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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
What would a country be like if it could have been planned by incels? I suppose you'd have the version of Finland in this novel.
It's a dystopian novel, obviously, where women are so utterly subjugated that they evolve into two separate phenotypes, for lack of a better word. There are the hyper-feminine women who are beautiful and docile, and therefore allowed to breed, and then there are the rest of them, who are allowed to work but are sterilized at a young age. Women can't own property and so on. It's reminiscent of A Handmaid's Tale and several other dystopian novels that have come out since then.
It's told in a sort of kaleidascopic style, with the narrative split in many ways. There are letters, dictionary entries, anthropoligical and scientific asides, and then the first person narration of a woman and a man illegally farming extremely spicy peppers.
In many ways, it's a very bizarre novel that includes the idea that spicy peppers are addictive and can be sort of hallucinogenic along with the idea that humans can be bred for docility much the way foxes have been, and that this would change their outer appearance as well. Which is where we get the two types of women.
The novel is also just a bit of a wild ride, frenetically paced, but then jarringly slowed down to fill in some details about the world through an encyclopedia entry. But even with the filling in of worldbuilding, it all feels sort of shorthand for something a bit sturdier that doesn't really exist.
That's not necessarily a problem, though. Books don't need meticulous worldbuilding, especially since we get what Sinisalo is doing here from the details we do get.
I think the reason this novel didn't work so well for me has to do with a sort of expediency to some of the narrative choices and character motivations. Especially near the end of the novel. Choices are made that are, simply put, kind of insane. And it gets to the point where it very much feels like a novel and characters written rather than anything resembling reality. Which, I mean, I suppose that's a weird critique, since a book is a construction of reality. But it does just kind of break things in unpleasant ways.
In many ways, the novel is shocking in the right kind of ways, and it's short, fast, and deadly. But it's also just kind of flimsy, I guess.
It's a dystopian novel, obviously, where women are so utterly subjugated that they evolve into two separate phenotypes, for lack of a better word. There are the hyper-feminine women who are beautiful and docile, and therefore allowed to breed, and then there are the rest of them, who are allowed to work but are sterilized at a young age. Women can't own property and so on. It's reminiscent of A Handmaid's Tale and several other dystopian novels that have come out since then.
It's told in a sort of kaleidascopic style, with the narrative split in many ways. There are letters, dictionary entries, anthropoligical and scientific asides, and then the first person narration of a woman and a man illegally farming extremely spicy peppers.
In many ways, it's a very bizarre novel that includes the idea that spicy peppers are addictive and can be sort of hallucinogenic along with the idea that humans can be bred for docility much the way foxes have been, and that this would change their outer appearance as well. Which is where we get the two types of women.
The novel is also just a bit of a wild ride, frenetically paced, but then jarringly slowed down to fill in some details about the world through an encyclopedia entry. But even with the filling in of worldbuilding, it all feels sort of shorthand for something a bit sturdier that doesn't really exist.
That's not necessarily a problem, though. Books don't need meticulous worldbuilding, especially since we get what Sinisalo is doing here from the details we do get.
I think the reason this novel didn't work so well for me has to do with a sort of expediency to some of the narrative choices and character motivations. Especially near the end of the novel. Choices are made that are, simply put, kind of insane. And it gets to the point where it very much feels like a novel and characters written rather than anything resembling reality. Which, I mean, I suppose that's a weird critique, since a book is a construction of reality. But it does just kind of break things in unpleasant ways.
In many ways, the novel is shocking in the right kind of ways, and it's short, fast, and deadly. But it's also just kind of flimsy, I guess.
challenging
dark
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Aika erikoinen, mutta samalla kiehtova. Tykkäsin erityisesti kerrontatyylistä, joten pakko lukea lisää Sinisaloa!
any book with a major plot point involving a character shoving a chili pepper up her vagina, on purpose, for pleasure (& more) has my full and undivided attention. entertaining and thought-provoking the whole way through
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
reflective
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Sinisalo kyllä kirjoittaa vetävästi ja kokoaa tarinat hienosti, mutta tässä teoksessa idea jäi kyllä löysäksi. Valtiossa, jossa valtion terveysvirasto on ylin päättävä elin ja kaikki nautintoaineet on kielletty, jengi narkkaa ja diilaa chiliä? For reals? Ennen päivänlaskua ei voi on jäänyt mieleeni yhtenä kiehtovimmista ja siinä mielessä vaikuttavimmista kirjoista mitä olen ikinä lukenut. Odotin Sinisalolta siis kyllä enemmän, ehkä varsinkin ideatasolla.
Pyrkimyksenä oli varmaan myös nostaa huomioita sukupuolten välisestä tasa-arvosta, mutta senkin aiheen käsittely jäi melko itsestäänselväksi. Päälle oli vielä liimattu melko yhdentekevä eikä kovin moniulotteinen tapa esittää synestesiaa. No, olipahan kokonaisuudessaan ihan viihdyttävä ja kielellisesti onnistunut. Helppo kirja.
Pyrkimyksenä oli varmaan myös nostaa huomioita sukupuolten välisestä tasa-arvosta, mutta senkin aiheen käsittely jäi melko itsestäänselväksi. Päälle oli vielä liimattu melko yhdentekevä eikä kovin moniulotteinen tapa esittää synestesiaa. No, olipahan kokonaisuudessaan ihan viihdyttävä ja kielellisesti onnistunut. Helppo kirja.
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Státní šlechtění národa, domestikace ženy a chilli jako nelegální droga.