My goal is to start reading more so that's what I've been doing between drawing and FFXIV (lol). I wanted to keep track of what I've read and have comments on the books so why not utilize the good old blog?
All reviews will be as spoiler-free as possible ;-)
Sunrise on the Reaping (2025) by Suzanne Collins
My confession: until a few weeks ago, I had never watched or read a lick of the Hunger Games. I knew the first like 10 minutes of the film where Katniss volunteers as tribute and also about the Peeta vs Gale ship wars, but other than that I didn't really know anything. When I was a kid the films were a huge deal so obviously I picked up a few things from that, but I still hadn't watched the films in full... which is why I watched all of them in the span of 2 days.
This was spurred on by seeing a lot of Hunger Games tweets as well as the Sunrise on the Reaping movie trailer coming out and I don't have much better to do so I watched all of the movies.
(Pictured: my letterboxd.)
But this isn't Rankaroid Film Reviews... let's get onto the actual book. Sunrise on the Reaping is a prequel book about the 50th Hunger Games (the trilogy takes part during the 74th and 75th Hunger Games) and follows Haymitch Abernathy, the district 12 mentor to Katniss and Peeta in the trilogy. I feel the need to apologize for not reading the entire series and jumping to read SotR first. I didn't think I would enjoy it so much so I went for the quicker and easier route. After reading SotR, I definitely want to go back and read the books to get the full story.
It's bad to say but I do enjoy the Hunger Games for the Hunger Games aspect. It's undeniably entertaining and makes me no better than the average Capitol resident... I guess that's why things like fanganronpas are so popular but that is completely besides the point. It was really interesting to see the inner workings of Haymitch's mind as well as how he came to be the jaded mentor that we know. I am very fond of the cast, especially the district 12 tributes. With double the amount of tributes, it means that there are 4 tributes per district this time- 2 girls and 2 boys.
The biggest thing that weighs on you while reading is that you know for a fact that only Haymitch survives but you just don't know the details yet. You meet so many characters with the knowledge that they're inevitably dying which makes things far more bittersweet. There's no hope because you know that all of these kids will die one way or another, often in very grotesque ways.
Aside from Haymitch, I found myself really attached to Lou Lou, a district 12 tribute. I can't delve into the details without spoiling the book, but I'm very fond of themes of identity and look-alikes. I also imagined her to have the likeness of Dolly (my OC) but as her young counterpart, which added to my attachment.
This is the part where I add a star rating but I am REALLY BAD at giving number ratings. So here I will say: I really enjoyed reading this book. I found that I couldn't put the book down, it's just so suspenseful. I know I'll enjoy reading the trilogy and the other prequel book, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Venus in Furs (1870) by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch
I feel like there's quite a gap between this and the previous entry but I wanted to read titles that interested me and what's more intriguing than a book by the namesake of "sadomasochism" or in modern times "S&M". BDSM is interesting to me and, no, that’s not a sexual confession or anything I just enjoy reading into the dynamics and how people interact with it. This blog is SFW but I’ll be touching upon sexual themes in the next 2 entries so if that’s not for you, thanks for reading up to here. We’re all adults here… probably? If not, stop reading..shoo…
Where do I even start with this book? I guess a brief synopsis. The narrator has a dream about a beautiful woman, the goddess Venus, wearing furs and sitting next to a fireplace. He’s so enamored by her and wakes up from his dream to find a painting exactly like it in his friend’s house. His friend, Severin von Kusiemski, is also in the picture, being used as a footstool by Venus who is holding a whip, but Severin is notably younger in the painting. This prompts Severin to tell the narrator about this painting by reading a manuscript describing the events leading up to the creation of the painting, “THE CONFESSIONS OF A SUPERSENSUAL MAN”. It details Severin meeting a young widow named Wanda von Dunajew, who he pursues and asks to become her slave.
For being a book about female dominance and masochism, it’s surprisingly not as explicit as you’d expect. There are sexual scenes definitely, but the most that’s described is kissing and plentiful foot kissing because Severin enjoys displaying his servitude.
