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heartsneedle's review against another edition
4.0
4.5/5
Beauty, Obsession
“The light waned, the death motif sank down with a strange, suddenly overcast timbre, and hasty and impatient yearning fluttered its white veil toward the beloved, who came through the darkness, approaching desire with outspread arms.”
Pros:
-- endings subverted expectations
Cons:
-- some stories did nothing more than provide a twist
Beauty, Obsession
“The light waned, the death motif sank down with a strange, suddenly overcast timbre, and hasty and impatient yearning fluttered its white veil toward the beloved, who came through the darkness, approaching desire with outspread arms.”
Pros:
-- endings subverted expectations
Cons:
-- some stories did nothing more than provide a twist
petralopopolo's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
quoththegirl's review against another edition
2.0
An interesting and thoroughgoing German experience, even if it is in translation. Brings back all sorts of memories from German philosophy and the Love and Death classes. I wish I were in a class like that now so we could hash out all our theories and figure out the layers of meaning.
jackieeh's review against another edition
4.0
Whoa, man. Basically every aspect of this was laid out for me at one point or another, and I read it on a plane. Yet, despite both these things, I found this weirdly shocking and moving.
randalm's review against another edition
3.0
It took me a few pages to warm up to this classic. The main character is a bit smug about his status and accomplishments. To refresh his writing, he goes to Venice where he becomes obsessed with a 14 year-old boy. There’s some lovely language in praise of beauty and lofty ideas that I found intriguing some of the time and wan and detached other times. Still, the good far outweighs the bad in this novella.
coopfranks's review
challenging
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mayanabrumatte's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5