Add reviews

content/reviews/homo-deus.md

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+---
+title: Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow
+author: Yuval Noah Harari
+vote: 8/10
+read_in: English
+created_at: 2019-04-06
+tags: ['review']
+---
+
+An important read.
+
+It’s a thought-provoking reflection of where humankind is heading based on the recent trends in science and technology. I think its value is its invitation to keep in mind those possibilities when making choices about the way we live, how we use technology and science, and how we think about them.
+
+My conscience resonated with many of the point made. Maybe it happened the most with the question about why do humans consider themselves superior to all other species. Humans have long believed in the existence of a soul and one or more Gods but the author does a good job convincing the reader of the arbitrariness of those claims and shows how many of them originate from humanism, the philosophy that puts Man at the center of creation and values the individuality of its experiences and its choices.
+
+As an aside, I’ve appreciated the narrative device used in the first long chapter to lure in the reader. It’s one of those very general and sometimes boring depictions of possible future scenarios for life on Earth for the Homo Sapiens and almost seems to condemn the book to a negative classification, only to surprise towards the very end by showing the real intent of the work: Describe what is possible in order for us to steer away from it, in a similar way, for instance, as capitalists avoided the revolution of the proletariat by reading Marx and making work conditions more favorable.
+
+The discussion is encyclopedic and I rarely found it boring. Be prepared for one or two of your convictions to be shaken. A recommended book. 
+

content/reviews/interview-with-the-vampire.md

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+---
+title: Interview with the Vampire
+author: Anne Rice
+vote: 2/10
+read_in: French
+created_at: 2019-08-30
+tags: ['review']
+---
+
+Boring story of a vampire. I had this old memory of the movie with Tom Cruise and the little girl that was turned into a vampire before reaching sexual maturity, which was her damnation. I remembered it as a good movie. But the book is boring. I was hoping to find some interesting theme behind the now boring cliché of the vampire, but nope, my hopes were betrayed. Just stay away.

content/reviews/les-liaisons-dangereuses.md

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+---
+title: Les liaisons dangereuses
+author: Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
+vote: 5/10
+read_in: French
+created_at: 2019-12-29
+tags: ['review']
+---
+
+Also given the year of its publication (1782), this book is modern and surprising.
+
+It’s a disturbing window on a world of extreme decadence, where a lascivious private life corresponds to a great display of prudery in public. The aristocratic society of the years immediately preceding the French Revolution appears in all its convoluted and degenerated aspects. And of course, it’s the mirror of any society where one class has reached a level of well being that makes it bored and in search of secret perversions.
+
+I have generally appreciated the plot and the epistolary form. Even with all the positive aspects I have listed above, I can’t say I liked the book. What I liked the least was some stagnation in the plot. It took longer than expected for the action to get anywhere and to come to its (tragic!) conclusion. I blame the impatience to which the modern novel has made me grown accustomed to. I had to put in some effort to finish it.
+
+Overall, for all the surprises found along the way, it’s a book I’d recommend, especially if you want to rebel a bit against conformism.
+
+

content/reviews/lullaby.md

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+---
+title: Lullaby
+author: Leïla Slimani
+vote: 4/10
+read_in: French
+created_at: 2019-04-13
+tags: ['review']
+---
+
+A pretty unnecessary crime story about a brutal infanticide. The nanny seems perfect (the alternative title to the book is _The Perfect Nanny_) but the reader understands that it’s quite the contrary since the first lines of the book. The choice is a bit brave in that the beginning itself tells already the end of the story and the crude fact is even reported on some edition’s covers. It doesn’t matter though. The writer explores the dark in the life of Louise that leads her to the tragic gesture. It’s reasonably well-developed even though a few threads felt unresolved to me.
+
+It surprised me that it won a Prix Goncourt 🙄 and that for some reason, it was also acclaimed by [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jan/07/lullaby-by-leila-slimani-book-review). I wouldn’t recommend it unless you want some easy but empty read.
+

content/reviews/os-maias.md

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+---
+title: Os Maias
+author: Eça de Queiroz
+vote: 5/10
+read_in: Portuguese
+created_at: 2019-03-24
+tags: ['review']
+---
+
+Not an easy one to read or review.
+
+It’s an extremely modern book that recounts the story of the Maias, a wealthy family of the 19th century Lisbon, along three generations, starting with Afonso, noble in looks and spirit and always depicted as such, and ending with his grandson Carlos, the modern irresolute youngster with many talents but too much money and distraction to put it to any use, and as such the character that takes most of the plot. The bulk of the story is the tragic love affair between Carlos and Maria, that turns out to be his sister which he’s never met and was thought dead for most of her life.
+
+The things I feel like acknowledging:
+
+- the fact that Afonso represents the old order, full of static convictions and keeper of the established conventions of what a rich and pious man should behave like, always on the right side of the moral compass, while his son Pedro and the women in his life (both his own wife and especially his son’s) are the ones at fault, victims of the old society’s moral judgments
+- the long descriptions of feelings and nature (sometimes the ones reflecting the other)
+- the total lack of rush in developing the plot and the luxury of this kind of decisions
+- the atmosphere of a long forsaken time in (what feels like) a God-forgotten place in the world
+- the struggle of Portugal to give itself a meaning in a Europe where most of the action happens elsewhere, together with the rise and fall of the most interesting personalities
+
+I must admit that it might have been the case that the descriptions felt less engaging because the author uses a vocabulary which far exceeds mine (and from what I can understand, it would sound very unfamiliar to even a native speaker). Not only that but also all the cultural references were totally unknown to me. I felt stranded in many a place in the narration.
+
+All of this appeals less to my today’s self than it would’ve to my 15-years younger version. I become itchy in front of the plots that don’t seem to get to the point (and I regard myself as a highly patient reader). The long description of the life of the rich people and of their loves felt sterile and didn’t really push me to read through, to the point that it took me forever to finish this one.
+
+Sure, the writing is very good and it’s maybe one of the most important books in Portuguese literature, but I just feel it’s worth the time of only the people whose interest in the country and the people is very strong (as is my case). Others might find it too demanding and give it up.

