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spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
3.0
Traduction de Sophie Benech.
« Il faisait une chaleur torride, cent pour cent d'humidité. On aurait dit que l'énorme ville tout entière, avec ses immeubles inhumains, ses parcs magnifiques, ses gens et ses chiens multicolores, était parvenue à la limite de la phase solide — encore un peu, et les êtres à demi liquéfiés allaient se mettre à flotter dans l'air transformé en bouillon. »
« Il faisait une chaleur torride, cent pour cent d'humidité. On aurait dit que l'énorme ville tout entière, avec ses immeubles inhumains, ses parcs magnifiques, ses gens et ses chiens multicolores, était parvenue à la limite de la phase solide — encore un peu, et les êtres à demi liquéfiés allaient se mettre à flotter dans l'air transformé en bouillon. »
mebbs's review
4.0
As both a recent learner of Russian and an English teacher, this book was a beautiful insight into a culture of which I have thus far been relatively ignorant. The prose is beautifully crafted to delicately and brutally display the emotions of the characters within.
However, my biggest criticism is, ironically, of the book's most compelling feature. Whilst not directly written from the perspective of the dying character, the novel's mimicry of a death bed perspective can at times become confused and confusing. I found myself battling through certain pages much as I find myself battling to the end of a student's just-off-course essay answer.
Nevertheless, the overwhelming sense of nostalgia and regret, paired with Ulitskaya's deliciously captivating writing kept me to the end of the novel; frankly, I will have absolutely no regrets on my own death bed about reading this book.
However, my biggest criticism is, ironically, of the book's most compelling feature. Whilst not directly written from the perspective of the dying character, the novel's mimicry of a death bed perspective can at times become confused and confusing. I found myself battling through certain pages much as I find myself battling to the end of a student's just-off-course essay answer.
Nevertheless, the overwhelming sense of nostalgia and regret, paired with Ulitskaya's deliciously captivating writing kept me to the end of the novel; frankly, I will have absolutely no regrets on my own death bed about reading this book.
viis97's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
livesinthetub's review
4.0
book #9 of 2019: The Funeral Party by Ludmila Ulitskaya. a breezy, many faceted, whirlwind of a contemporary Russian novel by a marvelously capable storyteller. want to step into a whole other reality? here you are. 4/5. and now for something complete different....
riviasol's review
5.0
I'm writing this review from the position of an unconventional reader. I came across this book in my research of a lost relative. This relative of mine was a painter from Russia who immigrated to the US. In doing my research, I learned that this fictional book was written, or more so inspired, by him and his death. I know very little about him in reality so I cannot tell you how close to reality the book is, but that, in all honesty, is part of the pain and magic of reading this book. Ulitskaya beautiful captures the transience of life and the bonds we create along the way, how important they are in making a place our home. She writes about the mindset and experience of immigrants in such a way that is heart-wrenching and relatable at the same time. Reading this book as fiction but knowing that it had connections to a member of my family that I didn't know of, left many questions on my mind. How close to reality is the story? Despite my connection, I would recommend this book to anyone. It has instantly become one of my favorite books.
lisagray68's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
wild_night_in's review against another edition
4.0
Firstly, the quality of this translation absolutely blew me away. It was light, glossed in the right places, and captured the many threads of the story whilst not crushing any of them.