November: What Did I Read?

 Well, I certainly read more than I did in either September or October. November was a pretty successful month for reading and today we'll be discussing the five books I read during my birth month.

Number one: Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. It's a classic Gothic Victorian novella (which yes, I definitely only read in order to seem like I'm doing independent study for English Literature) set in London, which I would say was probably the founding father of Gothic tropes like the mad scientist and actual physical representations of the duality of man. I rated this 3/5 stars on goodreads but I'm actually starting to think it's more like 2/5. Chapter 10 of this novel seriously let this novella down. It had a cool and original concept with an interesting storyline and it's definitely very gothic. But it had many pitfalls. Mostly, chapter 10. It just entirely ruined the story by over-explaining it, using far too much science and making an exciting idea very dull on paper. I certainly think it's the worst Gothic story I've read and considering how short it was, its pure density made it feel so long. And quite boring. A well written novella I suppose, but I would not recommend nor read again- there are many much better Victorian stories out there. Two of which I'll be discussing later in this blog post. 

The next book I read is technically two: as the copy I got for my birthday last year is the first two novels of Tamora Pierce's Lioness Quartet in one. It is a YA fantasy novel (which I admit I sort of thought was a kid's book based on the fact Alanna is basically a child at first), following the aforementioned Alanna as she pretends to be a boy in order to infiltrate a knight's academy. In my opinion, it was a quick and easy read with a cast full of interesting characters. The story was fun and well-told- fantasy but not so complicated you can't follow it. I think every single character was well-rounded and for the most part likeable. Almost too likeable, I'd say- as I was rooting for Alanna and George, which I'm a bit ashamed of as he was a little bit noncey I think. But nice other than that. Speaking of their relationship, I also wasn't really a fan of the love triangle. In fact, I hate love triangles! I admit it. There's probably a blog post coming about that in future. And I also didn't love the chosen one trope but what can you do? Overall, I would definitely recommend this to youngish readers (like me or maybe even younger since I'm getting old at 17!) and I would like to read the sequels although I'm not sure if my laziness will ever allow me to buy them. Rated 4.5/5, I'd say- as the first one is 4 stars and the second is 5/5. 

In a move incredibly unlike me, I read a non-fiction book next: Factfulness by Hans Rosling (and his family members). And despite some of the reviews I read post finishing the book saying it was a bit misleading/ not the greatest, I think this was a 5 star novel. It's a geographical book that is full of knowledge, providing an interesting and insightful positive outlook on the world. This outlook is created through facts and figures, as well as anecdotes to make it more personal. The resulting tone is chatty but still informative  and it's pretty uplifting to know that the world is slowly but surely improving. The only negative about this book is something I noticed in its reviews- it's perhaps a little naïve in that it sort of ignores the fact that whilst things are improving- they are objectively still quite rubbish. However I would recommend it to everyone as it helps to understand the world's issues without being entirely overwhelming, as it combats the bad with the good.

Now, onto those better gothic novels I was talking about. I read two of these to finish off the month. The first was Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles. After the titular Tess's family discover that they are in fact related to nobility, the behaviours of men begin to have various disastrous effects on her. She is often described as Hardy's most tragic heroine and I have to say it's a well-deserved title. She's a wonderful character, one you spend the majority of the story completely and utterly feeling for. As well as an incredible main character, this novel is beautifully written- incredibly atmospheric and bittersweet. With an intriguing plot and exploration of Victorian society, and a very alluring villain, it's one of the better classic novels in my opinion. However, it was very confusing at points. As in I completely missed out plot points. Which is how I wound up preferring Alec to Angel (which often happens to me, see for example I was more of a Hugh Grant girl in Bridget Jones) as SPOILERS AHEAD I just completely read over the scene where he assaulted Tess. Aside from this it is subjectively of course one of the greatest romantic tragedies, and I believe Thomas Hardy was very ahead of his time. 5 out of 5 stars for Tess!

The other was The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. I gave this one 4 stars, as I preferred Tess of the D'Urbervilles ever so slightly. Dorian Gray is Wilde's only novel, wherein the eponymous Dorian essentially sells his soul to swap places with the ever perfect portrait his friend Basil had painted for him. Basil (and Lord Henry) was incidentally my favourite character, as I personally found Mr Gray too whiny to even like in a villainous sense. Awful! Aside from the major pitfall of having an entirely awful protagonist/ antihero/ whatever, this was amazing. Oscar Wilde's writing style is so alive (and therefore, a lot more fun than many other authors of his time) and he created an interesting plot from a very unique concept here. In addition, his settings and characters were all incredibly rich (aside from detestable Dorian who I wish this book was less based on to be honest) and there are just so many beautiful quotes in this book. On the whole, this was a beautiful book and I just wish it was telling the story of someone else. Especially as I was picturing Dorian as very ugly: think the do-the-roar kid from Shrek. And I'm not trying to be problematic but I think if this entire novel is based on his supposed beauty, I should be able to imagine him as slightly more attractive than that.

But what a good month November was for my brain, eh? It's feeling very exercised, I can say that for sure. I hope this inspires someone to maybe pick one of these up.