This review will contain spoilers, so if you want to avoid knowing all the details of the sparse and meaningless plot, maybe skip the first couple of paragraphs. Holden Caulfield is a self-important, spoiled and worthless little shit. At the start of the book, he is cooling his heels at the fourth boarding school he’s been expelled from because he just can’t be bothered to even try to apply himself (having failed four out of five subjects completely), and generally bitching about how phony his […]
What if your educational voyage does not teach you anything?
A few words in advance This is my second attempt to do the cannonball read. My first was rather short-lived because I could not find the time to write reviews anymore and I hope I will make it this time. Bear in mind that English is not my first language, which means I will make mistakes. Feel free to point them out to me in the comments. The Book Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain (Der Zauberberg) is set before World War I. Hans Castorp, scion […]
Lizzie and Darcy, Jane and Bingley in audio form
Is there anyone, from barely discovered tribes in the South American rainforests, to nomadic tribes on the Mongolian steppes, who doesn’t actually know the gist of the plot of this book? Just in case there are any people who have lived in a barren cave their entire life, I will attempt to summarise it the major plot beats. Jane and Lizzie are the two eldest, prettiest and most sensible of the five Bennett sisters. Their mother is a silly and easily upset woman who wants […]
“Double, double, toil and trouble…”
Just to be clear, I am not going to include any spoiler warnings for this play, since it’s somewhere between 406-416 years old (sources seem to disagree exactly when it was written). If, for some reason, you’re worried about having major plot points or deaths (there’s a whole bunch, guys) ruined for you, then it’s probably best that you skip this review entirely. So Macbeth or the Scottish play. Despite having English lit as my minor at university, and Scottish history as part of my […]