ELIZA VICTORIA Online

created and maintained by Eliza Victoria, UP Journalism student

Book Reviews

The Little Friend by Donna Tartt

So far, Tartt had written two books in the span of ten years. Two books only, people might say, but might as well write just one beautiful book in a lifetime than several bad ones. "The Little Friend" is the first book that introduced me to literary writing with a plot that resembles that of bestselling novels (most of which aren't written this well). I didn't know that was possible until I encountered this novel; I thought all literary novels are supposed to put you to sleep. Hence came the end to my love for Stephen King and these other plot-driven novels. One member of a forum I checked once said that she "didn't get the point of the book". I say the story is the point. As far as I'm concerned, it's about the pain of losing a loved one. A boy named Robin dies in the first chapter; this is basically the story of how a family disintegrated in the face of this horrible death, and how a family member tried to find Robin's murderer.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

This is Tartt's first novel, which became an international hit. (I found a copy of it in a branch of Book Sale by accident.) This is the book that disappointed readers of "The Little Friend" compared it with. "The Little Friend" had its edge, in my opinion, but "The Secret History" is also beautiful in its own way. It's about college. That's an unfair oversimplification, of course, but anything I'd write here would be an oversimplification. It's beautiful. Dark. Greek. Tragic. The main treat here is not the plot, but the characters.

A Walk To Remember by Nicholas Sparks

I don't know why people like this novel. I wasn't even able to reach the first chapter. The Prologue had a line that said, "This is my story. You will laugh, you will cry; don't say you haven't been warned." WHAAAAAAAT? I thought. How unbelievably disgusting. Show not tell, for goodness' sake.

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

Well. Dan Brown. The plot is good, but the narrative, like in most bestsellers, lacked style. It didn't need style, I suppose, but it could have helped to make the readers feel sympathy towards Langdon. I didn't feel sympathy. Whenever a flashback comes in I think, "Oh, just tell me what happens next!" That's not a good sign. If Langdon died in the end I wouldn't have cared.

All in all it was an interesting read, but not memorable.

A Man In Full by Tom Wolfe

A funny novel, but emotional and affecting at the same time. Dan Brown should call him up and take some lessons. It runs to 700-plus pages, but it was such an incredibly honest and well-written story that I finished fast. That had never happened before. Conrad is my favorite character, portrayed so well that he could have lived.

A Simple Plan by Scott Smith

This is where I got the Wollstonecraft quote on my home page. It's about that, and a lot more. This novel satisfied me immensely because, okay, it is a suspense novel, but Smith's style exhibited high literary consciousness. The last paragraph bowled me over. Loved it.

The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood

Atwood's style is so fluid and poetic that I sometimes find myself actually sighing while reading her work. Funny, too. Also contains some wonderful insights about the nature of war.

Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe

Click here for the movie review.

Written earlier than "A Man In Full". It's about a rich white guy running over a black kid in the Bronx. I assure you that it wouldn't be easy to decide which side to go to, even after reading the book.

Primal Fear by Diehl

We read books quickly because of either of two things: (1) it's so good that you can't help but turn another page; or (2) it's so bad that you just want to get it over with. I read this quickly because of number (2). It's terrible. I don't know why it even inspired a sequel.

The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman

This is the only installment in "The Sandman" series that I have.

And this is my review: wow.

The Cider House Rules by John Irving

I've never read an Irving novel before, and was therefore clueless to the fact that he writes BIG stories, stories that span for ages, stories that move from birth to death. When I saw that the second to the last chapter is entitled "After Fifteen Years", I thought I'd have to crawl just to finish this novel. I did, but now that I've done it I don't care anymore. He could have made me crawl through cacti and still make me feel that it's worth it.