This was one of the most kafkaesque books that I have ever read. Everything starts with a man who has decided to shave off his mustache for the first time, but to his surprise, nobody seems to remember that he ever had a mustache. This simple matter causes him a major existential crisis and he begins to question every little thing that he has in his life. The further we go, the more unreliable characters get. Really enjoyed the bizarre experience that this book gave me.
      

        3.5
      

        4.5 
I've been wanting to read this book since I was in middle school and I was always scared to read it because of how long it is. And it really is a long book. It took me exactly three months to read it, but it was so much worth it. It's so beautifully written that you will not feel the passage of time at all, and in my opinion, it's not a hard book to read. It's a book about war (obviously), but most importantly, it's about the love we find in hard times. Tolstoy really is a master at writing about love and showing how nothing can save us in the end, but love. I'm so glad I finally read this masterpiece.
      

        Please do yourself a favor and read this book if you haven't already.
      

        Woke up so early this morning and the first thing I did was to finish this book. I didn't like many of the essays that were in it but the writing was so beautiful, so engaging and so well crafted that it didn't bore me at all (though I skipped some parts anyway). The thing about Joan Didion is that when you read her words, it gives you a fresh new feeling. It makes you feel like you can go for anything just to experience life.
      

        4.5 
First time reading James Baldwin and I really really enjoyed his prose.
      

        I started this book without having any high expectations and still got disappointed. Everything was just so out of place; characters were written so poorly and their motivations didn't make any sense at all. Some of the lines were so cringy that I had to close the book for a few minutes and walk around the room to get rid of the second hand embarrassment. I don't understand why it's called a thriller when it's not a thrilling book at all. Oh and let's not forget about the random slut shaming or the half baked queer representation (it was so bad that I shouldn't even call it queer representation, a 14 year old teenager on wattpad can write better than that tbh).
      

        This was such a hard read for me, not because it was bad but because I could feel Olga's pain so intensely throughout the whole book. To have your life completely change in the span of one day and to lose yourself in the process to the point of not even recognizing your true self is such a horrific experience. I've never read any book to portray a woman's pain in dealing with infidelity and separation this vividly.
      

        i'm never gonna heal from this
      

        a quiet little book with gorgeous prose where particularly nothing happens but it was so peaceful and beautiful
      

        oh WOW
      

        At first, I didn't like this book at all. I wanted to drop it many times, but there was something in it that made me keep going and honestly? I'm so glad that I read it till the end. It was so beautiful, I loved all the references to other literary works, I loved selin and I relate to her experiences so much. elif batuman is a very smart writer and she sure knows her stuff. This book will always have a special place in my heart.
      

        It took me some time to finish this because of exams and the reading slump that I was in afterward. At times, I really liked this book. At times, I just wanted it to finish. I don't really know how I can put my thoughts about it into words because it was so intense. It was not a love story, but it was a story about love and how lonely we are without it and how hard it is to truly love another but it's the only thing we can do because we don't know any other way to save each other. My only problem with this book was how badly the female characters were written. Their problems were always centered around men, their pain was reduced to the men they had to deal with. They were written in a very unrealistic, manic pixie dream girl way and I hated that so much. I think Giovanni's Room is a more refined and a better version of this book but still I enjoyed both of them very much and will definitely read more of Baldwin's works.
      

        این کتاب رو سر کلاس دانشگاه (!!) شروع به خوندن کردم و اونقدر جذبش شدم که تمام راه برگشت رو صرف خوندنش کردم. البته که نمایشنامه‌ی کوتاهیه و زود هم خونده میشه. همیشه با خوندن داستان‌هایی که اصول اخلاقی را زیر سوال می‌برن دچار پریشونی خاطر میشم. دوست داشتم پایانش جور دیگه‌ای باشه. کلمات و اتفاقات این نمایشنامه به‌قدری برای ما آشنا و دردناکه که موقع خوندنش سرشار از خشم بودم. ولی درنهایت... واقعا کی می‌تونه بگه کار درست چیه؟ مگه آتیش درون ما به این سادگی خاموش میشه؟ اون همه درد چطوری پاک میشه؟ هیچکس نمی‌دونه.
      

        مدت‌ها بود که دوست داشتم جورج الیوت بخونم. این کتاب رو از کتابخانه‌ی دانشگاه قرض گرفتم و جلد اولش رو به کندی خوندم، اونقدرها جذبم نمی‌کرد. بااین‌حال، هرچه جلوتر رفتم بیشتر و بیشتر جذب داستان شدم. انگار من هم جزوی از مردم شهر خیالی «میدل مارچ» بودم و جایی در غم‌ها و شادی‌هاشون داشتم. برام سوال بود که چطور این کتاب یه اثر فمینیستی به حساب میاد که با تموم کردن کتاب به جوابم رسیدم. به قول جورج الیوت، شاید اگه داروتیا در یک جامعه‌ی درست زندگی می‌کرد مجبور به گذروندن هیچ‌کدوم از مشکلاتی که از سر گذروند نمیشد. دلم برای این شهر و مردمش تنگ میشه. قطعا باز هم جورج الیوت خواهم خواند.