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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
This book is brilliant. The macaque rhesus. Vega and Zoya the wise and the beautiful. Oleg the confused. Rusanov the madman idealist. Everyone in between. Were there problems when comparing the language to the language of our time, absolutely. Did it end with me in a mess of emotion? Also yes.
Quand j'ai commencé à lire ce livre, je n'en attendais pas beaucoup, je voyais surtout un livre sur le quotidien de l'hôpital, avec un style intéressant (mais la manière de parler des persos est un peu inhabituelle, j'imagine que c'est la traduction qui fait ça). Mais j'ai vite commencé à voir flou; même si la thématique centrale du livre ("qu'est-ce qui fait vivre les hommes?") ne m'a pas touché plus que ça, il y a une et des réflexions absolument magnifiques de simplicité et de clarté dans ce livre. Des passages d'auto-réflexion grandioses, des métaphores filées dignes de Zola? Ce bouquin m'a coupé le souffle.
Je recommande avec beaucoup de réserve, parce qu'il est long (700 pages), que les personnages ont trois noms (c'est traduit du russe), que le contexte socio-politique est difficile à comprendre et qu'il rentre vraiment dans mes goûts très personnels en matière de lecture.
Ce qu'on y retrouve, c'est une vision de la médecine et de la santé totalement différente de ce que nous connaissons, et ça fait vraiment réfléchir; mais aussi une réflexion sur la vie, la politique, l'amour et les relations entre êtres humains.
Je recommande avec beaucoup de réserve, parce qu'il est long (700 pages), que les personnages ont trois noms (c'est traduit du russe), que le contexte socio-politique est difficile à comprendre et qu'il rentre vraiment dans mes goûts très personnels en matière de lecture.
Ce qu'on y retrouve, c'est une vision de la médecine et de la santé totalement différente de ce que nous connaissons, et ça fait vraiment réfléchir; mais aussi une réflexion sur la vie, la politique, l'amour et les relations entre êtres humains.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-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
"A fool loves to teach, but a clever man loves to learn." - p. 118
"Because what do we keep telling a man all his life? 'You're a member of the collective! You're a member of the collective! That's right. But only while he's alive. When the time comes for him to die, we release him from the collective. He may be a member, but he has to die alone." - p. 140
"Diseases of the tongue and throat, which made it impossible to talk, are somehow particularly oppressive. A man's whole face becomes no more than an imprint of this oppression." p. 141
"However much we laugh at miracles when we are strong, health and prosperous, if life becomes to hedged and cramped that only a miracle can save us, then we clutch at this unique, exceptional miracle and believe it!" p. 143
"What was the point of all his philosophy if he was so completely helpless in the face if his illness?" p. 152
"Man has teeth which we gnashes, grits and grinds. But look at plants - they have no teeth, and they grow and die peacefully." p. 249
"She knew now she was normal and not insane, but knowing this is not enough. She needed to hear she was normal and not insane,..." p. 342
"He was dead but his star burned, it kept burning ...
But its light was wasted.
It wasn't the sort of star that still gives light after being extinguished. It was the sort of star that shines, still shines with all its light, yet no one sees the light or needs it." p. 348
"People who say nothing carry something within themselves." p. 434
"One should never direct people toward happiness, because happiness too is an idol of the marketplace. ... If we only care about 'happiness' and about reproducing our species, we shall merely crowd the earth senselessly and create a terrifying society... " p. 447
"Because what do we keep telling a man all his life? 'You're a member of the collective! You're a member of the collective! That's right. But only while he's alive. When the time comes for him to die, we release him from the collective. He may be a member, but he has to die alone." - p. 140
"Diseases of the tongue and throat, which made it impossible to talk, are somehow particularly oppressive. A man's whole face becomes no more than an imprint of this oppression." p. 141
"However much we laugh at miracles when we are strong, health and prosperous, if life becomes to hedged and cramped that only a miracle can save us, then we clutch at this unique, exceptional miracle and believe it!" p. 143
"What was the point of all his philosophy if he was so completely helpless in the face if his illness?" p. 152
"Man has teeth which we gnashes, grits and grinds. But look at plants - they have no teeth, and they grow and die peacefully." p. 249
"She knew now she was normal and not insane, but knowing this is not enough. She needed to hear she was normal and not insane,..." p. 342
"He was dead but his star burned, it kept burning ...
But its light was wasted.
It wasn't the sort of star that still gives light after being extinguished. It was the sort of star that shines, still shines with all its light, yet no one sees the light or needs it." p. 348
"People who say nothing carry something within themselves." p. 434
"One should never direct people toward happiness, because happiness too is an idol of the marketplace. ... If we only care about 'happiness' and about reproducing our species, we shall merely crowd the earth senselessly and create a terrifying society... " p. 447
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The greyness of the cancer theme (it's set in a cancer ward) is just like a mirroring backdrop for the Soviet Union that it showcases. Vignettes of the lives of patients, doctors, nurses and others; from the high-ranking and staunch Soviet bureaucrat Rusanov to the poor exile Kostoglotov, it breaks their political and ideological positions down to their narrower human concerns and desires, such as the materialism of Rusanov's home that he enjoys, or Kostoglotov's desire for a woman that takes up much of the novel. This is a very humanistic novel and it shows things like one of the overworked doctors getting cancer herself and how her colleagues react, or of the little fights the patients have with the doctors to be told what is going on with them medically, or of what it is like on the trains when Kostoglotov goes out. Life is showcased and you can't ask for much more than that.
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I enjoyed the argument that Rusanov's golden daughter had, about "insincerity" in literature, with a patient on the ward - against realism; that literature should be about ideals of the future. From her, it sounded like that literature should be propaganda, but this debate also sounded curiously archaic - I am reminded that people used to have debates on what literature ought to be while these days there seems to be tacit acceptance that literature can be various things.
------------
I enjoyed the argument that Rusanov's golden daughter had, about "insincerity" in literature, with a patient on the ward - against realism; that literature should be about ideals of the future. From her, it sounded like that literature should be propaganda, but this debate also sounded curiously archaic - I am reminded that people used to have debates on what literature ought to be while these days there seems to be tacit acceptance that literature can be various things.
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No