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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
The centaur who was half man, half writing desk, but he couldn't write for grief.
This book combines poetry, play and prose to be a powerful work of literature like nobody could. It begins with a husband who wants to go looking for his dead son. Then other citizens of the town join in and they go on walking and walking in circle trying to go to where the dead go. Each one of them has their own grief and is trying to nurse the wound of loss. All the voices are so very powerful and raw. It is like a coping mechanism on grief while reflecting on our own mortality at the same time.
[3.5]
The theatre quality of this book makes many of the images and monologues even more moving than they would be otherwise, but by the last third I was wishing I were watching it be performed, as to the solitary reader the style begins to lose a bit of its forward momentum.
Beautiful ending.
The theatre quality of this book makes many of the images and monologues even more moving than they would be otherwise, but by the last third I was wishing I were watching it be performed, as to the solitary reader the style begins to lose a bit of its forward momentum.
Beautiful ending.
emotional
sad
tense
The literary genre of mourning lyric is a very delicate one, because it is so easy to fall into cheap self-pity, superficial lamentation or pathetic exaggeration; or so it can seem to an outsider. Grossman wrote this book five years after the death of his own son Uri, who was killed in the short Israeli-Lebanese war of 2006. He chose a special style that mixes theatrical play, prose and pure poetry.
People suddenly leave their home, their family, their occupation, and start looking for their son or daughter who has been dead for years (“fallen out of time”); they find each other in a kind of caravan, wandering around, looking for the place - 'there' - where their child could be now; while reading you hear the different voices of these people, in short, moving monologues, conversations with themselves or with the dead, lamentations, uttering very divergent emotions. Regularly this is really heart gripping, making the raw feeling of grief tangible to the edge of the bearable.
But there is also a chronicler, who describes what happens, and after a while participates in the towing caravan, on behalf of his boss, the Duke. That gives this story a strange-medieval aspect, and it becomes even stranger because also a centaur (a Greek mythological figure) is one of the participants and in fact plays a fairly important role. The story itself seems to go in fits and starts, and some scenes are rather cryptic; so, you often get a sense of alienation, perhaps on purpose.
And thus, the style and structure of this book really reminded me of the classical Greek tragedies, especially those of Sophocles and Euripides. You must be a very big one to be able to measure yourself with these; poetically, Grossman certainly succeeds in that task, but theatrically I am less convinced. But this is without doubt an authentic, very personal expression of mourning, worthy to be read, reread and respected.
People suddenly leave their home, their family, their occupation, and start looking for their son or daughter who has been dead for years (“fallen out of time”); they find each other in a kind of caravan, wandering around, looking for the place - 'there' - where their child could be now; while reading you hear the different voices of these people, in short, moving monologues, conversations with themselves or with the dead, lamentations, uttering very divergent emotions. Regularly this is really heart gripping, making the raw feeling of grief tangible to the edge of the bearable.
But there is also a chronicler, who describes what happens, and after a while participates in the towing caravan, on behalf of his boss, the Duke. That gives this story a strange-medieval aspect, and it becomes even stranger because also a centaur (a Greek mythological figure) is one of the participants and in fact plays a fairly important role. The story itself seems to go in fits and starts, and some scenes are rather cryptic; so, you often get a sense of alienation, perhaps on purpose.
And thus, the style and structure of this book really reminded me of the classical Greek tragedies, especially those of Sophocles and Euripides. You must be a very big one to be able to measure yourself with these; poetically, Grossman certainly succeeds in that task, but theatrically I am less convinced. But this is without doubt an authentic, very personal expression of mourning, worthy to be read, reread and respected.
Probabilmente, anzi sicuramente non è il mio genere. Perché l'impressione che ho io è che non basti andare a capo a metà di una frase per farla suonare meglio.
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Around the World: Israel (Translated from Hebrew)
I have never in my life read a book that so viscerally described the experience of grief. This play/poem/fable/myth is focused on the ritualized processing of grief after losing a child and it is beyond raw. It is about desperately trying to find words for an experience that defies speech and somehow, slowly, desperately, succeeding. While this is a book about losing a child I think it is retains its power when applied to other experiences of extraordinary loss. An unbelievably powerful elegy. I'll be looking up more work by Grossman. Prepare to be dragged to some very dark, painful places if you choose to read this, but know that it will be worth it.
I have never in my life read a book that so viscerally described the experience of grief. This play/poem/fable/myth is focused on the ritualized processing of grief after losing a child and it is beyond raw. It is about desperately trying to find words for an experience that defies speech and somehow, slowly, desperately, succeeding. While this is a book about losing a child I think it is retains its power when applied to other experiences of extraordinary loss. An unbelievably powerful elegy. I'll be looking up more work by Grossman. Prepare to be dragged to some very dark, painful places if you choose to read this, but know that it will be worth it.
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death