are dealt with must be pretty easy for the head vampire to reclaim his throne. Throughout the entire series (which I will can talk about later) this vampire is the ultimate antihero he does things that are considered out of the normal at the risk of those who he knows can take the risks. For example he accidentally wakes the Queen Vampire; and now she wants to wreck a horrible vengeance upon earth and kill humans and vampires alike. Just a big revolution of suffering, I guess. 

Themes:

The best theme in the entire series is the language of the supernatural. I think Rice does this brilliantly and she completely understand crossover between our world and their's. There's the sense of: do we think she's a vampire? There's also a sense of: she understands her characters very very well. It's almost like she's there narrating the entire scene to us and it's like Lestat is telling her what to write. And with all the juxtapositions between our world and their's it's a very binary outlook - there's a lot black-and-white and not a lot of grey area. And this grey area is filled with language of supernatural and only Rice can do this. Only Rice can achieve this. And since the language of the supernatural is used continuously throughout the series I think it's a grey area that definitely requires some focus.

Storyline:

I cannot say anything bad about the storyline of this book. Again it's one of those that you have to read it and you have to live it to be able to truly connect with the characters. It's a very avant-garde novel and I think that because of this avant-garde nature it too, like the other novels seeks to be a parody of itself. For example when Claudia and Louis go to the theatre they see "vampires pretending to be humans pretending to be vampires" and they believe that this is very "avant-garde." Do you realise what this is now represents? It represents that Anne Rice has fooled us all. Well played Rice, well played. 

This is because the vampires in the series are constantly "vampires pretending to be humans pretending to be vampires" and they are always being victimised and criminalised for it, yet nobody can prove it. People think it is simple avant-garde theatre act. The Theatre Des Vampires. 

Verdict: 

I give this book 9.

100% Characters: 

I cannot fall at any of the characters. We are made to love someone we are made to hate some (Claudia). But all are constructive using "the hero with 1000 faces". This book by Joseph Campbell Will help to anyone to understand why the characters are the way they are and come to think of it the only thing you can think of when you hear the word Lestat is Tom Cruise. Why? That is the most famous portrayal of the vampire, yet not the only one. The vampire was also played by Stuart Townsend in (2003) film The Queen of the Damned. This was more hedonistic Lestat than what we were used to. A grey area filled up with crazy guitar music.

100% Themes: 

The themes of this novel seem to work absolutely perfectly with what it's trying to achieve. As I've already proclaimed, the avant-garde nature of the work makes for a better interweave of themes and creates the human-vampire-human equilibrium act pretty well. 

100% Storyline: 

The story is the relentless tale of Louis, born to darkness. Intricately woven so that we as readers meet every major character on our journey - encountering both good and bad vampire in order for it to be expanded on later.

Less Than Zero

"Less than Zero" is one of my all-time favourite novels from the 1980s. I think that this novel is very underrated because it so complex that I think people just fail to understand it. It has all of these layers and story and the characters that all intertwine with each other and ultimately become the faces of the failed youth. This grand image that we have of the 1980s - it takes place in America; it is the only viable place that we could imagine something so raw and murderous and just completely insane. I mean if it was set anywhere else I don't think it would have the same effect. I remember people calling it cliche and thinking it was just another American teen novel but it's not. And all other people that I got to read this book, came back to me and apologised; they told me that they were overwhelmed. I feel that this novel gets some serious backlash it does not deserve. 

Characters:

My favourite character in this entire series is a man called Julian Wells. I did my a-level coursework on Wells, and I got an A* for it. I think Julian what one of those characters that you secretly felt sorry for but you always externally hated. You never knew exactly why you hated him; you just did. In the end I think everyone could relate on some level to Julian and that was the excellence of his character.

Themes:

The best theme in "Less than Zero" is called: where does the right go wrong? In better aspects this is called morality and I think it's portrayed as something very confusing. The novel concentrates on how the younger generation grower in this mindset of not knowing whether they're wake up the next morning. There's drugs and there's car chases and there's a parties and none of these teens understand that one day that's all gonna go. I think the main theme of this novel is that nothing lasts forever and that those who can't understand that will perish. And that fits in very well with the morality argument about how right is sometimes wrong and how wrong is sometimes right. I think that the teens have yet to realise more important things in life and when they do realise that Julian's already gone and there's nothing that Clayton can do about it. This 80s decadence is something that the teens obviously fear and are trying to keep alive through all of these parties - the morality argument fits perfectly it's not the morality of the kids that's the problem; it's the morality of their lifestyle. Kind of like Fitzgerald novel one day it's all going to come crashing down around them and there will be nothing that they can do to stop it - it will be one endless cycle of tragedy. 

Storyline:

The storyline of the novel came across as a little bit simple to begin. But, when we really get into it we start to realise now that Clayton is the only one that makes any sense at all and he's not the best character to rely on since he's also one of those who are doing things wrong. The storyline completely revolves around Clayton coming back home for Christmas and realising that everything a Greek Tragedy. Nobody is able to find Julia and everyone's really worried about Clayton and Clayton's trying to find Julian - but when we think about the novel and how we believe it revolves around Clayton perspective we realise that it actually revolves around the life of Julian. Julian is the central character he is the reason the creation and walks behind the entire tragedy of the novel. I mean the spray paint seen the end is just amazing and we see how Julian has kind of sketched a legacy on the wall as a memento of the fact that he's gone. Easton Ellis is the best works include American Psycho, The Rules of Attraction and Imperial Bedrooms. All follow similar themes and storylines of tragedy and sociopaths in normality. 

Verdict:

I'm going to give this novel eight out of nine.

100% characters: I think that Julian is a wonderful yet enigmatic intense and decadent character. He's one of literature's great mysteries and for this I think he'd used to being a character that creates the most controversy - I mean he is the direct representation of morality, mortality and decadence the three most important things in the entire book. He's also an interesting mechanism for this Fitzgerald "Beautiful and Damned" image - kind of the same thing we get in "A Diamond as Big as the Ritz". Julian is the complete embodiment of everything that is wrong 1980s America. This is an image that is manipulated from "The Great Gatsby" and it is absolutely perfectly as we see history repeating from the roaring 20s to the beautiful and decadent 80s. All is done through the character of Julian. 

100% themes: the themes of the novel cannot be faulted. There's almost a vast manipulation which is the manipulation of character. Julian is alienated and when Clayton returns is only a matter of time before he hops on the bandwagon as well - Clayton becomes alienated. It's only a matter of time before he realises that he can justify Julian's action, he can justify Finn's control, he can justify Blair's sense of discouragement and he does this by giving us a speech on how justifies anything that Ripp is doing. I'm the best part is where he makes a little bit of a speech about teen culture and how the rich are ultimately damned. It's where he says "you have everything what do you want to do this?" And the reply you get is "because I have nothing to lose." I think that's a beautiful quotation on have a characters have been manipulated to believe that their lives are the best they can have. 

Two out of three for storyline: this is only because the storyline seems a little bit oversimplistic kind of like a Fitzgerald novel; I don't know what that's done on purpose or not. It was only had bit underwhelming at the end but the brilliant scene where we see Julian's graffiti is something to be remembered.

All in all it is something that needs to be read to be believed.

The Prestige

As one of my favourite books ever, this Christopher Priest novel-turned-movie starring Bale and Jackman is seriously underrated. This amazing book of magic realism is split up into various volumes.

Characters:

My favourite character is Nicky Borden. He seems to have his head screwed on right and the fact that his life is a mystery and we find it out slowly with a very interesting backstory only makes his character all the more intriguing. The entire game of his character is interesting because he's a journalist and his job is to find out the backstory - he ends up looking for someone and finding his own backstory.

Themes:

Well, my favourite theme of this novel is magic realism. I have always loved myself a good bit of magic realism, it restores my faith in humanity and gives me hope that magic does, in fact, exist. Magic Realism is the epitome of magic as a reality and this, in The Prestige is viable until the end of the third volume, and then it comes back later in the fourth when we start to find out real secrets of real magicians. 

Storyline: 

A kind of reads like those old Victorian novels. I feel like there's a deep connection between reader and protagonist and there's also a sense of you never know who because this is a big five between Alfred and Rupert. There's a sense off when you're reading one journal you think that their the hero and it's only after all of the Victorian decadence that we realise that we don't know what is actually going on and that's the true beauty of the novel. I think it's excellent. I think that this novel is one of the better post-Victorian Magic realism novels and after you read it you still feel like you're stuck in the limbo of the novel. I definitely feel a deep connection. 

