#contemporary reviews

[psalm22-6]

The Illustrated Review was a paper published in London in the 1870s, and in 1873 published a series called "Retrospective Glances at Foreign Literature." I'm not super familiar with the reception of Les Mis in England, but keep in mind that this is written a little over a decade after Les Mis came out. Here's some highlights:

Ten years have elapsed since Victor Hugo, after a long period of silence, broken only by a few melodious volumes of verse, astonished the land of his birth by a book which was more a challenge hurled at those who had exiled him than a novel. When "Les Misérables" appeared the glove was eagerly taken up, and a turmoil of conflicting passions was aroused. [. . .] It is not on the first perusal of "Les Misérables" that an opinion of its merits and demerits can be formed with justice or impartiality, for an ardent longing to get to the end is the only feeling experienced, the burning pages carry you along breathless and amazed, and, as before some pyrotechnic display, you remain dazzled by the sudden alternations of brilliant light and utter darkness. Victor Hugo started on a wrong theory. Embittered by his exile, blinded by his political passions, he attempted to prove that society in general and legislation in particular were responsible for the evil doings of the world, he openly took the part of the criminal against his judges, of the convict against his jailers, of the spoiler against the despoiled, and attempted to prove that crime is a far minor degradation to man than its repression by law. This dangerous sophism is developed with the power of his magic talent.

Myriel is said to be irrelevant to the plot, and particularly the episode with G is offensive:

After a lengthy and useless exposition, we come to the episode of the Conventionnel: it appears to have been inserted only to allow of a panegyric of 1793; it brings into violent and unartistic contrast the characters of the saintly Bishop Myriel and of the untamed democrat. It is neither wise nor useful to uphold with brutal energy ideas which common sense, self respect, and even history have taught us to judge and condemn, and to degrade at pleasure what in itself is venerable by unseemly comparisons such as are drawn between monarchs and ruffians.

A lot of reviews of Les Mis will include summaries of the book which I assume I don't need to share but this misrepresentation of the plot is noteworthy:

Jean Valjean, the hero of "Les Misérables," is taken up by the police for a petty theft, sent to Toulon for assaulting his warders, and condemned to a long detention for repeated attempts to escape.

From this the author concludes:

Jean Valjean is not condemned to the "Galéres" because he stole a loaf, but for contempt of the law in the person of its ministers, and if the principles so imprudently advocated by the author received their full application, they would involve the suppression of penal laws [. . .] Anarchy would at once prevail, persons and property remain unprotected; but like too many would-be reformers, M. Hugo finds it easier to pick out the flaws of a system than to suggest the remedy to a necessary evil.

So Jean Valjean's problem was apparently that he didn't respect authority? Okay.... The author also believes that Fantine would not have been dismissed for having a child out of wedlock

Life in manufacturing districts gives us, alas! too many examples of actual sin to leave us credulous about the virtuous indignation and stern morality of a factory master. Victor Hugo overshot the mark, and in taking pains to paint society as a ruthless Nemesis, he made her out a prude.

He also finds fault with Hugo's depiction of the battle of Waterloo, such as his geography of the battlefield and his poetic language:

The fastidious critic whose ideal is the purity of the classical author may well have been alarmed by the liberty of expression used by M. Hugo with such careless ease, but we are inclined to believe that his unusual but telling phraseology, his incisive, coloured, weird, fantastic, uncommon style is a new vein discovered in the rich mine of the French language, a vein which others, taught by his example, may follow, gathering the harvests, and avoiding the pitfalls which they would have had neither the genius to discover nor the courage to encounter.

However the author has to admit that he enjoyed some passages, such as those dealing with Sister Simplice or the young Cosette.

Some of the pages of “Les Misérables" emerge so white and pure from the sombre background, that we almost fancy that while he wrote them some angel's wing was fanning the author’s fevered brow. Was it the memory of a lost and adored daughter, or was it the breath of years gone by laden with their tender emotions and young illusions?

