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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've never read anything quite like this short Swiss-German novel about a man who aspires to lead a utopian movement centered around nudist cocovores--which would be nudists who subsist on nothing other than coconuts (although when he gets too famished, the man ends up cutting off and eating his own thumb). It is a short picaresque largely set in the South Seas, distantly reminiscent of Robert Louis Stevenson's south seas tales, a little Robinson Crusoe, and some T. Coraghessan Boyle and Cervantes. The tone is consistently humorous, even when the novel itself is embedded in Germany history in the first half of the century, including the World Wars which both make brief appearances, and the parallels between the vegetarian protagonist of the novel and future vegetarian leader of Germany. But mostly it is the misadventures of the man and the contrast between his utterly deluded and slightly charmingly naive sincerity with the clear thinking poseur's and frauds he comes across in his journeys. In the end, it reads as somewhat of a critique of the meat-eating, avaricious, expansionary civilization that he leaves behind--but it does not offer any alternative because the "utopia" he creates is one of disease, decay and failure. Just about the only undeluded, noble character is shot by a firing squad--which pretty much says it all.
A strange, tragicomic historical romp. Feels a little like a less-fantastical version of Calvino's Nostri Antenanti books.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Interessante Idee und angenehmer Schreibstil - am Ende wurde die Geschichte etwas zu sehr beschleunigt und vieles nur in Andeutungen kommuniziert. Das Ende wurde so absurd, dass es wenig ansprechend war. Dennoch (v.a. da historisch) spannend, mit vielen verweisen.
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes