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2.99 AVERAGE
2.99 AVERAGE
reflective
fast-paced
So puzzling. This “novel” is Kadare thinking through a phone call between Joseph Stalin and Boris Pasternak. Stalin called Pasternak and asked about the arrest of poet Osip Mandelstam, and apparently Pasternak dodged the question. Mandelstam later died in prison. It’s about power, fear, and art…i think. It reads more like an inconclusive essay than a novel. There is a lot more to what's going on here, with Kadare himself a Pasternak under Albania's own Stalinist state, for example. It left me thinking about life within these tyrannical states.
challenging
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I didn’t really get this book. I’ve read other books by Ismail Kadare and enjoyed them immensely, so disappointed in not liking this one.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-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:
Yes
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
that feeling when you realize you’re not smart enough
I have determined that I’m not smart enough to understand this book. For those who do, I imagine it’s fascinating.
I have determined that I’m not smart enough to understand this book. For those who do, I imagine it’s fascinating.
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Not quite 4* because even a book that meanders through a couple hundred pages should have some sort of ordered non-structure; this frequently felt like Kadare was philosophising to the reader over coffee and drawing out points to examine without coming to a conclusion rather than persuading the reader of some greater truth. And yet; I am glad to have read it. I feel I have gained a deeper understanding of what it was like to live in a time of socialist realism and this book, part monograph and part autobiography, is an engaging read.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide, Torture
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was not the right audience for this book. It will most likely interest people who are well-versed in the history of Russian literature and culture, which is not my case. I personally found this book boring and chaotic.
What I did enjoy are the many aphorisms and tangents about mythology and human behavior.
What I did enjoy are the many aphorisms and tangents about mythology and human behavior.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Kadare overthinks the phonecall Stalin aledgedly made to Pasternak about Mandelstam and I loved it.
informative
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
first you need to look up Boris pasternak and his infamous call with Stalin on the internet to get this book. Also imagine a fight between taylor swift and Trump to understand the drama of this book. This book feels like being stuck with an older gentleman at a dinner party that speaks about a drama from his time. The vocabulary is incredibly heavy but the story oozes of how wise the writter is, i loved the parallel drawn to different moments in time and the main theme of tirrant vs poet. what i didnt like is that the structure is all over the place so it feels terribly repetitive (that was the point i get it but disliked it)