Month: July 2015
Top 5 Wednesday: Favorite Character Tropes
Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme created by gingerreadslainey on YouTube. The Goodreads group page can be found here.
This week’s topic is Favorite Character Tropes. A trope is a common or overused theme or device within literature. Most commonly viewed as clichés, I found it incredibly difficult to come up with this list. Many of the clichés that are commonly thought of as tropes aren’t ones that I think of as favorable because I enjoy originality in the series and books that I read. Without further ado, let’s get on with the list!
1. The Hero’s Quest
This trope is commonly found in large, epic novels or series. I love watching our hero go through difficulties from triumphs to failures. Obviously, his journey cannot be a straight shot to victory; there needs to be trials and tribulations. For this one, I am mostly thinking of Harry Potter and Darrow from the Red Rising trilogy.
2. Tortured Hero
I adore tortured heroes. They have been through a lot, but they still do what they need to do. However, for these characters, they do tread a thin line with me. They can’t turn into rude people for no reason. The particular characters that comes to mind when I think of a tortured hero are Severus Snape from the Harry Potter series and V from V for Vendetta.
Review: V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
V for Vendetta, what could I possibly say that could describe the way I feel about you? The 2006 film V for Vendetta is my all-time favorite movie ever. To be perfectly honest, I cannot imagine that changing anytime soon. I suppose I knew going into this graphic novel that it would be a very difficult sell for me because of my adoration of the movie. That being said, there aren’t many things that are inherently wrong with this book, but overall, it just didn’t sit with me as well as its film version did.
Remember, remember the fifth of November, the gunpowder treason and plot. I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot.
If you are not aware, V for Vendetta is an incredibly complex tale of a corrupt, fascist government and one man’s journey to bring it down. It follows a large group of characters from the mysterious, masked V, his young follower Evey, to an investigator by the name of Finch. There is a high level of complications within the government, betrayals, and schemes. As the reader, you are never quite certain with where it will lead. Read the rest of this entry »
Top 5 Wednesday: Side Characters that Deserve their Own Book
Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme created be gingerreadslainey on YouTube. The Goodreads group page can be found here.
Now, I found it very difficult to compile this list as I went along. The first few I feel passionate about, and the others I would definitely be interested in. However, for the most part, I like my series to be compact things. One series: no novellas, no companions, nothing else. But without further ado, onto the list!
- Sevro from the Red Rising trilogy by Pierce Brown
He is just so sassy and loyal. I cannot help but think that whatever he does that isn’t in the Red Rising trilogy is incredibly fascinating. While I love Sevro, I do think that any side character that would be pulled from this series to create another book would be just as interesting. It really doesn’t matter who it is: Fitchner, Mustang, Jackal, whomever. I’d read those all. - Severus Snape from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
While I think that most Harry Potter fans agree that they’d love to read anything else Harry Potter related, I love the fact that she hasn’t expanded it. Since finishing the series though, I love Severus Snape as a character. I know we get some background, but I would love to see an entire book about his life.
Read the rest of this entry »
Review: The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
I feel so conflicted about this book.
Now, I did this all in the wrong order. I actually saw this movie years ago before I was aware that this book existed at all. So, I tried to not allow the fact that I knew what was going to happen affect my opinions on the novel, and I’m pretty sure I succeeded. The reasons this wasn’t really my cup of tea had nothing to do with my prior knowledge of the book, but rather the details—or lack of details—that were present in the book.
The Time Traveler’s Wife chronicles the lives of Henry and Clare, a couple that love each other endlessly. To make things more complicated, Henry time travels involuntarily to other times and places. They must deal with his disappearances together as they travel through life as an unlikely couple.
Unfortunately, I love the idea of this book and my imagined version of the couple more than I actually like the book itself. There are a myriad of different things about the book that I don’t like from Henry kissing Clare while she is underage to the couple allowing a three year old child to sit in the front seat of a car to the billion references of the real world beyond the book in the form of bands, places, etc. Smaller things aggravated me as well, but with some of my bigger grievances, I cannot simply ignore the way they make me feel.
In this novel, there is essentially no character development or relationship development. I could not tell you anything about Clare more than that she cannot cook, is an artist, makes terrible friendships, and loves Henry. And why does she love Henry? I really, really wish I knew. I wish that the author had put an effort into making the development of the relationship beautiful because it could’ve been such a moving story. The entire buildup of the relationship from Henry’s side isn’t in the book. It’s like one second they meet; in the next, they’re having sex. Magically, after that, they’re in love. That just isn’t realistic. More than that, when Clare is asked why she is going to marry Henry, she says that they have great sex. Really, Audrey Niffenegger? Why couldn’t you have taken that opportunity to give their relationship some more depth?
More than just Clare and Henry though, none of the interpersonal relationships in this book make a whole lot of sense. Clare makes these despicable friends, and I have no idea why she likes these rude, manipulative people. For that matter, I don’t know why Henry and Gomez are friends. I think Gomez is disgusting and disgraceful. If you’ve read the book, you’ll know why. Additionally, by the end of the book, there are so many different characters that I couldn’t remember who they all were. Oops.
One of the last things that bugged me about the novel is the way that Henry and Clare approach life. Since they know portions of the future, they’re very casual about life and living. They don’t really try to do anything; they just relax and let things happen. To me, it just felt like they were taking life for granted, and life is this beautiful, strange occurrence that we should appreciate.
Anyway, I truly am split in the way I feel about this novel. I was very moved by it at the end, but I didn’t feel much during the beginning and middle. I wanted to see the couple go through more happy times, and I just feel like they experience so much despair. It saddens me that so much of their lives were wasted in anger rather than being content in their love together.
Hello world!
Hi, everyone! This is my first venture into the blogging world, and I’m excited to interact with other people in this community. So, please don’t be shy. For the most part, this blog will be focusing on books and bookish things. Books have been a large part of my life for years, and I have a great passion for it. I cannot wait to start with this blog, sharing my thoughts, and just talking about books in general. Hopefully, you’ll come along on this journey with me. Again, welcome to my blog!
