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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
About this book... what an emotional rollercoaster it was! The story sets place in Netanya, Israel, in a stand-up comedy show lead by Dovaleh Greenstein. During the entire read, we are transported to the show, where Dov goes from cracking a few jokes and making the audience laugh, to recalling his childhood memories and drawing a heavy environment.
One of the book's greatest features is its ability to makes us feel like we are part of Dov's audience, experiencing all kinds of emotions throughout the book, triggered by his words. This book took me on an emotional journey, where in one minute I felt compassion and simpathy, and on the other I would feel frustration and anger.
I wasn't too fond of any particular character, but I was surprised by the author's ability to make me travel with him along his lines. Driven by curiosity about Dov's childhood story, particularly its expectant unfolding, I kept on reading hastily, hoping to reach a satisfactory ending. A lot of questions also arised from the narrator's own doubts, which remained unanswered. This is one of the reasons why the book wasn't great for me.
The end of the book was a disappointment, as it left me with all the unanswered questions I still had, which I won't disclose here because they may contain spoilers. The whole book was a bit bizarre, but in a smart way... kind of. I don't even know how to put it. I've heard people say the book's message was mainly political, and maybe that was the problem for me, because I didn't get the underlying political message. I don't know enough about Israel's political situation and history to understand that kind of message.
Giving this book a 4 would mean that I seriously enjoyed reading it and overall was good, so I'm compelled to give it much less than that. I admire how it transported me to a scenario so easily and how it made me feel things throughout, but the story was empty to me, it has a lot of loose ends and remained unexplained until the end.
One of the book's greatest features is its ability to makes us feel like we are part of Dov's audience, experiencing all kinds of emotions throughout the book, triggered by his words. This book took me on an emotional journey, where in one minute I felt compassion and simpathy, and on the other I would feel frustration and anger.
I wasn't too fond of any particular character, but I was surprised by the author's ability to make me travel with him along his lines. Driven by curiosity about Dov's childhood story, particularly its expectant unfolding, I kept on reading hastily, hoping to reach a satisfactory ending. A lot of questions also arised from the narrator's own doubts, which remained unanswered. This is one of the reasons why the book wasn't great for me.
The end of the book was a disappointment, as it left me with all the unanswered questions I still had, which I won't disclose here because they may contain spoilers. The whole book was a bit bizarre, but in a smart way... kind of. I don't even know how to put it. I've heard people say the book's message was mainly political, and maybe that was the problem for me, because I didn't get the underlying political message. I don't know enough about Israel's political situation and history to understand that kind of message.
Giving this book a 4 would mean that I seriously enjoyed reading it and overall was good, so I'm compelled to give it much less than that. I admire how it transported me to a scenario so easily and how it made me feel things throughout, but the story was empty to me, it has a lot of loose ends and remained unexplained until the end.
The title suggesting jokes and story telling through humour this book was a disappointment.
I read this because it won the Man Booker International Prize. The framing is interesting and it was well-written, but maybe I'm just not the intended audience? Confusingly, it's set in modern times (as references make clear), yet it's a world where most people are unfamiliar with the concept of stand-up comedy (or, for that matter, dramatic monologues), and the comedy that does exist is the throwback "Take my wife, please!" sort of corny/awful. It's set in Israel and was written by an Israeli author, so maybe there's a cultural lost-in-translation aspect, but I wouldn't recommend it.
I was not sure about this book until the last 10 pages. Then I remember why I love David Grossman: in every book of his there is a little piece of me I find.
3.5 stars.
This was the last book that I had planned on getting to on the Man Booker International Prize 2017 shortlist, and it was definitely a memorable read and an interesting one to round off my reading with. Grossman depicts one night in a comedy club, and the fall of a comedian who commits to bare all his insecurities and pain in an incredibly intense, awkward, and tragic show. The audience are bewildered, especially the childhood friend that the comedian has previously begged to attend the show. He doesn't know why he's there, but much like many of the people in the room, he can't quite tear himself away from the car crash on stage before him.
The book is free of chapters, with only the occasional break in the text for the reader to have some breathing space, so it is a book best read in as few sittings as possible. However, I didn't find it necessarily an easy read. The text itself wasn't dense at all, and it was quite quick to read in terms of its pacing, but the content felt heavy at times and I was transported to that comedy club, feeling trapped by the comedian on stage and wanting to leave at times but not wanting to draw attention to myself. Grossman's presentation of a dying on stage comedian was incredibly on point, but personally I hate comedy clubs for the awkwardness that they represent, and so at times I felt like I was imprisoned in this book.
I really enjoyed the fly on the wall aspect of the book, and the moments where the focus was turned on the behaviours of the other audience members, through the inner thoughts of the childhood friend watching the show. I found myself relating to a lot of the awkward people in the audience. It was also oddly fascinating to see this comedian at work - going from manic to the lowest of the low in the space of a few sentences, his banter with the audience, and his increasing lack of interest in keeping his audience with him as he delves deeper and deeper into the story of his past. However, a lot of the time while reading I was wondering to myself what the point of his story was, much like the audience members, and by the time I had got to the end of the book/show, I felt that not much had been delivered and that the ending was a bit of a let-down.
