What is the last book you read, and your rating?
- rakara
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Re: What is the last book you read, and your rating?
I felt a connection with this book. A few year ago, I was stalked online. The culprit ended up being someone I never expected it to be. I can't objectively rate this book. I will say if you are into true accounts of this nature, I highly suggest reading it.
- Redlegs
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Firstly, Effi Briest by Theodor Fontane (1895) is set in what was Prussia, now Germany, in the 19th century.
It is the tale of a young woman, Effi, who is married at age 17 to a man more than 20 years older, when she was, in spirit at least, still a girl who liked to play games with her friends.
Fontane's writing is gentle and lyrical, and many events are hinted at rather than described directly. Morals and sensibilities are preserved for the reader, despite the novel being about a wife who was unfaithful and a husband who was unforgiving. There are obvious parallels to Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary, but Fontane's novel lacks the impact of those classics.
This is ultimately a sad and thought provoking novel that is worthwhile reading but not quite as satisfying as it might have been.
I am rating it 3.5 stars out of 5 - just short of a 4.
Secondly, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Stories by Robert Louis Stevenson. Apart from the classic and well known Jekyll and Hyde, which itself is no longer than a novella, this edition contains a number of other short stories, which are mostly dark stories of murder and intrigue, bordering on the macabre.
All in all, I was underwhelmed by all of these stories, which I found to be underdeveloped and lacking in dramatic tension and, frankly, I was pretty bored by it all. I will give it a generous 3 stars out of 5.
The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
- NnamAries
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- Redlegs
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This is the intense and compelling story of a man 'running amok', the result of a brief but highly charged encounter with a mystery woman.
On a ship travelling from India to Europe, the narrator meets a cautious man, a doctor who until recently had been serving in a remote village in the Dutch East Indies, who shares his tragic and disturbing tale during the night, while the other passengers sleep.
The majority of the narrative is the doctor's story, while the narrator provides a setting and context for the conversation.
I will say nothing of the circumstances of the doctor's revelations to avoid any plot spoilers.
But this is a gripping, masterful tale from a writer in peak form, who understands that fiction does not necessarily require 300 pages or more to be intelligent, satisfying and genuinely brilliant.
Zweig is a master of of the short story. 4.5 stars out of 5.
The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
- mjiang
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- Redlegs
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I agree it’s pretty darn good, and incredibly sad.
The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
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- ShannonHBC
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3.5 stars out of 5
The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
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