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3.31 AVERAGE
3.31 AVERAGE
What is this? A novel about ordinary misfits who encounter the everyday inexplicable.
It's a myth or a mystery, a conspiracy or a lovestory that isn't. There's nothing obvious about it, tiptoes close to bamboozling, but what an atmosphere.
It's a poem to wet places - from wondering at the rain to a puzzle in a puddle, a suspicion in a river to contemplating pools.
Open the book at any page and you'd find at least one striking sentence. It's brilliant.
It's a myth or a mystery, a conspiracy or a lovestory that isn't. There's nothing obvious about it, tiptoes close to bamboozling, but what an atmosphere.
It's a poem to wet places - from wondering at the rain to a puzzle in a puddle, a suspicion in a river to contemplating pools.
Open the book at any page and you'd find at least one striking sentence. It's brilliant.
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Author has a really poetic writing style that I respect, just couldn’t personally get into the story itself. Dragged on quite a bit.
I’ll be honest I didn’t know what was going on majority of this book, I did skim some chapters.
I wanted to know more about this other world that they were insinuating. 80% felt like filler/ rambling, & 20% went into the actual premise. I would’ve liked to not hear about the character’s pasts/traumas/etc, & rather go into finding out more about this unknown species. I actually found that portion very intriguing, & wanted to know more. The premise itself was incredibly eerie, but this book DRAGGEDDD. I had trouble keeping myself awake for this one.
With all that said, this book was hard to rate - as I wanted to rate it 3 stars for an interesting premise & a great writing style.. But this fell awfully flat for me I’m afraid. Really didn’t enjoy this one, and would’ve Dnf’d to be honest if I didn’t need to get this read for a book club. I know some people adored this one, but it was too draggy for me & not much honestly happened reflecting back on it.
I’ll be honest I didn’t know what was going on majority of this book, I did skim some chapters.
I wanted to know more about this other world that they were insinuating. 80% felt like filler/ rambling, & 20% went into the actual premise. I would’ve liked to not hear about the character’s pasts/traumas/etc, & rather go into finding out more about this unknown species. I actually found that portion very intriguing, & wanted to know more. The premise itself was incredibly eerie, but this book DRAGGEDDD. I had trouble keeping myself awake for this one.
With all that said, this book was hard to rate - as I wanted to rate it 3 stars for an interesting premise & a great writing style.. But this fell awfully flat for me I’m afraid. Really didn’t enjoy this one, and would’ve Dnf’d to be honest if I didn’t need to get this read for a book club. I know some people adored this one, but it was too draggy for me & not much honestly happened reflecting back on it.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There are some books that just make me angry, because no matter how well written and no matter how hard I try to read them slowly and carefully, they remain elusive. For example this novel, is one of those where, perhaps, I should build up in my mind all the story that is missing or have understood everything from some sibylline sentences, of which I probably did not grasp the concept.
The fact remains that I didn't understand what happened and it makes me crazy.
Ci sono dei libri che mi fanno proprio arrabbiare, perché per quanto scritti bene e per quanto io cerchi di leggerli lentamente ed attentamente, rimangono sfuggenti. Per esempio questo romanzo, é uno di quelli che forse dovrei costruire nella mia mente tutta la storia che manca oppure aver capito tutto da alcune frasi sibilline, di cui probabilmente non ho afferrato il concetto.
Resta il fatto che non ho capito cosa sia successo e la cosa mi fa infuriare.
The fact remains that I didn't understand what happened and it makes me crazy.
Ci sono dei libri che mi fanno proprio arrabbiare, perché per quanto scritti bene e per quanto io cerchi di leggerli lentamente ed attentamente, rimangono sfuggenti. Per esempio questo romanzo, é uno di quelli che forse dovrei costruire nella mia mente tutta la storia che manca oppure aver capito tutto da alcune frasi sibilline, di cui probabilmente non ho afferrato il concetto.
Resta il fatto che non ho capito cosa sia successo e la cosa mi fa infuriare.
I’ve read a few of the reviews of this book, on Goodreads and elsewhere, and why do none of them mention Russell Hoban? I was reminded of him within a few pages — a baffled, lonely protagonist, stumbling through a confusing world and trying to make sense of it. I enjoyed some truly Hobanesque descriptions:
But while even in [b:Riddley Walker|776573|Riddley Walker|Russell Hoban|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1383166398l/776573._SY75_.jpg|762606] I could figure out more or less what was going on, albeit with a certain amount of effort, here I was fairly baffled most of the time, which led to waning attention. Victoria and Shaw (who appears at one point to be called Lee Shaw, geddit?) blunder around each other, never able to connect beyond their own self-absorption. “All that strange evening, he thought, they had been failing to explain something to each other, never quite finding a way to act it out. They both had voids in their lives, they were jigsaws that would never complete.” And they still haven’t by the inconclusive end of the book.
So while I enjoyed some aspects, I can’t give it more than 3 stars.
Hypnotised by light slanting through trees in stripes, they hallucinated lorries like coloured boxes at the top of a hill, crows with a black muscular stride, flat earth under some vast clouds. Blackened spires. Sunny dips and lifts, dogs barking in houses and gardens and outside shops, mystical June weather on hillsides, architectures of rain and sunshine, surreal tractor rallies in the middle of nowhere
But while even in [b:Riddley Walker|776573|Riddley Walker|Russell Hoban|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1383166398l/776573._SY75_.jpg|762606] I could figure out more or less what was going on, albeit with a certain amount of effort, here I was fairly baffled most of the time, which led to waning attention. Victoria and Shaw (who appears at one point to be called Lee Shaw, geddit?) blunder around each other, never able to connect beyond their own self-absorption. “All that strange evening, he thought, they had been failing to explain something to each other, never quite finding a way to act it out. They both had voids in their lives, they were jigsaws that would never complete.” And they still haven’t by the inconclusive end of the book.
So while I enjoyed some aspects, I can’t give it more than 3 stars.
99p on Kindle and winner of the Goldsmiths Prize, so I was intrigued. Harrison’s latest novel is a meandering exploration of melancholy and isolation, with an underlying current (word used advisedly) of, not quite menace, but perhaps unease. What would be plot in any other book (is there a human subspecies adapted for aquatic living lurking in our toilet bowls, canals, and inland rivers?) is here more of a recurring leitmotif, never confirmed but never clearly impossible either. A bit like David Musgrave’s Lambda, this is marvelously inconclusive, though much more grounded in the liminal waterscapes of southwest London. Not for everyone, but great for those who like this sort of thing.
An odd little read; more a commentary on a country down at heel observed by those trying to come to grips with a shredding life. The overlay of wetness seemed to add its own commentary.