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sophiesophso's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
kaiare's review against another edition
5.0
perhaps the most exquisite writing I’ve had the honour to read. A vocabulary so extensive it’s hard to believe it’s translated. A constellation novel, capturing the intimate yet fleeting interactions and relationships that define travel. A collection of delicately formed anthological ideas, lectures and short stories. A difficult read, not meant to be consumed quickly, but well worth the endeavour.
jashegerova's review against another edition
3.0
Jesus H Christ.
I am very very very conflicted about this book. On one hand, Tokarczuk is a goddess of words, a weaver of the most delicious sentences and paragraphs. I had to keep a pencil on hand to underline them all. Hats off to Jennifer Croft for one of the best translations I’ve ever read.
On the other hand - it took me a month to read 400pages. How embarassing. Though this is partly caused by the fact that I was Very Busy, it is also a reflection of how odd this book is. Not a novel nor a collection of essays, some chapters (bits? parts?) are long and intricate. Some are only a couple of lines long and piss me off. Some of the recurring themes (i.e embalming) I found horribly annoying and also quite boring. The travelling stuff I liked.
Overall - wonderfully written. I just wish the content was different. But that would be a different book altogether.
I am very very very conflicted about this book. On one hand, Tokarczuk is a goddess of words, a weaver of the most delicious sentences and paragraphs. I had to keep a pencil on hand to underline them all. Hats off to Jennifer Croft for one of the best translations I’ve ever read.
On the other hand - it took me a month to read 400pages. How embarassing. Though this is partly caused by the fact that I was Very Busy, it is also a reflection of how odd this book is. Not a novel nor a collection of essays, some chapters (bits? parts?) are long and intricate. Some are only a couple of lines long and piss me off. Some of the recurring themes (i.e embalming) I found horribly annoying and also quite boring. The travelling stuff I liked.
Overall - wonderfully written. I just wish the content was different. But that would be a different book altogether.
bridgeman98's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
signorponza's review against another edition
2.0
Ho acquistato questo titolo perché vincitore del Premio Nobel per la Letteratura 2018 (e dell'International Man Booker Prize 2018). Con mio grande dispiacere, l'ho trovato proprio difficile da digerire. La chiave del senso di questo insieme di narrazioni sta nel titolo: i diversi racconti che lo compongono parlano di storie di vagabondi di diverso tipo. Persone che si muovono, viaggiano, si spostano, hanno esistenze fluide e tutt'altro che ordinarie. Il risultato è un libro probabilmente non per tutti i palati. Sicuramente non per il mio.
Questa e altre recensioni nella mia newsletter mensile sui libri: https://bit.ly/ponzabook
Questa e altre recensioni nella mia newsletter mensile sui libri: https://bit.ly/ponzabook
zilef's review against another edition
4.0
Başlarda zorlandım, yarısından sonra hızlandı diyebilirim. Tokarczuk'tan okuduklarımın her biri diğerinden farklı. Bu özellikle çok daha parçalı diyebilirim. Yazarı tanıyacağınız ilk kitap bu olmasın bence. Herkese tavsiye edemiyorum. Meraklısına...
birdinflight1's review against another edition
2.0
I did not get this book, but I did like some of the stories.
scriabinsize's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
marta_gaspar's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0