Tag: Fiction
Review: Good Children Don’t Kill by Louis Thomas
An interesting thriller that doesn’t outstay its welcome. Good Children Don’t Kill is a relatively short, tense, and amusing read. Because of its simple premise and linear execution, I think it is a book that would suit younger readers, too. The story follows Michael, Max, and Nicole as they wrap themselves up in a world…
Review: People From My Neighbourhood by Hiromi Kawakami
An incredibly short, as well as utterly bizarre, collection of micro stories that push the bounds of fiction and continuity to their wit’s end. Kawakami, through a comedic and semi-sardonic tongue, paints a small world that is far from normal. Whilst I’m not one to spoil books (especially not one that barely creeps beyond a…
Review: Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
Taking its title from the Beatles’ song of the same name, Norwegian Wood is an apathetic and cynical story about late-1960s Japan and accepting manhood. Following Watanabe as he reflects on his teenage years and the beginning of his twenties, Murakami discusses much about society, life’s worth, suicide, and the ever pressing matter of sex…
Review: Jam by Yahtzee Croshaw
A comedic post-apocalyptic novel set in Brisbane; Jam is a book that will entertain you with its nerdy humour and solid wit. The premise is bizarre, with Australia being covered in a man-eating jam overnight. With most of the population being wiped out in a flash, it’s up to Travis and his posse of odd…
Review: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
A simple story with much emotion and truth tied to each chapter. I believe that Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is an essential read and proof that short fiction can have a large impact on readers, especially when it plays around with the fancifulness of dreams and the severity of reality. Following George and Lenny,…
Review: I’m Travelling Alone by Samuel Bjork
A cliché detective-thriller set within Norway, I’m Travelling Alone is a mixed bag of good and bad tropes. Even though it seemed to be generally well-received, I had a hard time enjoying this lengthy read. It felt like an insult that such an unoriginal, complicated thing could ever be printed and praised. The plot follows…
Review: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Undoubtedly, this novel stands as Ishiguro’s magnum opus (at least in the eyes of many readers). Never Let Me Go is a melancholic tale that seeks to explore our worth as living beings. Following Kathy, one of many orphans at a strange boarding school called Hailsham, Ishiguro details the life of our narrator from infancy…
Review: American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
One of the most infamous and controversial novels of recent time, American Psycho is both an amusing satire and a gruesome power fantasy in one. Ellis parodies much of the yuppie lifestyle that dominated a bustling New York in the 1980s. The author’s snark and self-amusement, alongside his slight disgust with a capitalist world, can…
Review: Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
Gritty, dark, and depressing; Darkness at Noon knows how to portray the harsh reality of Bolshevik Russia, and the isolation of imprisonment. Intimately told from the perspective of imprisoned, ex-Bolshevik figure Nikolai Rubashov — Koestler is able to subvert readers’ expectations and form much of the plot in retrospect, rather than a linear progression of…
Review: Heaven by Mieko Kawakami
As touching as it is heart-wrenching, Kawakami’s second novel, Heaven, illustrates the horrors of childhood, bullying, and our fleeting attempts to love ourselves and the families that neglect us. Kawakami toys with many facets in this relatively short novel, especially those that trouble us during our formative years, like bullying and home life. She does…
