Review: Sobre héroes y tumbas

Sobre héroes y tumbas by Ernesto Sábato

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Sobre Héroes y Tumbas is the second novel by Ernesto Sabato. It was a good complex read that explores the depth of humanity. The book starts with an announcement that the late Alejandra Vidal Olmos has just shot her father and then burned herself alive, and so, the book is mainly about the lives of these two characters and what led to the afore mentioned situation, though the plot is developed through other characters.

Before continuing, I must say that the book was divided into four chapters. Each chapter's name has an important meaning, so don't forget them:

1. El dragón y la princesa (The dragon and the princess)
2. Los rostros invisibles (The invisible faces)
3. Informe sobre ciegos (Report on the blind)
4. Un dios desconocido (An unknown god)

Martín is the protagonist of parts one and two of the novel. He is a troubled teenager who feels loneliness most of the time. He doesn't feel loved and he's in constant search for himself. In this situation is in which he meets Alejandra, a beautiful and mysterious lady who claims to need him. Thus, Martín is quickly immersed in Alejandra's world, and thus, he falls in love with her, which only causes more loneliness inside him, since Alejandra is very reserved and can be cruel at times, because of the things she faced in her past.

And let's don't forget about part three of the book, the Report on the blind. That one was simply astounding. It could almost feel as fantasy. In this part, for those who haven't read this book, Alejandra's father (Fernando) is the narrator. He is obsessed with blind people. For him, blind people are the ones who rule society by a supposed sect in which the members are solely blind. From this, we can clearly see that Fernando is a paranoid and very selfish, what we would call “an unlikeable character”.

Having read both El Túnel and this one, I can say for sure that Sabato was a talented writer. Did you know he was a physicist and he left science to dedicate his entire time in writing? No? Well, now you can go and tell your family and friends this new fact. Of course this was not necessary, but I wanted to mention it. His writing is captivating and beautiful.

One thing I really liked was that the characters were greatly developed, especially their psychological side, which sometimes is left untouched. This is something that, in both of books I've read by Sabato, is well done.

The novel's title was perhaps what initially brought my attention to it. I won't say anything concerning this matter besides that it is powerful. Consider it: Sobre héroes y tumbas. In English, On Heroes and Tombs. Heroes... tombs... Throughout the novel I wanted to understand the meaning of its title, and now, I finally do. And it does justice to it. You'd better read it to get what I mean...

What else can I say besides what I've already said? Well, for one, I will most certainly read the last one of Sabato's novels. And then, I recommend you to read this book. It is complex, but it is intriguing and is well written. I'll probably re-read this eventually, just to make sure I understood it completely. Not that re-reading it is something bad. No. I will gladly read it a hundred times.



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Review: The Winter's Tale

The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



It's a good thing when you start a book without having a clue about what is going to happen. Of course that is not a good idea, but when it comes to Shakespeare, that is not such a great risk.

Why do I say this? Because... because... because I didn't know a thing about this play, okay? I was looking at the index of the copy of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare and I saw that name. It caught my attention and I started reading it.

What it The Winter's Tale about? Well, again we have some misunderstandings about the infidelity wife to her husband, just this time, the wife is carrying a child. When the child is born, the husband immediately wants it dead because it is not her son but that of his wife's “lover.” His wife is then publicly humiliated at a trial, his husband declaring she's not with him. And when news finally arrive that her wife never was cheating on him, it is already too late.

So we have a hypocritical husband, the King, who falsely accuses his wife, the Queen, of infidelity. The man suspects this without any evidence, and thus, when the inevitable tragedy occurs, he's devastated. But, as this is not a tragedy, it must have a somewhat happy ending, doesn't it? Well, here's were the biggest plot twist in history happens. It's even bigger than this:

Remember when I said that it is not such a great risk to read Shakespeare's works without reading the premise? Well, I said it precisely because of the plot twist. I had no clue about that. But really, how could I have foreseen that? To be honest, I never saw that coming.