For better or for worse (worse if you are of the opinion that Les Miserables is an evil book), this book contains a little bit of everything:

You see, as in a kaleidoscope, the darkness of the convict’s cell and the sunshine of Cosette’s garden, the dictionary of ‘‘argot” and the poet’s rhapsody; Thénardier, the incarnation of vice, Cosette, the emblem of innocence; Waterloo and the barricades, Claquesous and Bishop Myriel, Eponine and Marius; while, by a prodigious metamorphosis, Jean Valjean, the low, mean, heartless thief, the man without dignity and without courage, is transformed into Jean Valjean, the hero and the martyr. Thus we progress from volume to volume to the close of the story, the latter part of which is worthy of sincere admiration, as we are initiated to the mutual love of Cosette and Marius, and witness the slow torture of Jean Valjean, the agony that wrings his paternal heart and converts his love for the child of his adoption into a crown of thorns pressing deep into his flesh, while he makes no sign—cruel and fatal position, in which the tormentor is no less innocent than the victim, and where the blow that kills is dealt by the hand that meant only to caress.

The author believes that if Victor Hugo had renounced his ideology and given up his exile, there might have been something redeeming in Les Miserables, but that instead, he has begun a "downward course."

“Les Travailleurs de la Mer,” while containing fewer beauties, magnified the errors of ‘‘ Les Misérables,” and were followed by “L'homme qui Rit,” the most deplorable mistake which a man of genius could have committed, a mistake so enormous that even should it be in his power to retrieve it, it must remain as a blot on M. Hugo’s reputation as a man of letters.

[360degreesasthecrowflies]

This is what I find so infuriating about Rowling. Her characters are all in theory quite interesting. The actual description of Voldemort is a fantastic, interesting character. He's an orphan, corrupted by power he didn't understand, and ultimately driven by a horrible fear of death, unable to understand human affection he isolates himself from the world and that ultimately leads to his downfall. In practice, though, he's just Stock Dark Lord Number Five. Even though he is obsessed with immortality, and utterly terrified of dying, he treats his Horcruxes with blithe disregard. Even though he is supposedly incapable of trusting anybody he works with legions of incompetent minions and actually does trust them with important tasks, usually to his detriment. All the mistakes Voldemort makes which Rowling pretends are his "arrogance" or "cruelty" or whatever are actually just plot necessitated stupidity.

Dan Hemmens, owner of a now-defunct blog featuring some HP articles. Quoted via the comments section to this post by elanor-x

[soracities]

Hasti, from "All of the Light That Reaches Earth" (After Rachel Jones & Radiolab), pub. The White Review [ID'd]

[galina]

Whale Fall, Elizabeth O'Connor – I was sent an advance review copy by picador, it comes out later this month. A powerful short novel with themes of environment, relationships with nature, colonisation, fascism, community, loss, grief, the impact of biased documentation and archiving, and the role of gender in society.

I really liked this, it hones in on a young girl coming of age on an unnamed island off the coast of wales, in the weeks leading up to war being declared in england.

What struck me was how precise and unflinching the language is in this text where images of island life are shrouded in a blanket of dramatic irony. Whales as literary allegory could feel overdone but not here, where the urgent message against fascism, against humans selfishly taking and appropriating for their own gain – whether from nature or other humans – is frank but not overwritten.

[bellshazes]

in my heart there's another probably worse universe where instead of the watchers taking off after evo, etho's writers from 404 became the highly misunderstood "i am fictionalizing and poking fun at my relationship with my audience & their perceptions of me and how i am motivated by them but not in a 1:1 cause and effect relationship and they are kind of obnoxious but i also care abt my literal audience liking what i do bc i do make stuff for youtube" fandom staple.

there's something substantial in here abt grian being SUPER particular abt things in a different but parallel way to etho (grian not watching other smp member's POVs and being open abt that bc it allows for genuine surprise, etho's like everything ever? but top of mind his old insistence against modded stuff, comment of the day, etc.) but honestly. can anyone who actually cares abt the watchers or whatever write me a 404 crossover. thats what i want

[bookshelvesandtealeaves]

✨ BOOK REVIEW ✨

The Pairing by

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[instagram]

God, this book. Casey McQuiston can do no wrong. My favourite author has given me a new favourite.

I loved everything about this. The romance, the setting, the growth, the joy, the food. Even the sex was beautifully written and I’m someone who usually skims those parts.

