Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
Quite enjoyable; I liked this a lot more than Everyman, which was just continually sad. This is more full of life, more interesting on a personal level and probably a bit meta in its character construction.
Quite enjoyable; I liked this a lot more than Everyman, which was just continually sad. This is more full of life, more interesting on a personal level and probably a bit meta in its character construction.
Dieses Buch erzählt die Geschichte des jungen Marcus Messner in den USA der fünfziger Jahre. Sein Erwachsenwerden wird begleitet durch die erdrückende Sorge des Vaters um sein Wohl, den herrschenden verklemmten Moralvorstellungen, den Schwierigkeiten mit Altergenossen und der drohenden Einberufung zum Krieg in Korea. Neben der interessanten Darstellung der Verhältnisse in den fünfziger Jahren, die dieser Roman bietet, führt er in beeindruckender Weise die Schiksalhaftigkeit des Lebens vor Augen.
My first ever Roth, and instantly he's among my top authors. What a powerful story. This novel is a perfect joining of deft and entertaining storytelling; a distinctive and fully informed authorial and narrative voice; and a novel message expertly delivered. A perfect book to bridge the divide between one year and the next.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The first Philip Roth book I've read, although I did watch the mediocre film based on The Human Stain.
*My first impulse was to describe this as a stream of consciousness work, but it is an actual story. It is, however, quite solipsistic in the tiresome manner of its callow narrator and for that reason, it reminded me a bit (but only a bit) of Dostoyevsky's Notes from Underground. Maybe also somewhat of Catcher in the Rye, although it's been a very long time since I read that one so I can't be sure.
*I had to check the publication date of this work to confirm that it was, indeed, written in the relatively recent portion of Roth's long career. The way that it's written makes it seem like a novel from mid-20th century. Not because it is set in the middle of the 20th century but because of a) the qualities of the narrator and his family and b) the way the narrator expresses himself. I think that the angst of the mid-century Jew was done to death in fiction by the 1970s, in no small part (I gather) by Roth himself. 2008 seems a little late to be dragging something like this to the table, dripping with stereotypes. I don't know how to express this, but the way the narrator thinks about other people in relation to himself seems kind of clueless in an almost sociopathic way. I think this might have been a common way of writing first person narrative in the past, but it is hard to believe this guy's thoughts from a modern perspective.
*I did find the theme of mental illness fairly compelling, especially as filtered through the perceptions of this somewhat unreliable narrator (who may suffer from something of that sort himself.)
*My first impulse was to describe this as a stream of consciousness work, but it is an actual story. It is, however, quite solipsistic in the tiresome manner of its callow narrator and for that reason, it reminded me a bit (but only a bit) of Dostoyevsky's Notes from Underground. Maybe also somewhat of Catcher in the Rye, although it's been a very long time since I read that one so I can't be sure.
*I had to check the publication date of this work to confirm that it was, indeed, written in the relatively recent portion of Roth's long career. The way that it's written makes it seem like a novel from mid-20th century. Not because it is set in the middle of the 20th century but because of a) the qualities of the narrator and his family and b) the way the narrator expresses himself. I think that the angst of the mid-century Jew was done to death in fiction by the 1970s, in no small part (I gather) by Roth himself. 2008 seems a little late to be dragging something like this to the table, dripping with stereotypes. I don't know how to express this, but the way the narrator thinks about other people in relation to himself seems kind of clueless in an almost sociopathic way. I think this might have been a common way of writing first person narrative in the past, but it is hard to believe this guy's thoughts from a modern perspective.
*I did find the theme of mental illness fairly compelling, especially as filtered through the perceptions of this somewhat unreliable narrator (who may suffer from something of that sort himself.)
This book was fantastic and devastating. I love Roth so much.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Il contenuto mi ha leggermente interessato, ma il modo in cui è stato raccontato mi ha completamente abbattuto. La narrazione è molto lenta, e ho fatto molto fatica ad entrare nel vivo della storia. Ci sono delle parti che mi sono piaciute, come quando Marcus si confronta con il rettore sul tema della religione e dell'ateismo. Così come anche la conclusione, con il suo risvolto drammatico.
Combines some of the best aspects of vintage Roth and recent Roth.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes