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kwonset's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
aielinnae's review against another edition
2.0
If I was rating solely on style, even the English translation shows a rarely achieved lyrical style in prose, I probably would rate a 5. But taking the actual plot into account as well as the rather horrifying main (male) character floating through life doing what he will with rather minor consequences, my enjoyment of the novel deeply plummeted.
birgits_bookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
sprachlich war es gut und anfangs war ich auch wirklich überzeugt davon aber dann ist die Handlung immer weniger und komischer geworden und das um das es laut klappentext geht wird auf einer Seite einmal erwähnt und das Ende war sowieso ganz komisch
adperfectamconsilium's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
'Slowly, quietly, imperceptibly, Adam forgot that he was Adam, that he had heaps of things of his own downstairs, in the sunny room; heaps of deck-chairs, newspaper, all sorts of scribbles, and blankets that smelt of him, and scraps of paper on which he had written 'My dear Michele' as though beginning a letter '
After time to reflect I'm pretty sure that The Interrogation is a work of genius, or utter codswallop, or possibly both in equal measure.
It's a stream of consciousness prose style where the stream is constantly broken for digressions, inconsequential events and stylistic tricks from lists & poetry, newspaper clippings; diary fragments & letters.
It all adds up to a confused and mind boggling experience entering the mind of Adam Pollo, our very unreliable narrator.
It's about mental illness. Accompanying Adam on a mental breakdown. Maybe he's had one before. It's unclear like much of the novel.
Muddled thoughts and remembering, probably selective amnesia means Adam doesn't know if he's recently left the army or a mental institution.
What we do know is that he's squatting in an empty seaside villa & lack of human contact is affecting his already fractured mind.
States of heightened consciousness, experiencing reality through the eyes of a dog and a rat.
Adam is an unlikeable young man. It appears that in the past he raped his friend Michele but she's the only one to visit him by the seaside and lends him money for his trips to town, most of which is spent on cigarettes. At least I think that's what happened. After all, Michele could be a figment of his imagination.
A trip to a zoo; the washing up of a dead body; American sailors and tourists; a fight; garbled rhetoric in the town centre; questions in an asylum. These all come together for a narrative of sorts.
And a dead rat. Adam killed it. Or somebody else killed it. It's definitely dead, that's all I'm sure of.
Utter nonsense but in a clever way. Strangely compelling and tedious. One of the strangest books I've ever read. Let's leave it at that.
After time to reflect I'm pretty sure that The Interrogation is a work of genius, or utter codswallop, or possibly both in equal measure.
It's a stream of consciousness prose style where the stream is constantly broken for digressions, inconsequential events and stylistic tricks from lists & poetry, newspaper clippings; diary fragments & letters.
It all adds up to a confused and mind boggling experience entering the mind of Adam Pollo, our very unreliable narrator.
It's about mental illness. Accompanying Adam on a mental breakdown. Maybe he's had one before. It's unclear like much of the novel.
Muddled thoughts and remembering, probably selective amnesia means Adam doesn't know if he's recently left the army or a mental institution.
What we do know is that he's squatting in an empty seaside villa & lack of human contact is affecting his already fractured mind.
States of heightened consciousness, experiencing reality through the eyes of a dog and a rat.
Adam is an unlikeable young man. It appears that in the past he raped his friend Michele but she's the only one to visit him by the seaside and lends him money for his trips to town, most of which is spent on cigarettes. At least I think that's what happened. After all, Michele could be a figment of his imagination.
A trip to a zoo; the washing up of a dead body; American sailors and tourists; a fight; garbled rhetoric in the town centre; questions in an asylum. These all come together for a narrative of sorts.
And a dead rat. Adam killed it. Or somebody else killed it. It's definitely dead, that's all I'm sure of.
Utter nonsense but in a clever way. Strangely compelling and tedious. One of the strangest books I've ever read. Let's leave it at that.
danielad's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent read in my opinion. I'm not sure why Le Clezio isn't very popular. The two books of his that I've read have been wonderful.
roe_'s review against another edition
4.0
It's a hot, sweaty, summery French novel, slow-paced in all the right ways. Feels like a very long afternoon. Pollo is repulsive yet somehow endearing. I'm sure there will be people complaining that the book is fairly nonsensical, which at times it is, but it's more about the dripping atmosphere than any sense of plot.
returning to update this review to 4 stars... I think about this book. I could read it again
returning to update this review to 4 stars... I think about this book. I could read it again
djoeyg's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
colleenbee's review against another edition
2.0
I love it when an author inadvertently sums up his own book somewhere along the way:
"You don't see that the man who wrote "the earth is blue like an orange" is a lunatic or a fool? -- Of course not, you say to yourself there's a genius, he's dislocated reality in a couple of words."
Whoever decided to give this guy a Nobel Prize for this book decided that he was a genius for the same reason. I'm more inclined to the "lunatic or a fool" camp. I'm afraid I like my books to have a story, and this one didn't. I found it pretentious and boring. I kept waiting for something to happen and nothing ever did.
The only reason I gave it two stars instead of one is that the author is technically gifted. And the last chapter did finally pull me in. But overall, I'm just glad I got through it.
"You don't see that the man who wrote "the earth is blue like an orange" is a lunatic or a fool? -- Of course not, you say to yourself there's a genius, he's dislocated reality in a couple of words."
Whoever decided to give this guy a Nobel Prize for this book decided that he was a genius for the same reason. I'm more inclined to the "lunatic or a fool" camp. I'm afraid I like my books to have a story, and this one didn't. I found it pretentious and boring. I kept waiting for something to happen and nothing ever did.
The only reason I gave it two stars instead of one is that the author is technically gifted. And the last chapter did finally pull me in. But overall, I'm just glad I got through it.
charlottej's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
graywacke's review against another edition
4.0
Curious. Can't really say more than that. I'm used to Le Clezio wandering off extensively on descriptions, but not usually so psychologically internal/philosophical as this was.