content/reviews/palace-walk.md

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+---
+title: Palace Walk 
+author: Naguib Mahfouz
+vote: 8/10
+read_in: French
+created_at: 2019-07-21
+tags: ['review']
+---
+
+This is the story of an Egyptian family in the beginning of the 20th century whose trajectory intersects the historical period of the transition between the English occupation and the establishment of a sovereign state. The family is composed of Abd al Gawwad, a merchant whose behavior is extremely different at home and in the world. When inside his house, he’s a strict observant of one Muslim tradition that makes him the absolute tyrant that everyone owes obedience to. When in the world, he’s a lovely and gentle friend that enjoys the mundane pleasures of life in the form of music, alcohol, and women. Around him gravitate a collection of characters that the writer brings to life with great sensibility, revealing their feelings, their fears, their aspirations, and presenting a rich variety of characters that didn’t fail to capture my heart until the tragic epilogue.
+
+The storytelling might be considered a bit slow by today’s standards, but once we give it a real chance, our patience is rewarded by very touching and revealing observations on the complexity, the contradictions, and the inner beauties of human lives. Highly recommended.
+

content/reviews/ready-player-one.md

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+---
+title: Ready Player One
+author: Ernest Cline
+vote: 3/10
+read_in: English
+created_at: 2019-08-30
+tags: ['review']
+---
+
+An attempt at making references to many ideas from the 80s. I understand the whole revival of the 80s but frankly, this felt like a useless story. I didn’t enjoy it, even though it was a compelling page-turner. Let me explain: I <em>wanted</em> to know how the whole thing evolved, so I kept reading, but at the same time I didn’t feel any real interest while doing it.
+
+It’s the story of a dystopic future where humanity is on the brink of extinction, and the best that desperate people can do is find shelter for their mind in virtual reality, which is a projection in the future of something like World of Warcraft done well but totally immersive. The protagonist has no reserve when it comes to waste away his days in this fictitious world, which would have maybe given this work a chance. The virtual world’s creator launches a treasure hunt and the hero wins it against all odds and notwithstanding mega-corporations chasing him and his friends.

content/reviews/sapiens.md

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+---
+title: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind 
+author: Yuval Noah Harari
+vote: 9/10
+read_in: English
+created_at: 2019-05-12
+tags: ['review']
+---
+
+I’ve read this one after Homo Deus, by the same author, which could be considered a bit of a sequel. I do this sometimes, what can I say.
+
+I’ve liked this one very much (more than Homo Deus). There are several ideas which help the reader put history and the world in perspective. Many erudite readers consider this just pop science or downright garbage, yet the value of divulgation is immense as it helps non-specialists to have a basic understanding of fields where they’re not experts. And this book does exactly that. And erudite folks are boring anyway.
+
+Among the things that it throws at the reader:
+
+
+- Sapiens used to be one among several human species. Neanderthal was another (and had a bigger brain). This changed my idea that Erectus and Neanderthal have been stages that led to the later generation of Sapiens. Sure, it’s one theory, but it seems to be the currently most accepted one and to me it was mind-blowing.
+- The Agricultural Revolution was a trap. Men had to work incredibly harder than when they were hunters-gatherers to produce less food, but other benefits became soon needs and when they found out the trap it was too late to go back.
+- We have been domesticated by wheat.
+- For inexplicable reasons, men think that they are superior to all other animals.
+
+Many of the points made in this book are then expanded in Homo Deus.
+
+It’s a fun read that will reward the reader with much thought. Highly recommended.
+
+

content/reviews/the-art-of-life.md

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+---
+title: The Art of Life
+author: Zygmunt Bauman
+vote: 4/10
+read_in: Italian
+created_at: 2019-09-22
+tags: ['review']
+---
+
+I can’t say that this is a bad book, but still, it’s a book I didn’t appreciate. It sure is an interesting take on the modern world and many of the ideas are worth some pondering. It just felt like its message wasn’t meant for me.
+
+I’ve finished it too long ago (beginning of August) to be able to be specific about its contents. I do remember general remarks about living life as a deliberate project and some criticism of the modern search for happiness and consumerism/capitalism. I haven’t seen anything novel. Here’s a thing that I didn’t like: too many shots in too many directions. Feels like going to a bar and meeting an incredible guy who can speak at length about many subjects, all of them important and interesting, and still feeling that none of that is so interesting that you want to meet the guy again, or take some action after the discussion.
+
+Read it if you want some reflection starters or some reminder about what’s what in the world.
+

