I often struggle to write 5 Star reviews, but I struggle more with Fredrik Backman books. I don't know how to explain the experience of reading one of his books, and I can't find the words to tell you the impact they have. Objectively, I can understand that this narrative style will not appeal to everyone. But in practice I cannot fathom someone not being gripped by the way he imagines and unpacks stories.

I saw the movie trailer and thought that it looked interesting, so I put the book on hold at the library. Now, months later, I'm happy to report that The People are correct and the vibes of this book do not match the vibes of the movie trailer. Although it was not what I was expecting, I still really enjoyed the book. The first half dragged, and while I came to appreciate it once I had finished, it still made a slow start.

I finally read it! Twenty-four (plus some) Hamlet retellings, and it wasn't until just now that I've finally read the only one everyone else has heard of.

This was a really interesting take on Hamlet. I didn't agree with every interpretation, but I thought the book did a good job justifying the character and story decisions.

Was this book a good Hamlet retelling? Not particularly. I could see some benefit to students reading it, but only if they are told about the worst changes. But was it a good book on its own? Also not really. It's not the worst book ever, but unless you're on a quest to read every Hamlet retelling out there, I don't think it's worth it.

Honestly, if she had come out and said that this was intentionally her re-imagining of Hamlet, it still wouldn’t be the worst one I’ve read. There’s one book where Ophelia, after the events of the play, gives birth to Hamlet’s baby and then many years later falls in love with Horatio. Falling in love with Travis Kelce is not the most unreasonable suggestion for what could happen to Ophelia.

This movie places Hamlet within the context of a wealthy South Asian family in London who own a real estate empire called Elsinore. When Hamlet (Riz Ahmed) returns to Elsinore for his father's funeral, he is shocked to learn that his mother will be marrying his uncle. Then, when he is visited by his father's ghost, he learns that his father was murdered by his uncle, and he is given the task to avenge his father. It's a familiar story put in a modern context. Disclaimer: I'm

It took me a good bit to get into this book, but I did grow to enjoy it. There were times that I found it quite tedious, but on the whole I liked the story. I do think that you must like the original play as a prerequisite to this book, though; it stands strongly as a prequel but not very well on its own.

If the general writing quality had been better, I wouldn't have minded a lot of the other issues as much. But because I was so far removed from the story, I was more critical of the whole than I would be otherwise. I genuinely don't know if there's a massive quality difference between this book and "The One" or if listening to it covered it up, but I was really disappointed. I think I have to let this be the last Marrs book for me.

This book was neither a good mystery/thriller nor a good romance, which left it feeling identity-less and shallow, especially given the strong moral messaging it tried to have. Maybe I need to vet my books more before I read them. Maybe books should be better written! Who's to say, really.

I read this book because it won the Pulitzer Prize and I was curious about the unique structure. I didn't know anything about the plot going in, and I was instantly nervous because I'm not a huge fan of war novels. But I stuck with it, and I'm so glad I did. I remember thinking outright, more than once, "Oh, THIS is why it won the Pulitzer." I found it to be stunning and exciting and heartbreaking and beautiful and brilliantly unique.

I hated this. It made me genuinely angry, to a point where I'm finding it difficult to write this review. Nothing happens, the mysterious murder is nothing, the writing is atrocious, and the biggest victim of the book is never acknowledged.

Following the release and rave reviews of her first book, the provocatively-named autobiography I'm Glad My Mom Died, people (it's me, I'm people) were intrigued by the announcement of her second book. This time fiction but equally provocative, Half His Age has an in-your-face cover and a shocking premise. This book was published, and that is the extent of what it accomplished.

While this book and concept had a lot of promise, the execution killed its momentum before it really got a chance.

Look, I’m a certified McFadden hater. I thought the one book of hers that I read was unbelievably bad and wasn’t interested in picking up anything else because I don’t trust her output speed. But I love a gimmick, and I could not help myself from getting her latest book, The Dinner Party, a “Pick Your Poison” adventure.

You're not going to believe me, but I did like the story beats of this book. It certainly made me want to try biang biang noodles. But I was overall unimpressed with the writing and the implementations of the central allegory.

I really enjoyed this book at the start. The writing — taking place in 1960s California — felt atmospheric and retro in a way I was really into. And the plot is fascinating, because this is an angle that's pretty unique. Around the halfway mark, it was clear that this was leaning more literary mystery than mystery thriller (the latter being the intended genre), and things got so much worse from there. It was slow, unclear, repetitive, and ultimately unimaginative.

This is a retelling of Hamlet, but it's really not about him (Mawat). This is Horatio's story. And Eolo is ... fine. I love Horatio, which helps this book a lot. Ultimately, The Raven Tower has a myriad of brilliant ideas but is lacking in execution.

I still enjoyed this series. I liked the writing, the sense of humor and the goofy solutions these characters find for their problems, and the setting. When this duology was good, it was really good. It's a tragedy to me that it floundered so much at the end when it has a lot of potential. If the author ever decides to revisit this universe, I'll be there eagerly waiting.

When I read a book that I love, I often find it difficult to write a review. How am I supposed to put into words the way this book made me feel? What could I possibly say to properly express the most brilliant parts of it? I can't, really, which is why I rarely write reviews for my 5 Star books. I wanted to try with Beartown, because I think it's an amazing work of art.