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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
Als Unterhaltung für einen trüben Sonntagnachmittag durchaus geeignet, aber die Geschichte hinterlässt bei mir keinen bleibenden Eindruck. Im Grunde nimmt der Titel die Story auch schon einigermaßen vorweg: Ein Mann hat die Nase voll von seiner ewig nörgelnden Frau und täuscht deshalb Demenz vor, um den Rest seines Lebens im Altersheim verbringen zu können. Jeder normale Mann würde vielleicht einfach vom Zigarettenholen nicht zurückkommen, aber gut...Jeder wie er's mag.
Ačkoliv to dělám zcela záměrně, velice se mi příčí, že každou noc znovu seru do postele aneb jedna z nejlepších úvodních vět.
V hlavní (a jediné) roli téhle knížky je cynickej děda, kterej svojí otravnou manželku nesnáší natolik, že radši stráví svoje poslední dny kaděním do postele a hraním binga s dalšíma dementíkama. Troška černýho humoru ještě nikoho nezabila. Teda až na Desirého.
Nad očekávání dobrá kratičká knížka. A teď mě omluvte, za chvíli mi jede autobus 77, tak já už půjdu.
V hlavní (a jediné) roli téhle knížky je cynickej děda, kterej svojí otravnou manželku nesnáší natolik, že radši stráví svoje poslední dny kaděním do postele a hraním binga s dalšíma dementíkama. Troška černýho humoru ještě nikoho nezabila. Teda až na Desirého.
Nad očekávání dobrá kratičká knížka. A teď mě omluvte, za chvíli mi jede autobus 77, tak já už půjdu.
This slender Dutch novel about a retired librarian caught my eye for the very elemental reason that I am also a librarian, plus I'm generally willing to give a short book from another culture a try, just to broaden my horizons. Here, Desire Cordier is 74 and fed up with life. He doesn't want to spend his remaining days in the company of his controlling harridan of a wife, and so decides to fake the onset of dementia in order to be placed in a nursing home.
This premise is played for some laughs, and belongs to a tradition of fiction about the elderly behaving in ways we might not expect. Written from Desire's perspective, the book is essentially a laundry list of complaints about his wife, as well as the disappointments of the modern world. Some of this is amusing, but much of it is just whiny, and not particularly incisive or thought-provoking. So I kept waiting for the moment at which the story would pivot or reveal itself in a surprising way -- but that never came.
Ultimately, the book doesn't work because the wife is such a thin caricature that it's hard to locate any humanity in her. Desire's choices are all driven by the same cowardice that led to his being in an unhappy marriage for 50+ years. And so ultimately it's he who is the villain of his own story -- which, I suppose, could be considered the gimmick of the story, but it's not a very compelling one.
This premise is played for some laughs, and belongs to a tradition of fiction about the elderly behaving in ways we might not expect. Written from Desire's perspective, the book is essentially a laundry list of complaints about his wife, as well as the disappointments of the modern world. Some of this is amusing, but much of it is just whiny, and not particularly incisive or thought-provoking. So I kept waiting for the moment at which the story would pivot or reveal itself in a surprising way -- but that never came.
Ultimately, the book doesn't work because the wife is such a thin caricature that it's hard to locate any humanity in her. Desire's choices are all driven by the same cowardice that led to his being in an unhappy marriage for 50+ years. And so ultimately it's he who is the villain of his own story -- which, I suppose, could be considered the gimmick of the story, but it's not a very compelling one.
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Interessant gegeven, grappig geschreven, maar gewoon niet mijn stijl. Uitgelezen, maar blij dat het boekje slechts 138 pagina's heeft.