Verdict:

Well I only could possibly give this novel a straight nine.

100% characters: Nicky is one of the most intriguing characters I've ever encountered. The sheer three dimensional perspective we get is amazing; and when we get further in the novel we realise that we're not actually looking at an image of post-Victorian decadence. We're looking at image of our protagonist. A mirror image.

100% themes: I love reading about magic realism. I love this sheer beauty of how we can mix the real-world with something so complex as magic. There's a brilliant sense of decadence there as well that is always lurking in the background; and I think with this we getting very 20s USA outlook of the world. 

As the novel moves on we get a brand-new perspective on the world because we seem to go straight through World War I almost without feeling. Then we take that step back for reflection, then we seen to see straight through World War II and the themes that come out of this are in tents and psychological I'm philosophical all at the same time.

100% storyline: As I said before, the storyline of this novel is revolutionary. A novel that lacks emotion yet evokes catharsis. Even though it lacks emotion we get a purging of the pathos. The storyline plus the language, plus themes and characters; could only equal a novel absolute beauty. 

No wonder this is one of my favourite novels. 

The Great Gatsby

Get ready for a rant. I disliked this book upon first reading it - thinking it was trying too hard to be clever and is now the ultimate hipster go-to novel. I have no idea as to why. I do not like this book at all. 

Characters: 

Oh Jay, how I loathe you entirely. He's a character who is completely two dimensional. Yes, I understand there is an essence of mystery about him - but it's only mystery if the reader actually wants to know who he is. Personally, I did not care. 

Jay was a loathsome character who always seemed like he had something better to do than wherever he was at that moment, which is completely hypocritical to who he actually is because apparently he doesn't do anything at all. Except for throwing decadent, yet pointless parties every Saturday night. 

Themes:

There is a nasty little bugger of a theme called decadence. Every hipster likes to use this word to describe stuff, but very few know what it actually means. The decadence of The Great Gatsby isn't the parties, it isn't the affair with Daisy Buchanan and it isn't the friendship between Jay and Nick. It IS in fact, the way that Jay represents the decadence of Jazz Age America into the descent of the Wall Street Market Crash. And this, is only picked up by people who know where it is (kind of like Tortuga from POTC). 

Storyline:

I understand that the reason little hipsters like this novel is because of all the 'beautiful' and 'vintage' Jazz Age stuff - but the storyline itself is too short and cut short of being a great novel. It is like the novel is a decadent parody of itself - it could've been something great, but it was cut completely short of doing so. The only thing I liked about this book is the way language was used to convey and hide this true decadence and parody of culture in 20s America. A lot of people don't understand that this book is actually a sarcasm, which is the only thing I like about Fitzgerald. There, I said it. 

Verdict:

Out of 9, I give this book a 3.

1/3 for characters: I hated Jay more than any other character of literature. I did, however, like the fact that he was well portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in the recent film adaptation. I couldn't stand Daisy in any aspect, Nick was a spoilt brat and Jordan was pessimistic - it was like everyone in this novel just wanted to end up miserable. Tom, Myrtle and George were none the better either. Even Daisy's daughter was a 'pretty fool'. 

1/3 for themes: The themes were well portrayed but a little too obvious. They needed to be better hidden to catch my attention, sorry F.Scotty. 

1/3 for storyline: Okay, so I like the way the story is a parody of itself, but it was frustrating to see it cut so short when things needed a better explanation - it was very underwhelming.

And here is the only reason to read it:

"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then - but that's no matter. Tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther and one fine morning -

So we beat on. Boats against the current, borne back, ceaselessly into the past..." 

Les Miserables

I don't want to sound pretentious and say that I read this book because I'm into such fiction and feel like I'm a cultured hipster who's *so* interested in France. I'm not. The real reason I read this book was to say that I'd read it. But, I was not disappointed. 

Characters:

My favourite character is the tragic Epoinine. Purely because she is the vital image of the tragic rich girl that was only imitated by Fitzgerald some 100 years later. I feel that there are some massive coherencies between the characters of Epoinine from Les Miserables and Daisy Buchanan from The Great Gatsby. All in all, Epoinine Thenardier is the ultimate lover who is unrequited and therefore dies of a 'broken heart'. 