What I love about McQuiston’s writing is how earnest and raw it is. You really feel every bit of what their characters are feeling. It’s all-encompassing, intoxicating, and they knock it out of the park every single time.

Theo and Kit are both so vibrant and messy and emotional and god, I adored them both. So much it’s difficult to put into words. I have very little in common with them - I’m aroace and I don’t drink lmao - and yet I felt such a connection with them anyway.

I particularly loved Theo’s coming out to Kit. The conversation about gender was such a small piece of this whole book, but it felt so relatable to me and my experience with gender.

This book NEEDS to be a movie. It’s so cinematic to read and it would make such a fantastic film.

[yourfavebooklrsfavebooklr]

4.75 Stars

This was such a genuinely fun book! Yes there were a couple things that were a little clunky and a couple problems typical of debuts, but I enjoyed reading it so much that I didn’t care. The discussions of being aroace made me feel seen in a way that no book really has before- specifically, Jo’s feelings around her friends and losing them to relationships really resonated with me. I like that instead of being about self-discovery, this focused on two characters who already know that they’re aroace. In addition, the plot! The internet drama is so dumb but in a way that’s honestly fun to read about. It’s more lighthearted overall, but the emotional moments hit so hard too. Anyway yeah this was really good

[apolline-lucy]




THE ANATOMY OF DYING is now officially out in the world! 🩵✨

After losing the most important person in her life, Lily’s struggles with depression and an eating disorder seem insurmountable. But an encounter with the captivating Gwenna changes everything. Gwenna’s presence becomes a lifeline—she listens to Lily like no one else has before, and when Lily feels like drowning she knows how to bring her back to shore. What follows will either be the best summer of their life, or the last. 
Can Lily trust Gwenna not to dig the lakebed and bury her deeper? 🌊 


If you like it sad and poetic, yet playful and hopeful, this contemporary sapphic novella, The Anatomy of Dying, is for you! It is available on Amazon (ebook and paperback) and Kindle Unlimited~

[literatureaesthetic]

— the neapolitan novels ; elena ferrante

i just realised i never posted that i completed this tetralogy?? 'the neapolitan novels' is now one of my all-time favourite series. the themes, the characters, and the writing are absolute perfection in my eyes. i've never encountered an author with the ability to construct relationships like ferrante.

it's impossible to review this series without writing a whole dissertation because of its sheer magnitude (magnitude in terms of complexity and intricacy of themes rather than literal page length), but i will say that elena ferrante has become one of my new all-time favourite authors <3

➝ neapolitan novels playlist

[richincolor]

Title: Four Eids and a Funeral Author: Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé & Adiba Jaigirdar Genres: Contemporary, Romance Pages: 321 Publisher: Feiwel & Friends Review Copy: Purchased Availability: Available now

Summary: Let’s get one thing straight: this is a love story.

These days, Said Hossain spends most of his time away at boarding school. But when his favorite hometown librarian Ms. Barnes dies, he must return home to New Crosshaven for her funeral and for the summer. Too bad being home makes it a lot harder to avoid facing his ex-best friend, Tiwa Olatunji, or facing the daunting task of telling his Bangladeshi parents that he would rather be an artist than a doctor.

Tiwa doesn’t understand what made Said start ignoring her, but it’s probably that fancy boarding school of his. Though he’s unexpectedly staying through the summer, she’s determined to take a page from him and pretend he doesn’t exist. Besides, she has more than enough going on, between grieving her broken family and helping her mother throw the upcoming Eid celebration at the Islamic Center—a place that means so much to Tiwa.

But when the Islamic Center accidentally catches fire, it turns out the mayor plans to demolish the center entirely. Things are still tense between the ex-friends but Tiwa needs Said’s help if there’s any hope of changing the mayor’s mind, and Said needs a project to submit to art school (unbeknownst to anyone). Will all their efforts be enough to save the Islamic Center, save Eid, and maybe save their relationship?

Review: [There are two deaths that impact this book, both off page: the recent death of an adult from cancer, which puts the plot in motion, and the past death of a child due to a hit-and-run accident. Additionally, Tiwa, who is Black, faces on page racism from within the Muslim community in a few scenes.]

