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dutschka's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
kimplane's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
jochno's review against another edition
2.0
Formed of three distinct but linked stories I found the narrators all painfully detached. The writing is fairly well formed and definitely intellectual in its aspirations but cold, almost sterile. In fact these three stories read like a triptic of magazine articles that would be published in a creative writing zine by a Masters or PhD literature student. What it lacks however is any real ability to get stuck into its subject matter in a creative manner - infirmity, severence, fleeting encounters, loneliness. We are confronted with three introductions but after a slow walk towards a plot we are always left on the threshold. It was to put it quite mildly, dull and full of navel gazing. That being said there is the odd beautiful passage in there which is worth your time.
sarahhahmad's review against another edition
3.0
i like introspective and aloof books that seem to go nowhere but this one was a little too aloof for me. beautiful writing and a good, quick read, just not for me.
literarymultitudes's review
3.0
I leave this book with a mixed impression. I do not like the kind of existential exposition of "this is what happened" in a way so heavy of meaning. Also tha last part had waaay too many characters and stories. However, I was kind of into the world of this book atmosphere-wise. And it actually did do something that I can't readily explain... :-)
(Also, I read an English translation and there were some points where I couldn't tell if the language was intentional or just the product of translation.)
(Also, I read an English translation and there were some points where I couldn't tell if the language was intentional or just the product of translation.)
verbamatic's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Sevastopol (New Directions, tr. Zoë Perry) is a nimble, dreamlike novella of 3 stories that, to me, all had 2 ideas in common: that it is impossible to know anything about another person, no matter how much time or intimacy you share with them, and that it is impossible to go back in time to relive those moments from the past that you truly miss.
I love the simple yet fragile way in which the stories were written. Reading the book felt like trying to trace a fine lattice or lacework in the dark - and not getting it fully, and yet finding it fine to the touch.
This impression was due to strange deviations from the characters’ shared realities into their internal worlds, walking on the edge of dementia or reveries or something similarly oneiric. And it was the kind of soft melancholy I appreciate.
Also, the connection to Ukraine is a bit uncanny, given the present moment. I have once visited one of the cities mentioned in the novel - Simferopol, when I’d been staying in Mariupol (sadly, not Sevastopol). And the 19th century Crimean war setting definitely harks to the current time in a strange way.
Will I remember this book in several months? Not sure. Still, it is one of those little books that bring comfort as they envelop you in their strange little world for the short time you’re reading them.
kayla_pim's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5