The Literature Thread

[Pandaa]

has anyone read this yet ?

edit: nevermind, its not out yet lol

 

[Polaris_Tae]

If there's one thing that MXTX excels in it's tragedy and pining
She really snapped with the tragedy angle in The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System
That Shen Qingqiu scene in chapter 43 hurts me every damn time, no matter how many times I read it...

Like, Wangxian and Mo Dao Zu Shi are great.. but Bingqiu make me feel things

 

[Happy]

has anyone read this yet ?

edit: nevermind, its not out yet lol

Have you read it?

 

[hani's forehead]

i read it a few months ago!

 

[Pandaa]

Have you read it?

noo i will wait for tv adaptation

 

[Pandaa]

.

 

[Mina]

Bringing this thread back from the dead I guess lol because reddit scares me and I'm tired of goodreads' layout, so here's a review

Review of Nettle & Bone by T.Kingfisher
★★☆☆☆
''After years of seeing her sisters suffer at the hands of an abusive prince, Marra—the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter—has finally realized that no one is coming to their rescue. No one, except for Marra herself.
Seeking help from a powerful gravewitch, Marra is offered the tools to kill a prince—if she can complete three impossible tasks. But, as is the way in tales of princes, witches, and daughters, the impossible is only the beginning.
On her quest, Marra is joined by the gravewitch, a reluctant fairy godmother, a strapping former knight, and a chicken possessed by a demon. Together, the five of them intend to be the hand that closes around the throat of the prince and frees Marra's family and their kingdom from its tyrannous ruler at last.''

Spoiler

This book made me very conflicted because it has everything I need to love a book - fantasy, adventure, a fierce and determined female lead, as well as little to no romance, yet this book left me unsatisfied.

There are interesting aspects of this book, especially the political world and history surrounding the main character's family, but most of it was not explored further and just served as a side-piece to the characters' quest. This also applies to several other concepts in this story, which would've evolved the story a bit more in my opinion. Marra is given three impossible tasks in order to get help from the witch, but she solves them all in a little over one page. Why were they deemed as impossible if they were easily solved? Marra is not described as a genius or a particularly strong woman, but she is able to impress the witch with her ability to solve these tasks. The world building is weak, I would've loved to read more about the different kingdoms the crowd travelled through, what kind of people they met, what kind of houses they saw - most of the book was just Marra speaking to herself about the other characters. The book would have thrived if the author spent a few more pages on expanding the universe in which the book is set in as well as giving us more history and facts about it.
I did, however, love most characters. I see a lot of myself in Marra and really enjoyed following her through her naive childhood up to the point where she realizes no one is coming for the rescue. The character growth from the moment she realizes she needs to do this herself to the point where she's in the room waiting to kill the prince is great, it feels like a very realistic self-journey.
My favorite character was probably the witch, dust-wife, a sarcastic and funny older woman who can speak to the dead. She gives Marra three impossible tasks and follows along when Marra completes them all. Throughout the story, she spits out witty remarks and teaches her companions about the world they live in. The dust-wife is a tsundere character who is, in my opinion, the highlight of the book. Her ''feuds'' with the fairy godmother made me chuckle and in the end the dust-wife help them with their quest and even after it's completed.
Other characters include the fairy godmother, who really grew into her own throughout the story, a demon-chicken (who was more invisible in the story than I initially assumed it would be) and the former knight.
Thankfully, this novel does not have a lot of romance, although it is alluded that Marra and the former knight develop feelings for each other. It seems as if they end up together but as far as I'm concerned there are no romantic scenes apart from them hugging while falling asleep.
Overall, it's a book that holds a lot of potential but falls weak due to poor world-building and, may I say, weak story-telling. It's definitely a bummer since I looked forward to reading it and I would've loved to love this book, sadly I have to give it 2 stars. I will reread it in a few months or years to determine if my opinion still stands.

 

[Mina]

Book recommendation if you like fantasy and want some lighter reading It caught me off guard by how much I liked it even though I had problems getting into it at the beginning.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
★★★★☆
''Piranesi’s house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house.

There is one other person in the house—a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known.''

Unique, fascinating, and beautifully written.