Even though a funeral is what puts the plot in motion, Four Eids and a Funeral is on the lighthearted side of the contemporary romance spectrum. Authors Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar crafted a cute, fast-paced story about childhood friends rebuilding their relationship despite various problems popping up in their community and personal lives. Tiwa and Said have distinct narrative voices, and I appreciated seeing life in New Crosshaven from both their eyes. I especially enjoyed the contrast between Tiwa, who stayed and maintained close ties to the community, and Said, who left and started drifting away.

One of the strengths of Four Eids and a Funeral is the breadth and diversity of the cast. The Muslim community in New Crosshaven is varied; Said is Bangladeshi American, and Tiwa is Nigerian American. Said and Tiwa relate to their community and their religion differently, and Said’s sister, Safiya, has a cute lesbian romance subplot. Tiwa faces some anti-Black racism within the Muslim community, too, and the small-town politics plots highlighted divisions within larger town. New Crosshaven felt like it had life to it, which was no small feat when you’ve got just two POV characters.

On the other hand, I think there were actually a few too many plot threads in this book for its length. There were some things I felt should have gotten far more page time than they did, like Tiwa’s younger brother’s death and what happened to her family afterward. I wanted those events to have more emotional impact on me. The truth behind why Tiwa and Said drifted apart and how they reacted when they uncovered that information was a little disappointing to me as well.

That said, the authors did say right at the start that Four Eids and a Funeral was a love story. I got distracted by my desire for additional drama and tragedy and forgot that the epigraph quoted Much Ado About Nothing. This book is solid craftsmanship with a pair of engaging protagonists, and the bits I was dissatisfied with were largely an expectations mismatch on my part.

Recommendation: If you’re looking for a contemporary romance this summer, you should consider adding Four Eids and a Funeral to your list. Authors Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar created a cute romance about childhood friends reconnecting against the backdrop of vibrant Muslim community.

Extras: Q&A: Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé & Adiba Jaigirdar, Co-Authors of ‘Four Eids and a Funeral’

[360degreesasthecrowflies]

Many of JKR's approaches to social class seem to me to reflect precisely the same mind-set that she so loudly and shrilly denounces in her depiction of the Dursleys. People like the Dursleys, JKR tells us, are wickedly regressive -- brutish, even. They and their ilk should be scorned, as should the things that they tend to believe in. Things like corporal punishment. Things like the death penalty. Things like disdain for the lower classes. Things like suspicion of the aristocracy. Things like jingoism, and law-and-orderism, and political paranoia, and the belief that foreigners are intrinsically dubious, not to be trusted. Things like "blood will tell." We are treated to this at the beginning of each novel, almost as if JKR wants to establish her progressive credentials from the very outset. Once we move on to the meat of the text, however, it can sometimes become a bit difficult to avoid the suspicion that in some indefinable way, the spirit of Aunt Marge is pushing the hand that holds the pen. Blood really does seem to tell in the Potterverse, and foreign names do often serve as a marker of dark allegiance. The lower classes are stupid and beneath notice; the aristocracy is sinister, and very likely sexually perverse as well. Corporal punishment is precisely what children like Draco Malfoy deserve, and although Hogwarts does not itself permit this, the narrative voice positively exults whenever the little brat gets physically smacked down. The political approach of Crouch Sr. was regrettable, of course -- but all the same, you know, his son really was guilty...and besides, Fudge is ever so much worse. And Sirius Black, whom Vernon Dursley so brutishly classifies as gallows-bait, was innocent all along. Pettigrew was the real culprit -- and the narrative voice rather gives us the impression that the author believes that he really does "deserve to die." It is troubling, this, and it casts the Dursley sequences which open each novel in a strange and somewhat disturbing light. The broad slapstick viciousness of these passages—often strikingly stylistically out of kilter with the more subtle shadings of the rest of the text—almost begin to read like expressions of authorial self-hatred, or perhaps even as failed authorial attempts at self-exorcism. JKR rings her little bell and lights her single candle: she sneers at Vernon; she blows up Aunt Marge. But the values that these characters represent cannot be so easily dismissed. Their personifications may receive all manner of public thrashing in the first chapter or two of each novel, but it would seem that their spirits are lodged somewhere deep within the author's very soul. When it comes to the Dursleys, the closet conservative doth protest too much. The result—much like the homophobic rantings of those trapped in a somewhat different closet—is strangely unconvincing. On some fundamental level, we simply do not believe in the Dursleys in at all the same way that we believe in the rest of the fictive world. The explicit condemnation of their values doesn't carry the same weight as the implicit approval that these same values are granted by the rest of the text -- in very much the same way that JKR's use of stereotypes as a form of humor so often fails to quite convince readers that she really doesn't, deep down in her heart of hearts, genuinely believe the things that she passes off as "nothing but a joke." JKR wants to be a progressive. But there's a rock-solid streak of conservatism in her writing, and even though she herself seems to dislike it, she nonetheless seems incapable of banishing it even from her very own text.