Themes:

The best theme throughout the entire novel is justice. Obviously with Valjean fighting constantly for justice and then not letting someone who looks like him take the fall for what he did. Javert who is the law above the law who ultimately commits suicide by plunging to his death and declaring that he has done nothing but wrong with the monarchic and then terror inflicted law in France. Fantine who dies trying to fight for her unknown daughter's right to live a free life and Cossette (her daughter) who then fights for her right to be with a soldier named Marius. Then we have the unjust, the Thenardier clan - Mr and Mrs Thenardier, Epoinine, Augusta and Gavroche - all tragic. Javert can be seen as unjust towards his pursuit of Valjean - meaning his suicide can be called just.  

Storyline:

You cannot argue that the storyline of Les Miserables is intricate and beautiful in its form. There is very little room for improvement with all its verboseness and concealment of true motives. The book is set over the lifetime of Valjean and starts with the building of a hospital in justice by the Bishop. A brilliant sequence of events that interweaves several lives from different classes and genders and calls them to adventure as they become figures of great and foreboding tragedy from wherever we take their story. Split into books (volumes) in which we see the stories of different characters form, there is a sentimental regret for these beings going through such extremities - even though they are fictitious. 

Verdict:

I have given this book 8/9

3/3 for characters: Each character has their own perception and seemingly each character has their own three dimensional world in which they tragically reside. 

3/3 for themes: Each theme is carefully woven to have juxtaposing effects on juxtaposing characters. For example justice on Valjean juxtaposes injustice on Javert's part. But both are a cause and effect of each other. 

2/3 for storyline: As intricate and beautifully crafted as it is, sometimes it is harder to follow for an audience of people who seek time to read. Analysis is simple though. 

The Brothers Karamazov

An exciting mystery novel here. I believe that this book is seriously underrated for what it is and highly recommend this as a bit of light reading. 

Characters:

So, my favourite character is probably Aloysha Karamazov - purely because he is the most three-dimensional of the brothers. He is neither here, nor there. A pious man, he is one of the suspects of patricide and therefore, even though he is a man of God, he is still a suspect of our imaginations. A brilliant juxtaposition of prejudice by Dostoyevsky - typically Dostoyevskyan in a character (like Mr Golyadkin in The Double. Coming soon) to have a side of piety or righteousness, then a larger side that is withheld from us as readers. 

Themes:

The best theme in any Dostoyevsky novel is concealment. Concealment of information, character, self, philosophy, psychology, true motives, intelligence, capacity etc etc. In this novel, a true work of concealing genius is formatted around the character of Aloysha and we, as readers are given information in bitesized amounts as the novel unfolds around us. 

Storyline:

The storyline is brilliantly intricate and as my favourite character is Aloysha, I love how you can choose which character your Dostoyevskyan world revolves around. I mean, some may have Dmitri as their's, but mine is Aloysha. I just think that he is one of the most crafted characters in European literature, ever! The storyline seeks to hide things from the reader in plain sight - so we may miss small details that end up having a massive effect on the outcome of the novel and the dystopian crumble of a Europe around us makes the patricide of this novel seem only more mysterious, sinister and psychologically motivated. 

Verdict: 

Out of 9 (3 marks for each section)

I will give this book 7 out of 9.

3/3 for characters - purely because of the juxtaposition between Dmitri and Aloysha Karamazov. 

2/3 for the themes - They're great, but sometimes in Dostoyevskyan fiction, they can get a little repetitive.

2/3 for the storyline - Careful of not to miss things that are so intricate you wouldn't pick them up even if you were critically analysing the novel. Sometimes the whole thing is a little tricky to follow down the winding path. 

Welcome!

Welcome to 5ft 2.

The reference is to me - NJ, your humble host, who is 5ft 2.5 to be exact. These will be short reviews (I'll try - I seem to go on forever sometimes) on books that I read, or have read. Keeping it simple enough to understand and leaving out the theoretical jargon that everyone pretends to understand (sorry, hipsters).

Well, on with the show...

First post of 5ft 2 - Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov