#swastrobi

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Robin Hood - Henry Gilbert

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Robin Hood is the best-loved outlaw of all time. In this beautifully illustrated edition, Henry Gilbert tells of the adventures of the Merry Men of the Sherwood Forest - Robin himself, Little John, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet and Alan-a-Dale, as well as Maid Marian, good King Richard, and Robin's deadly enemies Guy of Gisborne and the evil Sheriff of Nottingham."

I know Robin Hood is generally seen as a tale for children, but I couldn't help but read this edition when I found it at a book fair. I read every word of this book while outside in the bush, as I thought Robin would approve. It certainly added to the atmosphere.

The language does take some getting used to, but I found that after a few pages it becomes quite natural and actually adds to the story. Every character's personality comes through in their language, and it really felt as though I was in the greenwood with them all. As well as this, there are some absolutely beautiful descriptions of nature within every chapter, which speak to the beauty of the greenwood and Robin's connection to it. One of my favourites is found on page 44:

"Most of the villeins lay on their backs, feeling pure enjoyment in looking up into the weaving masses of leaves above their heads, through which, like flaming spear-heads, the sunlight slid now and then as the gentle summer breeze stirred the deeps of the trees."

Additionally, the comments on equality and justice are just as relevant today as they were when these tales were first told. Robin Hood, who steals from the rich and gives to the poor, who lays justice to those who do wrong with no punishment, who defends the innocent, the poor, and women and children with an iron fist, is a symbol of hope to us all; he is testament to the everlasting dream of justice in an unfair society. Robin Hood is the embodiment of a chivalrous and fair man, and we can revere his violent acts against the rich as they finally receive the punishment we know they deserve.

Also, he literally stormed the largest castle in all the land against all odds because they killed his wife, which is honestly all anyone could ask for.

I was dreading the final chapter as soon as I started the novel. I was never actually aware of many of Robin Hood's tales beforehand, so I didn't know how he died - I was expecting some giant battle or valiant sacrifice, where I would be forced to hear of his death amongst the chaos - but, thankfully, this was not the case. His death was almost beautiful. I was sobbing pretty hard all the same, but it gave a nice sense of closure.

I don't think I will ever walk through nature the same way again - in a good way, of course. In all its beauty and all its mysteries, lies the hope of a better future in Robin Hood.

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Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the source of all discord and unhappiness: the printed book.

Montag never questions the destruction or his own bland life, until he is shown a past where people didn't live in fear and a present where one sees the world through ideas.

Montag starts hiding books in his home. Soon they'll make him run for his life."

I've had this book on my shelf for ages and never got round to reading it. And then I read it entirely in about 3 hours. It was SO good.

Ray Bradbury's writing style really itches my brain. It has this perfect mix of beautiful, complex imagery, dialogue, and narration. The story moved at a reasonable pace and I knew what was happening most of the time.

I wish there was a bit more of an introduction into the world - there were some parts I kept getting quite confused by. Like the parlour? I couldn't really visualise what that was in my head, and it was brought up so frequently, but I never really knew what it was about. Was it like a giant television screen they stepped into? Why was there a family in it? Why were they always yelling? Why did it only have three walls? I felt a lot more comfortable after Beatty came over and explained that whole history, but some parts still didn't sit right in my mind.

There was some points that were so so relevant to today's society. I can't believe this was published in 1953 - were things really that bad then as they are today? That whole monologue about how content kept being cut down further and further from books to magazines to headlines to cartoons, until society just ended up rejecting the book and watching pictures - did Bradbury somehow predict the future??? And then more people meant more minorities who would get offended from the books, so instead of books we just had to stuff them with facts that let them see nothing more than the surface level of the world. I mean, you can see this stuff everyday now, everywhere. His talent for realism in his dystopian science fiction worlds is crazy, and this book should be a poignant warning and wake-up call for society.

But why, WHY, did Clarisse have to die so early??? She was such an awesome character, and had such an impact on the protagonist - I wish she was developed further. Especially since she is introduced at the very beginning, when the reader is not fully aware of how impactful her words really are, because they are still half in the real-world while reading them. Bradbury himself, in the 50th anniversary introduction, said he wished he kept her until the end. But oh well.

Overall, EVERYONE should read this book and remind themselves of the power of knowledge and searching for the deeper meaning in things.

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The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“It's Christmas and Holden Caulfield has just been expelled from yet another school. Fleeing the crooks at Pencey Prep, he pinballs around New York City seeking solace in fleeting encounters - shooting the bull with strangers in dive hotels, wandering alone round Central Park, getting beaten up by pimps and cut down by erstwhile girlfriends.

The city is beautiful and terrible in all its lonesome neon glamour, its mingled sense of possibility and emptiness. Holden passes through it like a ghost, thinking always of his kid sister Phoebe, the only person who really understands him, and his determination to escape the phonies and find a life of true meaning.”

This was a pretty good read. It was recommended to me by my mum, and I’m still not sure why - but nevertheless, I did enjoy it.

The language is very casual and easy to read. Holden seems to think a lot. It became a bit meta when he was talking with his old teacher about diverging from the path, and how he thinks it’s more interesting than just staying on topic. I have to agree with him. Even though the book only spans 2 and a half days in his life, I became very attached to Holden through all his divergents.

People tend to say Holden is misogynistic, but I really don’t think so - he’s just a teenage boy. Especially when he talks of all the wonderful girls and how they’ll end up marrying boring guys who don’t read books or care about how they keep their kings in the back, I thought that was a very thoughtful view on women for his time period. And the way he treats his sister Phoebe, he understands how she acts sometimes but this doesn’t make him love her any less. He treats her as a human - and he has hope for her future.

Holden tends to act very adult-like: going to bars, drinking, dancing with girls, hiring prostitutes, etc etc. - but it’s easy to forget that he’s just a child. He just wants to know where the ducks go in winter. He asks almost every adult figure in the books where they go and they never answer him. I thought this was very symbolic of how pretty much every adult has failed him - it’s only natural, then, how he looks to children for hope. He notices the boy singing when his parents don’t. He ties up the girls skates. He takes the kids through the museum even though they’re scared. He wipes off the obscenities on the wall. Even though he’s fully aware of how fucked up the world is, and has lived through all those experiences, he doesn’t ever try to push it on the kids. He would tell them where the ducks go.

I think I mainly liked this book just for Holden’s character (can you tell?). I would recommend for every teenager and young adult to read this.

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swastrobi

"But to what purpose Disturbing the dust on a bowl of rose-leaves I do not know." - 'Burnt Norton', T.S. Eliot

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Classics, Poetry

Reviews:

Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes The House in the Cerulean Sea - TJ Klune The Outsider - Albert Camus The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury Robin Hood - Henry Gilbert

Reading List:

Solaris - Stanislaw Lem

Good Omens - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchet

Insomnia - Stephen King

Divider by @cafekitsune

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Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Charlie Gordon, a floor sweeper born with an unusually low IQ, has been chosen as the perfect subject for an experimental surgery that doctors hope will increase his intelligence - a procedure that has been highly successful when tested on a lab mouse named Algernon. All Charlie wants is to be smart and have friends, but the treatment turns him into a genius.

Then Algernon begins to fade. What will become of Charlie?"

This book actually changed me. The writing style, in diary entries, was such a beautiful way of documenting the character development (and degradation) of Charlie - especially by including the entries he didn't show the lab. The shift in grammar and language used after Charlie gets the surgery provides a completely new perspective on his character and made me feel totally connected to who he was as a person.

The detachment he felt from his past self as he gained intelligence - even his 'friends', his family, and the academics at the university - provides such a unique view on the true value of brain power, and more so the impact of love and empathy. His connection to Algernon held more depth than any human relationship he held - and his death, in a way, signified the ending of his new life.

And even though I knew it was coming, watching his degradation in the last few pages completely shattered my heart - in both a good and a bad way. I may have cried for a while on the train 😭😭