Reviews

De dood is een zware klus by Khaled Khalifa, خالد خليفة

leonidasm's review against another edition

5.0

"Όσο σκληρή κι αν είναι η ζωή, ο θάνατος είναι πάντοτε σκληρότερος"
Ο πατέρας πεθαίνει και ζητάει να ταφεί στη γενέτειρα του. Ο δειλός και άτολμος γιος του δίνει αυτή την υπόσχεση και μαζί με τα αδέρφια του ξεκινούν ένα επικίνδυνο road trip με ένα βαν και ένα σώμα που σαπίζει μέρα τη μέρα, περνώντας ανάμεσα σε βομβαρδισμενα χωριά, πτώματα πεταμένα στο δρόμο, πεινασμένα σκυλιά και τον παραλογισμό του πολέμου σε όλο του το μεγαλείο.
Μέσα σε όλη αυτή τη δυσωδία οι προσωπικές ιστορίες των ηρώων αναβλύζουν έρωτα και επανάσταση, όνειρα και ματαιώσεις, αποτυχία και θυμό.
Η γραφή του Khalifa περνάει απ'την δημοσιογραφική - ξερή - σχεδόν καταγραφή στην αρχή, κάνοντας με να πιστεύω ότι η μετάφραση δεν βοηθά, στην βαθιά συναισθηματική και γεμάτη κατανόηση αγκαλιά του μολυβιού του. Με ένα τέλος αντάξιο του πικρού ρεαλισμού ενός συγγραφέα που έχει αρνηθεί να εγκαταλείψει την πόλη που έζησε όλη του τη ζωή για λίγη ασφάλεια.
Οι εικόνες του βιβλίου κινηματογραφικές, θα ήθελα να τις δω στο πανί κάποια στιγμή.

boingloings's review against another edition

4.0

to say Arabic is a beautiful language is an understatement. english words cannot describe how immense, powerful, and beautiful arabic really is. it’s sad because people who aren’t arab / don’t understand arabic have been conditioned to perceive it as a violent, angry language. which of course it is not.
translator Leri Price did such a phenomenal job with translating this novel. and ofc goes without saying but the author did an absolute phenomenal job writing this realism story in war torn syria. it is thought provoking, heavy, and really really important

ffnooran's review against another edition

4.0

really good but annoying as i know it wouldve been a lot better if i read it in arabic (motivation to learn how to properly read and understand arabic lit)

dsouth20's review against another edition

emotional informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

mldutoff's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

cami19's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

dirtydima's review against another edition

5.0

Reading this book was hard work! The novel can be described as a hyperrealistic piece rather than a work of fiction. A documentation of a painful journey from south to north resembling the Syrian conflict itself as its flames travelled across the country sweeping every inch of land. As tension builds between characters and their trip becomes all the more precarious their hellish ride reveals how much of yourself you're bound to lose when living under a an opressive regime. The hardships they encounter along the way mirror the protagonist's innermost struggles as well as the country's and its people's. The writer is a Syrian through and through. I highly recommend delving into this eye-opening tragedy for those curious to understand what it means to live in Assad's Syria.

donasbooks's review against another edition

4.0

Read Around the World Challenge 2023 -- Read a book set in or written by an author born in each of 50 countries on the Asian continent: Book 13 / 50: Syria

kamckim's review against another edition

5.0

Khalifa’s writing and Price’s translation is haunting. In describing the journey of Bolbol and his attempt to simply bury their father’s body in his hometown, according to his dying wishes, Khalifa tells the story of the suffering that is happening in Syria, but more importantly he explains the how and why, delving into the psyche of the Syrian people. Plenty of Syrian writers have covered the war. I’m immediately reminded of Samar Yazbek’s work. What elevates Khalifa’s work to literary fiction is his stream of consciousness storytelling. He flows seamlessly from present events to his characters observations of those events into past memories, jumbled in time and space. And the memories of the characters tell not only their stories, but also the stories of those they loved and lost, of success and failure. These stories, in turn, are a bit of a metanarrative for the Syrians in conflict, their motives, their choices to leave or to stay, their survival techniques. These large issues come under the microscope in the lives of his Bolbol, his brother, his sister, and their dead father. There is a good balance between describing the trip and moving the plot forward and the flashbacks in the minds of the characters. He also manages to change voice very subtly without the reader even recognizing it. It’s a true art, and I would compare his style to William Faulkner in this regard. It’s also existential, similar to Camus, but more interesting to read, as there are quite a few moments of sardonic humor. And, if I may, it’s a bit like The Walking Dead, in that the title Death is Hard Work is a bit misleading. There’s the existential recognition that we will all eventually die. It’s just a question of where and when. But in Khalifa’s Syria, if death is hard work, living is the hardest work.

bananna's review against another edition

dark sad 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

3.0