judyylino's reviews
82 reviews

A man's madness and alcoholism that led him to be irritated with a cat who's only crime was being loving and clingy to it's owner. I'm glad the cat haunted him 

This is the first time I read a novel by Backman and it is the best decision I've made this month, even the timing was perfect since the novel is set on nye and today is December 30th. 
This is a story about idiots, who all got stuck as hostages during an apartment viewing with a not-so-dangerous bank robber. And during that we met a lot of characters who seemed to have nothing in common at first but slowly found common ground, similar worries and problems that occupy their minds and makes them anxious. The writing style is so deeply emotional yet silly is so refreshing to see, backman did such a great job at putting emotions and experiences into words that are so touching, you don't know whether you should laugh or cry. 
It's so hard to choose one favorite quote but I think everyone needs to know this 

This is not the iconic novel I thought I was going to read unfortunately. I enjoyed the writing style, it was very straightforward and easy to read.
However, I couldn't appreciate the story as much. Probably because I tend to try to find solutions and think of issues like these in a logical way (which I shouldn't). Yes I understand that he made her feel miserable and lonely and was unfaithful to her and just because you know it doesn't mean you deserve to go through it but, I could not feel sorry for her as much as I was supposed to because she has loved ones who warned her off of the relationship, especially her mother and Francesca. He appreciated her company as a friend and he was clear and honest about it from the beginning (it doesn't excuse the cheating though) so I think, with time, he grew resentful of her in the process after he was pressured into getting married, he gave promises but no actions. I guess what I want to say is that both of them are flawed human being, him who feels no love for anyone but loves the thrill and company that comes with the relationship and her who was constantly anxious, insecure and thought so little of her self-worth and stayed with a man who showed interest because she believed no other man could. Maybe, if this wasn't marketed as a badass and fiminist revenge novel and instead described as two people who navigate a miserable relationship, I would have liked it more.

This is my first time reading poetry outside of school, so to say that I was quite intimidated to pick this up is an understatement. However, it's such a raw and poignant read that it left me staring at the ceiling for at least 15 min.

Isabella Hammad's speech urges everyone to open our eyes to the inhumane acts of the israeli apartheid state and every oppressive country that had have blood in their hands from the blood they spilled, and how much of it do we need to see so an individual can have their "epiphany" and finally see Palestinians as human being. 

   

I've heard of Franz Kanka practically my entire life and today I finally caved in and decided to read The Metamorphosis to get a general idea of what's he's like as an author. Thankfully, I was not disappointed, so little pages managed to punch me in the gut
The betrayal and exploitation from his father that only became apparent once he transformed actually hurt and I've never been sad for a character so much. His sister tried to stay strong and look out for him despite her fear while her mother preferred not see him in that state, perhaps as to keep that image that she had known of her son. I have so many things to say but I can't without spoiling the story. However, I can confidently say that I have a new favorite author.

What the actual fuck????

This collection of short story has this absurd yet lightheaded delivery that I have enjoyed where you can sense and read how authentic he portrayed how your day to day conversation in a café goes with the banter and unseriousness recounting what sound like the most unbelievable stories! 
Fouad Laroui also made sure to adress some issues like identity, language barriers, religious trauma and social hierarchy that occur to both the diaspora and the Moroccans who live in their homeland. 

Set in 1980 during the Gwangju massacre when the martial law was imposed, when many people who were students, people of the working class and generally citizens who were against Chun Doo Hwan dictatorship.
This was such an uncomfortable and painful book to the point where I needed to take breaks in between. It highlighted a part that is not discussed as often as I would like it to be, which is each individual experience and the lasting effects of the massacre, where it doesn't only affects the dead and the injured but also their loved ones and in their environment whether or not they were close. These people aren't just statistics 

This is the kinda book that is simply unputdownable, you can easily get hooked into wondering what going to happen next. This is unfortunately the reality of many Palestinians and it has only gotten worse but their resistance will never diminish. Free Palestine