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rkkmistry's review against another edition
4.0
ok honestly I didn't even really want to rate this book because I don't know that I'd recommend it to most people, but i just have to acknowledge that it's one of the most insane books I've ever read, not on a content level but just in terms of the whole thing that is going on here. It's like each chapter or essay or i don't know what to call them seems to be a biography of a real person with details that seem like they maybe are historical true but written in this style that makes it seem fictional and written with this level of specificity and detail that just seems like it could not be possible for the author to like actually know if that's true or not. I mean since the people chronicled are super famous, there's obvi a lot of writing about them, but it's almost like someone did a bunch of historical research to create a fictional character but then they just gave the character the name of a real famous person who already existed...I guess it's sort of like what they do in historical fiction or some non-fiction but it's just written in this super condensed prose that is so unlike either of those genres...honestly like I looked up a pdf and description of the book because I was almost like...is there something weird about my kindle copy that is making this seem extra strange...it was really crazy
rosemiel's review against another edition
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
very confusing but enjoyable all the same! feels like the smiths’ “cemetry gates” as a book, and it made me want to check out more of ms. jaeggy’s work
coffeecrusader's review against another edition
4.0
Such simple prose that really sings. Jaeggy is a master.
bookscatsandjazz's review against another edition
5.0
Three very short essays / mini-biographies about De Quincey, Keats, and Marcel Schwob respectively. They feel like short stories at times, and it's fascinating to watch how Fleur Jaeggy builds an emotionally resonant narrative while often using details that wouldn't seem relevant at first.
necrogaia's review against another edition
4.0
While the book itself is short, with three short biographies of literary creatives, it should not be rushed through. Every sentences and paragraphs lingers with a sort of heavy melancholy that was written in a way we get to step into these fragments of turning points in their lives.
Really well written overall and not a bore to read.
Really well written overall and not a bore to read.