via Elkins's essay on Class in Harry Potter. Notably, this was written before the last two books were released and is very insightful on things that would later be revealed both about the authorship, Rowling's views as a writer, and her general social views in the following 15 years.

[soracities]

Keep them guessing. You are a classical text in the emperor’s encoded vision—sour red berries reclining on a carpet of chicken thighs, jewels set in broth like simmering gold.

Hasti, from "Poem As Zereshk Pollo", pub. The White Review

[deadpanwalking]

[franticvampirereads]

I think I might have found another contender for my top favorite book of the year! This was amazing and I just didn’t want to put it down. I had a stupidly happy smile on my face the whole time I was reading. And I might have been giggling to myself as well, because the characters in this are just so sweet and anxious and relatable. I’m also pretty sure that this is the fastest I’ve devoured a 400+ page physical book in a while. I genuinely don’t know what I’m going to do with myself while I wait for my copies of book two and three to get here.

I loved that this book has its roots in fanfic! And yes, in some of the broader strokes of the story telling you can tell which fandom gave this story its basic structure. But I don’t think that’s a bad thing. In fact, I really loved that about this book, it felt like home even though these are completely new characters and a whole new story. Eli and Alex are both so sweet and anxious and I could read about them endlessly. I also absolutely adored the cast of side characters! I honestly can’t wait to dive into the next book. Like Real People Do is getting a solid five stars!

Reading Challenge Prompt Fills:

Alphabet Challenge: L

[jessread-s]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

✩☁️💜Review:

Henry Turner and Halle Jacobs are my everything!

“Daydream” follows Henry Turner, the captain of the hockey team, and Halle Jacobs, and aspiring author, as they strike a deal amongst themselves to overcome their respective challenges in a difficult year. In exchange for being Henry’s private tutor to help him maintain his good academic standing, he will give Halle new experiences to beat her writer’s block. They just need to stick to their rule book. Simple enough…right?

First and foremost — Hannah Grace, just in case anyone hasn’t told you this yet, “Daydream” WAS worth waiting for! It is beautifully written and will be held close to my heart from this point forward. 

As an eldest daughter, I heavily related to Halle and her people-pleasing tendencies. The loneliness that stemmed from taking on so much and putting everyone else first truly made my heart ache. 

Henry faces many obstacles of his own, like the pressure he puts on himself to be a good team captain. I appreciate the way Grace portrays his neurodivergence. It felt realistic and she handles it with care, which is so important in terms of representation. I enjoyed reading from his perspective and learned a lot from how he views the world and processes conflict. 

I adore Henry and Halle’s dynamic. Henry puts Halle first and Halle, having a sister with an ADHD diagnosis, makes every effort to understand Henry and his needs. She is very observant of his body language and gives him space when he needs to sort through his feelings. I especially love the pacing of this book surrounding Henry and Halle’s physical intimacy. Halle had a lot of anxiety surrounding it due to her previous relationship and Henry was so patient with her. He made sure to be respectful of her timeline, ask for consent, and check in with her. Throughout the book they maintain a healthy relationship by being open and honest with each other. Not only is it heartwarming, but it contributes to their insane chemistry! 

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

[saintemaria]

Magic Land with George Liautaud, gouache on paper 42x60 cm by SainteMaria