Unapologetic Reviews

I read The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway a really long time ago for high school. What do I remember from it? Practically nothing. I do remember the end though, because that was just the cherry on the boring, ridiculous cake for me. I get it, it's supposed to be allegorical, and some great literature, but the thing about a lot of classics is that I find them to be incredibly boring. Maybe because I'm a 21st century person. Men who try to prove they are men by fighting the dragon don't impress me. Which reminds me, I was sorry for the poor fish. Back to the case in point. What is impressing to me is if a man shows that he can stand by me through thick and thin, not kill himself in something idiotic. I get that the Old Man is a lot like Hemingway, but I always thought of Hemingway as a bit of a dick. Maybe good at parties, and at a dinner discussion, but not the kind of man I'd get hot and bothered about. Another thing why I don't like this book, and some ...

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is actually the first book I read in English. It was during the time when the movie came out that our English teacher took us to the English section of the school library, and told us to pick a book. It was a tiny section, with not more than 50 books, and since I liked the movie, I chose this book. Then we had to write about it. I can't remember what I wrote, probably utter none-sense. On the one hand I want to point out that it was written in the 19th century . I haven't read many books from that period and most of them in my Native Language from Hungarian authors , but there were only a few books I actually like. Hawthorne's style actually reminded me of a Hungarian author, who is known for describing the ruffles on a woman's skirt for 3 pages. They even worked around the same time, so maybe it was the norm back then. But this books is really boring! Nothing happens at all and even when something does, you miss it,...

I was 14 when I first read  Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell in Hungarian. Then when I knew enough English 2 years later, I read it in English. It wasn't easy to get back then. I managed to find it in this small store that carried like 20 books in English. I still go back and re-read my favourite scenes from time to time. The first time I read it was during the summer break. I'm glad that I didn't have to go to school, because it would have been agony. It took me about 2 weeks of constant reading to get through the 1100 pages. I was sad, I felt hunger, longing, everything with Scarlett. I started reading when I woke up and finished when I had to go to sleep. I read while eating. It was wonderful. The reason why I keep going back is to be with them again. I wish Margaret could have written a sequel for it. Sadly, I heard she was working on one when she died. This book is the one book that I will always have on my shelf for the rest of my life, within reaching distan...

I read Lord of the Flies by William Golding back in high school for a literature competition. Though "read" is a loose term here, as I sort of skimmed through it and read the analysis. The story itself could be interesting, but it's not really. First of all, especially not if you happen to be female. You just role your eyes and wonder what a group of girls would have done, probably not kill each other. Then they are completely uninteresting. You would like to feel for these boys, be concerned about what happens to them. Yet you just want their misery to end finally. It's sort of a good book to reference, awful to read. I recommend reading articles on it , not the actual thing.