Scan barcode
annetjeberg's review
2.0
Somewhere in Turkey, there is a village, where people disappear. Or live in other realities. Or suddenly re-appear. While the rest of the village seeks, searches and looks on, the story of the disappearances and re-appearances unfolds.
This isn't a never again, nor is it a book I particularly liked. Nevertheless, it has potential, and perhaps I should try it another time, but this time it just didn't speak to me. It wasn't my style, nor did I like the pacing of the novel.
This isn't a never again, nor is it a book I particularly liked. Nevertheless, it has potential, and perhaps I should try it another time, but this time it just didn't speak to me. It wasn't my style, nor did I like the pacing of the novel.
ronanmcd's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I hated reading this. I hated it even more when I realised I was enjoying it.
It's like swimming in treacle. All circular, repetitive movements, and you make no progress. The characters too feel the same, they end up back where they were. The central concept that fiction is the twisting and twisting of stories from other fiction and from the real world is an interesting one. It's also a very boring one, when you're in the middle of the text.
It's like swimming in treacle. All circular, repetitive movements, and you make no progress. The characters too feel the same, they end up back where they were. The central concept that fiction is the twisting and twisting of stories from other fiction and from the real world is an interesting one. It's also a very boring one, when you're in the middle of the text.
anneke_b's review
2.0
Somewhere in Turkey, there is a village, where people disappear. Or live in other realities. Or suddenly re-appear. While the rest of the village seeks, searches and looks on, the story of the disappearances and re-appearances unfolds.
This isn't a never again, nor is it a book I particularly liked. Nevertheless, it has potential, and perhaps I should try it another time, but this time it just didn't speak to me. It wasn't my style, nor did I like the pacing of the novel.
This isn't a never again, nor is it a book I particularly liked. Nevertheless, it has potential, and perhaps I should try it another time, but this time it just didn't speak to me. It wasn't my style, nor did I like the pacing of the novel.
vasi83177's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
raebies_03's review
DNF 22%
I picked this book up from a discount store so I had no idea what it was about and had no expectations.
Unfortunately, this was just not for me. I did not enjoy the depiction of women and found the style of writing difficult to follow. Ive been trying to get into more contemporary fiction but like I said before, this just wasn't for me.
I picked this book up from a discount store so I had no idea what it was about and had no expectations.
Unfortunately, this was just not for me. I did not enjoy the depiction of women and found the style of writing difficult to follow. Ive been trying to get into more contemporary fiction but like I said before, this just wasn't for me.
illustrated_librarian's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
mythicreads's review
The writing isn’t for me. Also, found out he’s got a bunch of sexual harassment cases?
moonmisandrist's review
3.0
3.5/5 stars.
"Oh yes, life repeats itself. And every repetition is a repetition of something else.".
This is...a weird book to read, and even weirder to review. It follows the lives of those living in a small Turkish village, and those who go missing/and are found there.
The writing is very dreamlike, I had to pause and reread a lot of scenes just to check if I missed a part that said the character had gone to bed. The book feels timeless too- at one point someone mentions a truck and it gave me such whiplash because I had assumed the book was taking place long in the past- although, that's what it's like in Turkish villages, they exist in their own world and time and are so apart from the giant cities in the country.
As villages exist like that, anyone not born there will feel like an intruder- I think the reader of the book will too, the book gives you such small details about the characters, that anyone in the village would know, but what makes you deserving of that knowledge? Being a Turkish person but reading the translated text made me feel even more like an outsider, there's a handy list of explanations for certain Turkish words that can't be translated or foods, but I know what these are, of course, but each time I came across the explanation, I felt like I was being labelled an outsider too.
The book won't give you explanations for things, as an outsider, you only get a glimpse into these people's lives, and you leave the book with a lot of questions because of that.
Recommend for: God, I don't know...
"Oh yes, life repeats itself. And every repetition is a repetition of something else.".
This is...a weird book to read, and even weirder to review. It follows the lives of those living in a small Turkish village, and those who go missing/and are found there.
The writing is very dreamlike, I had to pause and reread a lot of scenes just to check if I missed a part that said the character had gone to bed. The book feels timeless too- at one point someone mentions a truck and it gave me such whiplash because I had assumed the book was taking place long in the past- although, that's what it's like in Turkish villages, they exist in their own world and time and are so apart from the giant cities in the country.
As villages exist like that, anyone not born there will feel like an intruder- I think the reader of the book will too, the book gives you such small details about the characters, that anyone in the village would know, but what makes you deserving of that knowledge? Being a Turkish person but reading the translated text made me feel even more like an outsider, there's a handy list of explanations for certain Turkish words that can't be translated or foods, but I know what these are, of course, but each time I came across the explanation, I felt like I was being labelled an outsider too.
The book won't give you explanations for things, as an outsider, you only get a glimpse into these people's lives, and you leave the book with a lot of questions because of that.
Recommend for: God, I don't know...
More...