Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a book my Lithuanian friend got me to read and I have to say, while it was written in a style that I usually despise, I enjoyed this book. I found that the stream of consciousness style lent itself to the chaos of Antanas' mentality throughout the book.
Don't get me wrong, the main character is deplorable in his attitude towards others, the world and himself. There isn't a lot to like about any of the characters, really but they feel very human - I even felt sorry for them at times even though they made bad decisions. Normally, the way they acted or spoke would annoy me in other books but here it works.
The book itself has some really nicely written prose that I shared with my friend and contained a lot of informational footnotes. I know that annoyed some people but I liked getting little nuggets of contextual information that way. Were some of them redundant? Sure, but they didn't take away from my experience of reading the book. I also didn't mind that the book jumped around the timeline either, getting insight to Antanas throughout his life really helped to solidify his character.
I think this book definitely would read a lot better in it's native language, I can't help but feel some nuance is lost by translating it into English. I guess that can't be helped. Regardless, I rate it a solid 4 star!
Don't get me wrong, the main character is deplorable in his attitude towards others, the world and himself. There isn't a lot to like about any of the characters, really but they feel very human - I even felt sorry for them at times even though they made bad decisions. Normally, the way they acted or spoke would annoy me in other books but here it works.
The book itself has some really nicely written prose that I shared with my friend and contained a lot of informational footnotes. I know that annoyed some people but I liked getting little nuggets of contextual information that way. Were some of them redundant? Sure, but they didn't take away from my experience of reading the book. I also didn't mind that the book jumped around the timeline either, getting insight to Antanas throughout his life really helped to solidify his character.
I think this book definitely would read a lot better in it's native language, I can't help but feel some nuance is lost by translating it into English. I guess that can't be helped. Regardless, I rate it a solid 4 star!
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
slow-paced
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wanted to find some genuine Lithuanian literature to read while on a trip to Vilnius and happened to stumble on one of the best novels I’ve ever read.
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A