Even when the storyline itself was not very difficult to follow, I found it hard to figure out Shakespeare's intention. Really, what could have been passing through his mind when he wrote that? After I finished the play, I told my mother about it and she said, “But Bob Marley lived a lot of years after Shakespeare...” That got me wondering. What the hell was Will thinking when he wrote this? What could possibly have been his purpose?

It's a shame I can't ask him.

But anyway... Congrats, William, you surprised me.



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Review: City of Glass

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

My rating: 1 of 5 stars



No, just no.

I'm the exception here. I've read both The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices, but the former is simply not for me. I liked the latter one, but I could not endure this one. Yes, TID had issues, but I could get past them. That did not happen with this series.

It's really probable that I'm the only person in the world to hate Jace, but I can't deny it: I hate him. Yes, he can be sometimes funny, but aside that point, he seemed boring to me, and besides, I hate his oversized altruism. Doesn't feel realistic for me.

Clary is the same stupid girl with the brain the size of a peanut girl as in the other books. I never liked her. Never. Not in the first book, not in the second one, and not in this one. To be honest, if anything, with every new installment, I seemed to be hating her even more. Sorry.

And then, this one is not really a complaint aobut his book in particular, but I wish the series was finished with City of Glass. After this one (and even when I didn't like it), the series s not woht it anymore. If everything felt forced in this book, now imagine how it is in the next ones (spoiler: It is more forced in the next three books).

From the beginning of the series, I could tell I wasn't going to love it. The concept was not new for me when I read this, so I didn't feel as if I were reading about an innovative idea. Nephilim, angels, demons... I've read about them in other books--and I never was particularly entertained by them; they were just dull for me.

And now:

Can I borrow this? I need to wipe these books from my memory.



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Review: The Stand

The Stand by Stephen King

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



A man who worked in a U.S. biological testing facility escapes from because he notices something is wrong. He manages to get to his family and tell them to run away, without knowing he was infected by a mutated virus of the flu. It is a shape-shifting virus, which makes it more deadly –with a 99.4% of effectivity. So that's how most of humanity dies. And that is just the beginning. Then the supernatural plot is introduced. The survivors start having dreams about two figures: Mother Abagail and Randall Flagg aka The Dark Man. The ones who are “good” are attracted to the first one; and the ones who are “bad” are attracted to the latter one.

And so starts this battle between good and evil. I first thought this was going to be just about the superflu and its consequences, but I was wrong with that. I mean, before I started reading it, I was always wondering: “Why the hell would 1400+ be needed for just finding the cure to a disease? Isn't that way too much?”. But at the time, I had no idea that the superflu is just the antecedent to the real story.

You know what enriched my experience reading this book? That I got sick. Yep, I got the flu. It made me feel like living the book. I was horrified. Now, everytime I hear someone coughing or sneezing I get scared, and I guess my fear is justified, after reading this book. And you know what's worse? Dreaming about it. When I get very immersed in a book, I cannot bring it out of my mind, and I usually dream about what happened. You can guess what I dreamed about: A dark man with no face and red eyes who is chasing me. It gave me the creeps.

I loved the characters in the book and how they felt very realistic. Very few books have characters that you can easily relate to or are so well written that they seem real, even when you know they are not.

Speaking about “well written”...the writing! AMAZING. M-O-O-N, that spells amazing, as someone in the book would say. It is fully detailed, and I love detailed descriptions. It was pretty vivid –I could, with no difficulty, imagine I was in there, listening to the characters discussions.

And the ending was just as great as the whole story itself. Many books can have a great plot, and a great middle, but the majority of them fall because of the ending, which may be precipitated and fake. In this one, that is not the case. I think it ended just as it should have, with its message and its somewhat loose end.

Finally, I highly recommend this book. Of all the books I own, this one (along with Wuthering Heights –and please, don't compare them, for they are not similar at all) is my favorite (which does not mean it is my favorite book of all time). It is certainly one of my favorites. I will keep reading more of Mr. King's books, and I hope he doesn't disappoint me. So, what are you waiting for? Go read this tale of dark Christianity, as Mr. King said in his preface.

P.S.: This book strangely reminded me to Moses' story in the Bible. The Exodus and all that. I guess you know what I'm talking about, if you don't, then look for it. Am I the only one?



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Review: Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“I have dreamt in my life, dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they have gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind. And this is one: I'm going to tell it - but take care not to smile at any part of it.”
― Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights is that kind of dream. You read it, you never forget it and it will stay with you forever. Very few books have managed to become instant favorites of mine, and this one has made it to that group.

I understand why people hate it so much, really, I do. But I cannot bring myself to hate it. What is it with this book that has haunted me for all the weekend until now? (I finished it on Saturday).

The atmosphere is dark, violent, depressing and beautiful. The sort of book I would normally read. Also, it is not a book I would recommend to everybody, since it's a black/white book. That is, you either like or you hate it. If you can handle with unlikable characters, then go ahead, read it.

If you ask me what the book is about i would say: It's about Heathcliff, a gypsy that was beaten and treated badly just because of that. It's also about his intense love for Catherine Earnshaw and all the consequences of the actions he took because of that strong feeling.

The plot sound really romantic, doesn't it? Well, I don't think Wuthering Heights it's just a love story, I don't even tag it as "romance" (but we can't deny the romance is not in there). Wuthering Heights is more an exploration on humanity, of how love can lead to rage, to violence and to madness.

Speaking about that leads me to my next point: The characters. I love how they are so perfectly unperfect. Sounds weird, huh? Well, the thing is, they are realistic. They could easily exist somewhere out there. Heathcliff is not the oh-so-handsome-and-chivalrous guy. Neither is Catherine or any other character in the book.

I love the darkness in the book, the moors and the solitary environment in which it is set. Besides, the era in which it was written adds a slight touch of gothic into it. I also love the drama, the romance, the wilderness, etc. Emily Brönte manages to tell a tale of trust and betrayal without boring me or making me roll my eyes.

Anyway, I could keep listing things I loved about the book, but if you knew me, you would know that my greatest stuggle is with writing. I can read as many books as I want, but it is very cery difficult for me to print my thoughts about it in a review, especially if I love it as much as I love Wuthering Heights. So I end by saying the same thing I said at the beginning (and what Catherine said to Nelly): Wuthering Heights is a like an unforgettable dream. It goes through and through you until it has changed the colour of your mind.

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Review: The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Once upon a time, there were YA books in which the protagonist was a strong female. The Hunger Games is that kind of book.

I remember, back then, when I was fourteen, that I totally fangirled over this book. I remember I loved it so much that i said it was the best book ever written. Not that I don't think anymore that it is good, but, umm, well, it's not "the best book ever written".

I think this was my first book that got me days and nights thinking about it. Everything is good in it.

I really love Katniss. I think she is my favorite female protagonist. She's strong, brave, fierce and she's protective over her little sister. Once for all, the elder sister is not presented as a wicked person, but instead as an example to follow.

The concept it illustrates is very interesting. Back when I first read it, in my History class, we were studying Rome, so that increased my interest. Well, just by the description of the book and that I've just said, you can guess that it is like a modern version of gladiators that fought at the Coliseum.

I know the idea is cruel, but I think the message in the book is clear: The media manipulates people. They, providing people with entertainment, make them forget they are being ruled by a tirant. It can be explained with the quote "Panem et circenses". You don't know what it means? It means "bread and circus". The elite provided the people with entertainment and food if they gave their responsibilities to the people in charge of the society.

Anyway, I'll leave this here. My recommendation is that you read it before you watch the movie, but it's probable you've already done it. It's probable too that you've either read the book or promised that you will never read it, and that would make this review completely useless, but I just thought it good to write one, since I liked it so much. It doesn't hurt to express my opinion. 

The end.

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Review: The Iron King

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Hmm, this is one of those books that fall in the category of "meh". The concept was interesting, but, umm, it was a bit boring for me at times. I didn't like any single character in it, the exception is the cat Grimalkin. Meghan is stupid, Ash is an asshole, Puck (don't even mention it) is kinda idiotic, etc. It's just not my kind of book. I don't care if it has references to William Shakespeare, but this book didn't do for me.

Anyway, maybe you don't have the same reading tastes as I, so you might enjoy it. It's in your hands to take the risk.

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