content/reviews/the-man-who-spoke-snakish.md

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+---
+title: The Man Who Spoke Snakish 
+author: Andrus Kivirähk
+vote: 7/10
+read_in: English
+created_at: 2019-03-02
+tags: ['review']
+---
+
+I saw this book in one of my favorite bookstores in Tallinn and became genuinely curious about it. It somehow reminded me of Harry Potter and the Parseltongue, but its subject is wildly different. I discovered more than a year later that its author is Estonian, and quite a celebrity in his country.
+
+The book is about Leemet, an old man who is able to speak snakish, the language of snakes. Speaking in first person, he tells the story of his life and the Snakish-speaking people, from the time they used to live in the forest, until their decline. The forest people aren’t numerous but they face the threat of foreign invasions (both cultural and physical) by fighting fiercely and invoking in their help the Frog of the North, a huge dragon (or rather, a flying snake) who could only be summoned when all the forest people hiss together.
+
+The decline of the forest civilization starts when the foreign customs start convincing people that living in villages rather than in forests was a sign of higher civilization, to the point where they start trading modernity for the use of snakish. The Frog of the North can only be invoked by the hiss of many people; and with most of them now living in villages and forgetting snakish, he no longer helps the Estonians, but lies dormant in a place unknown.
+
+The story of Leemet starts when the forest inhabitants are only a few survivors, and the Frog of the North hasn’t been seen for many years. 
+
+Snakish represents a central theme in the book. It is used to communicate with the most intelligent animals and subjugate the more obtuse ones, until their extinction. Those that don’t understand snakish are considered stupid or useless, be they humans or animals.
+
+A magical realism pervades the narration. It doesn’t reach the peaks of a García Márquez, but it provides an interpretation of it with a recognizable Estonian element. The book is a history of Estonia transfigured in a Nordic legend. It does lose some intensity halfway-through, but then it manages to regain altitude and end beautifully. Recommended.
+

content/reviews/the-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane.md

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+---
+title: The Ocean at the End of the Lane 
+author: Neil Gaiman 
+vote: 7/10
+read_in: English
+created_at: 2019-08-30
+tags: ['review']
+---
+
+Great discovery and almost perfect plot. I loved the magic element and the sinister story elements. It’s the story of a kid told years after it actually happened, a hero that is condemned to forget his story every time he finishes telling it, so he can keep living a sane life but at the same time come back to the place where it all happened. Skeleton of the plot: There’s a suicide that attracts some powerful monster from a different plane of the reality, a kid is friends with a little girl that is not what she seems (and in fact is a powerful magician), they step in the world of the monster and seemingly kill it. But something unexpected happens and the monster keeps living hidden in the non-magical kid. Things go pretty bad until at some point the little girl, with the help of his mother and his grandmother, puts an end to it.
+
+The only thing that bothers me is that some of the descriptions are so symbolic that I lost touch with what was going on and it felt like losing small details, but they were few and far apart to the point of not tainting the fruition of the story. Recommended.
+

content/reviews/the-time-machine.md

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+---
+title: The Time Machine
+author: Herbert George Wells
+vote: 3/10
+read_in: English
+created_at: 2019-12-28
+tags: ['review']
+---
+
+A forgettable book about time travel that I’ve looked forward to reading for ages but turned out to be a disappointment. The main character goes to a ridiculously far-in-the-future year and all he finds is that the world is divided into two big tribes, one of weak fat-asses and another of nocturnal scary half-monsters that feed on the first and live underground (the Morlocks). Gets stuck for a while in the future, then escapes.
+
+Not sure what was good about this book. I’ve got a soft spot for the Victorian era writing style but that’s it. I’ll relegate it mentally along with The Turn of the Screw, another big disappointment.
+

content/reviews/when-breath-becomes-air.md

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+---
+title: When Breath Becomes Air 
+author: Paul Kalanithi
+vote: 10/10
+read_in: English
+created_at: 2019-01-05
+tags: ['review']
+---
+
+I don’t usually cry on books. It doesn’t depend much on the content itself, I guess. I like sad books, for some reason. Maybe it’s because they feel very real. By the end of this one, though, I had to put it down two or three times because I was sobbing violently.
+
+It’s a very touching reflection on life and death, which happens to be one of my favorite subjects. Its author, Paul Kalanithi, was a medical student and practitioner who was a few steps away from becoming a neurosurgeon. But at around the age of 35, he got lung cancer. He started writing this book after learning his diagnosis.
+
+He reflects on the reasons that led him to choose to become a doctor first, and then specifically a neurosurgeon. He reflects on what makes us humans what we are, and on what makes a life worth living.
+
+Read it as a powerful reminder of what your life is about.
+
+