My thoughts on The Witcher series

 Warning- SPOILERS!

5 things I LOVED about The Witcher Series:

1.      What I nicknamed as ‘The Fellowship,’- Geralt, Dandelion, Cahir, Milva and Regis. It gave me total Lord of the Rings vibes and I loved the dynamics within the group. I loved how it was such an odd assortment but they did seem to genuinely care/ look out for one another. Sweet!

2.      How Geralt became buddies with a Vampire. And how Regis was more human than most people.

3.      I like Yennifer in the books much more than the Yennifer in Series 1 of The Witcher. I felt like series 2 was making her a little bit more like the Yennifer I imagined in the books- but then it went AWOL with that whole ‘losing her magic’ and then ‘abducting Ciri’ nonsense- ew.

4.      The short stories in the first book and how they felt a little familiar- like the fairy tales I know- but not quite the same so there was that allure of them being unsettling and unusual.

5.      I love learning about the new monsters- this is what sets The Witcher apart from a lot of fantasy novels where the creatures just feel recycled. The monsters in The Witcher are unique, often complex and sometimes misunderstood.

5 things I did not love so much…

1.      I found the majority of ‘the fellowship’ being wiped out in quick succession of one another absolutely devastating. I kept thinking that it was all a dream/ joke or that there would be some sort of catch and at least one or two of them would return victorious. I had grown very attached to them over the last few books.

2.      On a similar note, the death which broke my heart the most was Cahir’s. He had become one of my firm favourites. I loved how he had turned things around and won Geralt’s trust. I found him courageous, honourable, determined and I felt quite protective of him in all honesty. Because it is heavily implied that Cahir is killed but you don’t actually *see* him killed in the novel, I kept hoping that somehow, somehow he had made it. I had imagined that he would help to save Ciri, she would forgive him and they would fall in love. I would have totally shipped them as a couple (although I am not sure what the age difference is!). Sadly, all of these imaginings are nothing more than a plot idea for a fanfic. RIP Cahir.

3.      On the whole, I think Andrzej Sapkowski does a relatively good job with his portrayal of the female characters. They are strong and are reasonably complex and developed. However, there were points where I felt myself grimacing, especially with the constant references to plunging necklines and the moments where the sexualisation of characters definitely did not feel relevant to the storyline. This leads me on to my next dislike…

4.      The sex scene in the library between Geralt and Fringilla. I didn’t find the word play with all the book titles amusing and it may have been a translation issue but the constant “Fringilla screamed/ was screaming,” over the slightest thing was so off-putting.

5.      I might be in the minority with this one, but I didn’t really like the whole bringing elements of the Witcher world into our universe with the arrival into Wales and The Lady of the Lake, etc. I like seeing the world of The Witcher as something entirely different and separate from our reality and didn’t feel I needed things to crossover. It also felt a little tagged on the end in the final book- as though it was only there to bring the series to a close (which I won’t go into detail about as wouldn’t want to spoil the absolute ending for anyone who hasn’t got there yet).

This was the first series I had read in a long time and I am sad that there isn’t more to read. I enjoy the TV series and love Henry Cavill’s portrayal of Geralt. However, I am disappointed that I am not getting to see the beloved books being transformed on screen seeing as the creators of the Witcher TV series have gone on such a massive tangent/ made up things entirely despite having a perfectly good book series to follow. As long as I get to see my fellowship together at some point, I will be happy 😊

Let me know your thoughts by commenting below.

May break reading

 I haven’t done anything to do with books or writing for such a long time! The last time I posted anything was in August 2021. I blame an academic year which included the return of GCSEs- it is just as time consuming as I remember it to be and so, so exhausting, leaving very little time and energy for writing and reading things that aren’t student essays.

Last week was the first time I was able to immerse myself in some really decent bookish time. I went to Rhodes for a week and spending my days next to the pool or on the beach meant I was able to read 5 books in relatively quick succession of one another. So, I decided I would write a little review of my holiday reading. I have tried to avoid any spoilers below but apologies if anything slips the net!

Klara and The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

First of all, on absolute shallow level, the front cover of this book is so aesthetically pleasing. I had taken a lot of orange bikinis and clothing with me- and had painted my nails orange- and was vainly pleased with how well the book matched my holiday outfits. But, as we all know, books aren’t to be judged by their cover.

Naturally this book came with high expectations. I really enjoyed Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day. I enjoyed Klara and the Sun, but unfortunately, it didn’t feel like it was quite on the same level as the aforementioned books. The story was engaging and I felt like it was a while since I had read anything a bit more Sci-Fi and was enjoying that aspect, but it felt like it was missing something. What it was missing, I couldn’t tell you. That being said, I did still feel somewhat attached to Klara by the end of the novel and did feel a twinge of sadness at the end. 

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

I won’t go into too much detail as wouldn’t want to spoil the plot but I really enjoyed this book. Even though it didn’t feel like much happened, I really liked the development of the characters and the generational element to the story. I liked how it included a range of issues in quite a subtle way and how a lot of things are not actually resolved in the text making it feel more realistic and believable. 

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

I found myself quite torn with this book- both in the way it made me feel and my enjoyment of it. I imagine this is deliberate, but I found it really difficult to know who I felt most sympathy for with the storyline underpinning the plot (the trial determining the custody of the baby). Linda’s story and her struggle with becoming a mother was heart-breaking, but equally, I felt desperately sad for Bebe. There was also the added complication of Mirabelle/ May potentially being disconnected from her heritage and culture which really unsettled me. I think Celeste Ng introduced and explored this topic within the novel really well, however, I wasn’t as captivated by the Richardson and Warren families. I found them all unlikeable (which may also be deliberate) but it was to the point where I felt like I couldn’t engage with them or the sections about them. I preferred Klara and The Sun and The Vanishing Half to this novel, but I think I will still give the TV series a watch. I could see how it lends itself to a series and could almost picture an onscreen adaptation as I was reading. 

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

I knew the least about this book before I started reading. It was also my least favourite. The writing style was good. It was detailed, immersive and engaging at points. The description of Cape Cod was excellent; I could really imagine being there- but the place seemed sort of thrown into the story and seemed somewhat irrelevant. Alongside, the affair (which isn’t really a spoiler as it is mentioned in the blurb and is described on the very first page). Most of the novel was actually about sexual assault- and there was a lot of it- without any kind of warning. I had no idea that book was about this on picking it up and there isn’t any clue in the blurb or anywhere on the book before I started reading. I think it needs a warning because the description of the various forms of assault in the novel are either dropped in very casually or are vividly described in detail to the point where it actually felt quite sickening and I kept having to put the book down to have a little break from it. I read somewhere on the book that it is compared to the Where the Crawdads Sing- I would not agree with this at all and it is certainly not on the same level as Delia Owens’ book. Not even a little bit. 

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

Despite exploring deeply unsettling topics and highly emotional and harrowing events, I felt like Christy Lefteri dealt with this in a much more sensitive and respectful way than The Paper Palace. I liked how the book balanced Nuri and Afra’s experiences and the aftermath of their horrific journey as they seek asylum in the UK with the journey itself. This added a lot of depth and reminds readers that it isn’t just over once refugees arrive in England. I feel this novel gave me a lot to think about and really made me empathise with a range of characters alongside the protagonists.

Overall, I would rate the books in the following order (1 being the book I enjoyed the most to 5 being the least).

1. The Vanishing Half

2. The Beekeeper of Aleppo

3. Klara and the Sun

4. Little Fires Everywhere

5. The Paper Palace

Have you read any of these books? Tell me what you think by commenting below.