Reviews and Comments

faticake

faticake@books.theunseen.city

Joined 3 years ago

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Kazuo Ishiguro: Klara and the Sun (Hardcover, 2021, Faber & Faber)

From her place in the store, Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, watches …

Disappointing

Content warning Spoilers about the plot

reviewed The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo (Detective Kosuke Kindaichi, #1)

Seishi Yokomizo, Louise Heal Kawai: The Honjin Murders (Paperback, 2020, Pushkin Vertigo)

In the winter of 1937, the village of Okamura is abuzz with excitement over the …

Fast-Paced but with Flat Characters

I picked up this book because it's been recommended by several well-known authors of locked-room murders. It was promising when I started reading because the language was easy to follow (perhaps credits to the translator) and the plot was interesting, straight-to-the point, and fast-paced. In the end, though, I found the solution to the mystery itself unbelievable, and the characters flat. I have a hard time following stories when I can't care less about the characters, and this story barely gave me anything about the bride and groom, who were, after all, the main characters in the mystery (aside from the detective). Maybe this book was groundbreaking in its time, but it's not for me.

Mark Haddon: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Paperback, 2004, Vintage Contemporaries)

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and …

Glad I Read It

Content warning Spoiler included

Laurent Binet: Perspective(s) (French language, 2023)

Florence, 1557. Le peintre Pontormo est retrouvé assassiné au pied des fresques auxquelles il travaillait …

Silly Fun in Medieval Europe

I enjoyed this book and read it super quick. The story was engaging, the language sounded authentic (to my ignorant ears) and distinct for each character, and it was just funny overall. Telling a story of real people from the 1500s through correspondence and managing to make it interesting is already impressive, but to make it a murder mystery of sorts? I can't help but like Laurent Binet's works, it seems.