Literary journey of an office career escapee
After reading “Tortilla Flat” by John Steinbeck for the first time a while ago, I was unsure of how I felt about it. I did not like the characters; that much I could say. My attitude towards people who choose life without obligations and, consequently, common comforts, is conflicted. The reason isn’t the lack of... Continue Reading →
I am yet to read a John Steinbeck book that I didn’t enjoy, and ‘Travels with Charley’ definitely hasn’t broken this circle. The legendary author’s novels are very different, and each of those that I’ve read impacted me differently. What they have in common is that they all have left a lasting impression, an aftertaste,... Continue Reading →
It is incredibly hard to write about the book that for decades has been among your favourites. The book, which you’ve reread quite a few times, at different periods of your life, every time finding something new. The controversy surrounding the book complicates matters even further. I always meant to write a review of “Gone... Continue Reading →
“Mansfield Park” is not my favourite book by Jane Austen. It doesn’t stop me, though, from rereading it from time to time as I do with all this author’s books. For a long time, “Northanger Abbey” remained my least favourite Austen novel. But after the last rereading a few years ago, it moved up my... Continue Reading →
It took me a while to get to writing the review of "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck. Still, having sat down to do it today, I feel that my impressions are as fresh as they’d been back in September when I’d read the book. "Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink,... Continue Reading →
This book has crushed me. Pressed me down like no other book has done – and I’ve read plenty. The story is so raw and so startingly real that if you have a heart, it can’t but start bleeding when you get to the last page. “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck is a... Continue Reading →
It was a chore to read this book. Yet, after I finished it, I felt as if I had lived among the troubled Compsons rather than read about them. The stream-of-consciousness narrative isn’t for every reader to digest and to enjoy. And when it’s a stream of a person with a mental disability and the... Continue Reading →
My son came over to me when I was writing this review and, peering over my shoulder, asked: “2K words in a review? Really, Mom?” I replied that this book deserves it, for it is one of the greatest books I have ever read. Probably the greatest. “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck, a... Continue Reading →
I don’t like writing reviews of the books that left me frustrated, and that’s why I haven’t written one for “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin, even though I finished reading it a while ago. Still, for the sake of objectivity, I’ve finally decided to share my thoughts about this novel. I don’t want to sound nasty, but... Continue Reading →
It is always difficult to share your thoughts about classics. Especially when you’ve struggled with some aspects of the book. At least this is the way it is for me. I don’t think my critical opinion holds any value on a global scale. Legendary books will be read irrespective of my subjective impressions. Still, on... Continue Reading →
Eve's Book Diary 