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verityeleanor's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jonahtriestoread's review against another edition
3.0
I do not want children after reading this book.
mboegh's review against another edition
5.0
Oh Wauw! En smuk bog om at finde vej og finde ud af hvem man er eller var.
pharmadelica's review against another edition
5.0
Incredible. Seems at first glance like it's going to be the most boring book ever, and then you crack it open and it just grabs you.
chrisb0905's review against another edition
2.0
Felt like it should be deeper but it wasn't. Raised some interesting questions but didn't make me care.
mightymeep's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't know what to make of this really. It's a strange novel, more of a parable or a fable, but not told that way. I get the feeling that the events that happen in the story happen for a symbolic reason, rather than for the sake of the narrative.
In a nutshell, a boy and a man, not his father, arrive as immigrants in a new, Spanish speaking country. The country is modern, it has television, but no phones, and we never really know where it is, who the people are or why they have left their original country. The man, Simon, is obsessed by reuniting the boy with his mother who he became separated from on the journey over. At least that's what we assume, but no-one in the new, nameless country can really remember their past and they are supposed to forget it, so we're never really sure what happened to the parents, or indeed any of the events that happened before their arrival. I guess it's a book about identity, immigration and starting a new life, but it seems to go deeper than that on a philosophical level that I am missing.
It's probably a book I need time to mull over and think about because Coetzee is obviously saying something here, but I just can't work out exactly what it is...
In a nutshell, a boy and a man, not his father, arrive as immigrants in a new, Spanish speaking country. The country is modern, it has television, but no phones, and we never really know where it is, who the people are or why they have left their original country. The man, Simon, is obsessed by reuniting the boy with his mother who he became separated from on the journey over. At least that's what we assume, but no-one in the new, nameless country can really remember their past and they are supposed to forget it, so we're never really sure what happened to the parents, or indeed any of the events that happened before their arrival. I guess it's a book about identity, immigration and starting a new life, but it seems to go deeper than that on a philosophical level that I am missing.
It's probably a book I need time to mull over and think about because Coetzee is obviously saying something here, but I just can't work out exactly what it is...
writtenbyaschizophrenic's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I like meandering books, so I liked this
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
4.0
I overall really enjoyed the book, but at the same time I feel the book thouches on many topics that doesn't always has a clear message and I felt like I missed some of it. Or maybe I'm just an idiot. Nevertheless it was a good book and I'd probably read more from J.M Coetzee