I loved most of the books I read this month but there were a few that big misses as well.
Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov *** – This autobiography I found when I was studying Lolita for college and realised that Nabokov wrote his autobiography at the same time. Nabokov begins with memories of his first conscious thoughts where he realises the two beings holding his hands are his mother and father. He recounts several memories from his early years often linked to thoughts or experiences he would have much later. One interesting thing about Nabokov was he didn’t die until the 70’s meaning he lived through the Russian war with Japan, the First World War, the abdication of the Tsar as well as the Second World War and much more. All this coupled with his living in many countries has given him a lot of memories he can write about.
2. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov ***** – So I don’t normally read classics but at a friend’s recommendation I picked up Lolita and I wasn’t disappointed. I am going to put a disclaimer here that this novel does deal with the sexual abuse and rape of a child. If you aren’t comfortable reading about these acts or having them discussed please don’t continue with this review. I am reading Lolita for a college assignment, but I found myself greatly enjoying this book. Since its publication Lolita has divided audiences you either love it or hate it and the subject matter is also very hard-hitting as it deals with the relationship between an adult male and a 12-year-old girl and the consequences of that relationship. I must first start by saying the introduction to Lolita actually gives away a lot of the plot, but you are intrigued to see how these events come about. We also know that the novel is told from the perspective of Humbert Humbert looking back on the events of his life and specifically how he meets Lolita and subsequently fell in love with her, or rather the idea of her. The opening of Lolita introduces Humbert Humbert who is writing from prison his version of the events which have landed him in prison. We also know from the forward the both Lolita and Humbert are dead, she died in childbirth at 17 and he died in prison of coronary thrombosis. Following Humbert’s early years really gives the reader a sense of the kind of person he is. He is a good looking, intelligent, yet timid boy who falls in love with Annabel in his young teens and tries to pursue a sexual relationship with her but ultimately fails which is followed by her untimely death. This hits Humbert extremely hard and he finds himself very depressed and comparing all his lovers to his lost love and finding himself disappointed. However, aware of the social pressures surrounding him he tries to follow convention.
3. The Way of Shadows (The Night Angel #1) by Brent Weeks **** – In the opening of The Way of Shadows we are introduced to key characters Durzo and Azoth. Azoth is an 11-year-old guild rat, a child thief forced to steal by the guild master who owns them. While life as a guild rat is extremely dangerous and most don’t live very long Azoth has an amazing friend in Jarl and sibling of sorts in Doll Girl. After one night of stealing Azoth witnesses the murder of several men in a tavern. The murder was committed by the infamous assassin Durzo Blint who spares Azoth’s life in return for his silence. However, as life as a guild rat is getting harder for him to bear, Jarl gives him all the money he has managed to save in the hopes Durzo will take him as an apprentice so he can free his friends for good. We also get a sense of the world and the political intrigue as Durzo is killing the kill with poison and sent to assassinate a General but decides against when overhearing a conversation that doesn’t go down well with the people he works for. Things soon take a turn for the devastating when Rat takes Jarl to be part of his harem breaking the boy beyond recognition angering Azoth. Durzo agrees to take Azoth on as an apprentice as long as he kills Rat but he finds himself making excuses until one of his friends is killed and Doll Girl is kidnapped. Rushing headfirst into the attack will get him killed and luckily Durzo comes to his aid. On the other side, we see Duke Gyre being sent away as his son Logan takes over his responsibilities at home and this young boy soon finds himself stepping into his father’s shoes with ease, even going against his normally overbearing mother because he knows what the right thing to do is.
4. The Divine Comedy (Part One; Inferno) by Dante Alighieri ***** – Before I can jump into the events of the first Canto, I do need to provide some context on The Divine Comedy itself. So, the book is set around 1300 and Dante himself was born around 1265 meaning it takes place directly in the middle of his mortal life, then it was considered to be around 70 years old. Before I started this book I did some research on the best way to read it as it is told in verse. The general consensus was to read each canto as an individual poem, so that’s the way I am reading it, because of this I will be writing my thoughts on each canto but it is split by section as well and then I will wrap it up with my thoughts on the book as a whole at the end. Due to the slightly complicated nature of some of the Cantos, I did have to consult good old SparkNotes.
5. The Divine Comedy (Part Two; Purgatorio) by Dante Alighieri **** – Purgatorio or purgatory picks up exactly where Inferno left off as Dante and Virgil leave Hell behind. These cantos contain a lot more information than the ones in Inferno and are more poetic as they contain metaphors. Dante opens Purgatorio with a metaphor as he compares his talent to that of a ship sailing across kinder waters than that of Hell, as they head to a place where people are cleansed of their sins. Dante is pleased to be out of Hell and being under the sky once more and he proceeds to invoke the muses and asks the head muse; Calliope for help so that his poem may rise again. At the entrance to Purgatory, they meet an old man who commands respect and asks Dante who he is as he has escaped Hell along with who his guide is and whether or not he has broken any laws of Hell. Virgil isn’t distracted by the appearance of the man and forces Dante to bow and responds to his questions, in the same manner, he did in Inferno whenever their journey was questioned.
6. The Divine Comedy (Part Three; Paradiso) by Dante Alighieri * – Much like my review of Part One of the Divine Comedy; Inferno and Part Two; Purgatorio I will review Paradiso in its various cantos. We know from both Inferno and Purgatorio that in this section of the novel Dante is going through Heaven or Paradise and that exactly where we find him with Beatrice at his side. On the journey to Heaven, Dante sees some amazing things but he muses they would be immediately forgotten by any mortal once they returned to Earth and he knows it is an impossible task to record all the amazing things he is going to see on his journey through Heaven.
7. The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty (Beauty #1) by A.N. Roquelaure ***** – Most people will already know that A. N. Roquelaure is a pseudonym of Anne Rice who wrote the Vampire Chronicles, but this is very different from her other works as this is an erotic retelling of the classic fairytale sleeping beauty. This opens with a young Prince attempting to free Beauty from her curse and even as he passes the skeletons of those who have tried before him he doesn’t believe in the curse until he sees the bodies of the courtiers frozen in time and eventually comes across Beauty herself and he is stunned by her beauty. Up until this point, it follows the same story as the fairytale, but he doesn’t wake Beauty with a kiss, he wakes her by taking her innocence. At that moment the Kingdom awakens and by the laws of this land Beauty now belongs to the Prince to do as he pleases with her and he intends to make her his Princess, which equals being his slave.
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