Also Severin has a thing for ladies wearing fur, hence the title of the book. He compares Wanda to the likes of Venus and begs her to punish him specifically while wearing furs. This is a fairly significant part but I had no idea where to place this.
The confessions of a supersensual man are pretty absurd. This book isn’t particularly long, but I had to read it in intervals because I found the inner thoughts and dialogue from Severin to be so crazy that I had to close my reading app. This was obviously a very shocking book for its time in the 1800s, but it still proves to shock 200 years later.
I really don’t think comedy was intended, but I kept laughing at sections of the book.
Moments like this made me laugh and I don’t think I should have been…😠Wanda really tickles me.
Severin, as you may guess, is an intense masochist. Wanda does not mince her words and warns Severin that she does what she wants and may not stay faithful to him. Severin doesn’t care (or does he?) and begs to be her slave regardless. He’s actually inconsistent about this because at any sign of infidelity, he freaks the fuck out but at other times he’s content with being Wanda’s slave regardless of if she’s with another man or not. Severin is easily the most cucked man in the world. Then again, Sacher-Masoch was into cuckoldry so this is just part of the fantasy.
I want to dedicate a section to Wanda von Dunajew, the main female character in the book. She is the Venus in furs, the cruel mistress that Severin begged her to become. She’s reluctant to indulge Severin but gives it a try anyway. She warns him that she may not stay faithful to him and lives freely, describing herself as a pagan. Her worldviews are surprisingly modern? I found her character to be very refreshing despite the very obvious misogyny that the author holds, which is projected onto Severin. Wanda has become a new favourite character of mine very easily.
She stays true to her word and I really like how strongly she adheres to it (keeping it vague because if you ever read the book the ending really homes this in LOL).
The dynamics and views of the characters are so memorable to me, I’ve been thinking about this book nonstop since finishing it. It’s really hard to forget the ending too, it’s such a massive rollercoaster. Definitely give this book a try if it interests you, it’s a very unique experience.
Venus in Fur (2010) by David Ives
It's a different one I swear.. it's "Venus in Fur" (singular). Despite the title of this play, it's not actually a direct theatrical adaptation but rather a play about a direct theatrical adaptation. A play within a play. The way it utilizes the story of "Venus in Furs" to tell another story is very clever. (I'm getting a sense of deja vu... this happens in Jack Jeanne...!)
This play is about a playwright, Thomas Novachek, who is struggling to cast an actress for Wanda von Dunajew (familiar name!) in his theatrical adaptation of "Venus in Furs". As auditions wrap up for the night, an actress, coincidentally named "Vanda", bursts into the room and begs Thomas to let her audition. He's not in the mood for another audition but Vanda shoots her shot anyway. The play covers Vanda's audition and she makes Thomas play Severin alongside her.
I definitely recommend watching the play because Vanda's character is so much fun on stage (I ended up reading the script in bed one night because I was bored and I find it easier to read than watch things). Vanda is really funny and her boisterous personality contrasts well with the uptight Thomas. Part of the fun is seeing Vanda push his buttons and constantly challenge the things he says.
There's actually a version played by Hugh Dancy and Nina Arianda, both faces you might recognize from Hannibal if you've watched the show. The audio is a bit hard to understand, but you could watch it with the script up too. There are some other versions available on youtube as well which I want to get around to watching!
I don't want to spoil the fun for this one because I very genuinely enjoyed experiencing the play for myself but one thing I want to comment on is how clever it is that it's a play within a play. The roles that Thomas and Vanda play start to blur at some point and you start wondering if it's actually them or Severin and Wanda saying these things. I got a lot of laughs out of it too which was fun.
There's nothing crazy explicit in this, but considering the source material and the fact that Vanda is in lingerie for 90% of the play, I would say this isn't the most child-friendly watch. There are points in this where they might as well just be naked on stage and it'd have the same effect.
I definitely recommend "Venus in Fur"! I'd say watch the play but the script was still plenty of fun to read through too.
And now I wrap up the first edition of Rankaroid Book Reviews! I'll do my best to update the blog with what I read. I read pretty slowly and I'm not really sure what my next book will be... find out next time ;-P Thanks for reading if you did!
