Book Review #16 | Heart of a Dog — Weird, wild, and worth it

Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Just finished Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov, and wow! What a ride. It’s a satirical novella about a stray dog who gets turned into a man through a bizarre experiment. Equal parts darkly funny and unsettling, it’s full of sharp social commentary on identity, human nature, and society. I especially loved Bulgakov’s dark humor, it made the book entertaining while still giving me something to think about. Short, clever, and definitely worth reading.

The Bell Jar — A look inside a fragile mind

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Done reading The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, and honestly, it left me with a lot to think about. I really loved her metaphor about the fig tree.

"I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. ... I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet."

It’s such a powerful way to explain choices, possibilities, and the fear of missing out. At the same time, I found myself struggling with her thought process. Esther gives off a kind of “mean girl” energy at times, but I also can’t help pitying her because she’s clearly suffering mentally. It’s heartbreaking to realize how deeply her pain affected her life, and learning that Plath ended her own life in such a brutal way makes the book even heavier to process.

Overall, The Bell Jar is intense and raw. It’s poetic but unsettling, and it really makes you reflect on mental health, identity, and the pressures women face.

The Pearl — More than just a Pearl

The Pearl by John Steinbeck
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A short but powerful novella about greed, poverty, and ambition. It follows the story of Kino, a poor pearl diver whose life changes when he discovers something extraordinary. Steinbeck uses this story as a rich allegory to explore human desire, the cost of ambition, and the fragility of human values.

His simple yet vivid prose makes the novella both easy to read and deeply meaningful. The ending was shocking and haunting, a real reminder that dreams can come with unexpected costs.

White Nights — A Bittersweet Tale of Yearning

White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

White Nights totally zoned me out in the best way. Dostoevsky is way too good for making this bittersweet little masterpiece about yearning, hope, and unrequited love. There’s a poetic cruelty in Dostoevsky’s storytelling. He invites you to dwell in hope and fantasy, only to remind you of life’s impermanence. Sure, some will slap labels like ‘nice guy syndrome’ or ‘incel’ on it, but that misses the point. This isn’t a dating manual... it’s an exploration of the universal human condition: the hunger for connection and the art of letting go. For those who get it… congratulations, you’re officially emotionally evolved.

Notes from the Underground — A Dark Dive into the Human Psyche

Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is my first time reading Fyodor Dostoevsky, and now I’m curious to explore more of his work. Notes from Underground is intense, raw, and deeply human. Half of it feels like a deep philosophical rant, the other half like a personal confession, all from a narrator who’s bitter, self-aware, and full of contradictions.

The Underground Man challenges the idea that humans are purely logical, saying we actually crave freedom, even if it means choosing to suffer. Not gonna lie, this was a bit hard for me to grasp at first 😅, but it’s totally worth it. By the end, it made me want to read more of Dostoevsky’s work.

And TBH, I found myself relating to him more than I expected... his overthinking, self-awareness, wanting connection but also craving solitude, and questioning life’s meaning felt so human.

The Stranger — Life, Meaning, and the Absurd

The Stranger by Albert Camus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There’s something striking about The Stranger, its brevity and depth working hand in hand. Meursault doesn’t live his life like most of us expect people to. Detached, observant, and indifferent, he moves through life without illusions. The story isn’t just about what he does; it’s about how little meaning he assigns to life and how society reacts to that.

Camus writes plainly, almost sparingly, yet every sentence carries weight. The book lingers not because of a dramatic plot, but because of the questions it leaves behind. For me, it wasn’t just a read, it was an experience that made me question existence itself.

The Prophet — Timeless Words on Life and Love

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was actually recommended to me by a Lebanese friend, and I think it was such a good pick. It is different from my usual reads, but I found it refreshing and deeply meaningful. It’s a collection of poetic essays that reflect on life, love, freedom, work, and death, all delivered through the voice of a prophet preparing to leave a city he’s lived in for years.

What I liked most is how timeless it feels. Gibran’s words are simple yet poetic, almost like wisdom that could apply to any generation. It’s not just a book, this feels more like a spiritual guide, offering reflections that you can return to again and again. For me, it was a beautiful change of pace and a reminder that sometimes stepping into a different genre can be surprisingly rewarding.

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea — A Haunting Tale of Youth and Obsession

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea by Yukio Mishima
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was my first Japanese literature read, and I don’t regret picking it up. Mishima’s writing is both poetic and haunting. He really captures beauty and darkness in equal measure. The chilling exploration of freedom, love, and the clash between ideals and reality.

What struck me most was how the novel builds an almost quiet tension, only to leave you unsettled by where it leads. It’s not a comforting book, it’s thought-provoking, disturbing at times, and definitely lingers long after you close it.

We — When Freedom Meets Control

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My first dive into the dystopian world of literature, and We by Yevgeny Zamyatin really made an impression. It’s set in a future where individuality is erased, people live under strict control, and life is all about order. The story follows D-503, an engineer whose life changes after meeting someone who challenges everything he knows.

What really stayed with me were the big ideas — individuality vs. control, freedom vs. conformity. Zamyatin’s style feels like reading someone’s private journal, and it definitely made me curious to explore more dystopian stories.