I think Grossman definitely portrayed some real writing skill here, by managing to hold me like an audience member through a pretty non-stop book, and I thought that Jessica Cohen's translation was flawless, with the dialogue flowing thick and fast in a way that was so natural I could forget it was translated at all. But it's not a book I would pick up again, and although I think it's definitely worth checking out, it's not been my favourite on the shortlist.
This was the last book that I had planned on getting to on the Man Booker International Prize 2017 shortlist, and it was definitely a memorable read and an interesting one to round off my reading with. Grossman depicts one night in a comedy club, and the fall of a comedian who commits to bare all his insecurities and pain in an incredibly intense, awkward, and tragic show. The audience are bewildered, especially the childhood friend that the comedian has previously begged to attend the show. He doesn't know why he's there, but much like many of the people in the room, he can't quite tear himself away from the car crash on stage before him.
The book is free of chapters, with only the occasional break in the text for the reader to have some breathing space, so it is a book best read in as few sittings as possible. However, I didn't find it necessarily an easy read. The text itself wasn't dense at all, and it was quite quick to read in terms of its pacing, but the content felt heavy at times and I was transported to that comedy club, feeling trapped by the comedian on stage and wanting to leave at times but not wanting to draw attention to myself. Grossman's presentation of a dying on stage comedian was incredibly on point, but personally I hate comedy clubs for the awkwardness that they represent, and so at times I felt like I was imprisoned in this book.
I really enjoyed the fly on the wall aspect of the book, and the moments where the focus was turned on the behaviours of the other audience members, through the inner thoughts of the childhood friend watching the show. I found myself relating to a lot of the awkward people in the audience. It was also oddly fascinating to see this comedian at work - going from manic to the lowest of the low in the space of a few sentences, his banter with the audience, and his increasing lack of interest in keeping his audience with him as he delves deeper and deeper into the story of his past. However, a lot of the time while reading I was wondering to myself what the point of his story was, much like the audience members, and by the time I had got to the end of the book/show, I felt that not much had been delivered and that the ending was a bit of a let-down.
I think Grossman definitely portrayed some real writing skill here, by managing to hold me like an audience member through a pretty non-stop book, and I thought that Jessica Cohen's translation was flawless, with the dialogue flowing thick and fast in a way that was so natural I could forget it was translated at all. But it's not a book I would pick up again, and although I think it's definitely worth checking out, it's not been my favourite on the shortlist.
The winner of the International Booker in 2017 is not an easy read, but is one that challenges the reader.
Set in Israel, Dovaleh is a 57 year old comedian and the book is his two hour act in Netanya. Invited personally to the event is Avishai, a retired judge who knew, was friends with Dov, when a child. He has not seen him since he was 9 and was surprised when Dov phoned him and asked him to attend because he wanted to know what Avishai saw, Dov wanted to be seen.
Avishai is the narrator and the voice that steps in to calm us as the act progresses. In the beginning we feel nothing for Dov as he is rude to his audience, as he makes jokes at their expense, as he attacks himself on stage. When his audience start to leave one by one, as a reader, I almost felt like getting up and going with them. But I stayed, Avishai's commentary held me there as he was able to see things that the audience could not. As the act progresses, the jokes begin to be replaced by a personal narrative as Dov tells us of a traumatic incident in his life. We hear of his family life, his childhood, and our sympathies begin to change as the comedian becomes a tragic figure, crying a d bleeding before us as he tells us his story, as he begs to be seen.
This is a book about grief, loss, betrayal, guilt and survival. It is in its way, I suppose, a story of Israel. It is not an easy read, but like Avishai and a handful of others, we cannot leave the show, we have to stay till the end.
Set in Israel, Dovaleh is a 57 year old comedian and the book is his two hour act in Netanya. Invited personally to the event is Avishai, a retired judge who knew, was friends with Dov, when a child. He has not seen him since he was 9 and was surprised when Dov phoned him and asked him to attend because he wanted to know what Avishai saw, Dov wanted to be seen.
Avishai is the narrator and the voice that steps in to calm us as the act progresses. In the beginning we feel nothing for Dov as he is rude to his audience, as he makes jokes at their expense, as he attacks himself on stage. When his audience start to leave one by one, as a reader, I almost felt like getting up and going with them. But I stayed, Avishai's commentary held me there as he was able to see things that the audience could not. As the act progresses, the jokes begin to be replaced by a personal narrative as Dov tells us of a traumatic incident in his life. We hear of his family life, his childhood, and our sympathies begin to change as the comedian becomes a tragic figure, crying a d bleeding before us as he tells us his story, as he begs to be seen.
This is a book about grief, loss, betrayal, guilt and survival. It is in its way, I suppose, a story of Israel. It is not an easy read, but like Avishai and a handful of others, we cannot leave the show, we have to stay till the end.
Not counting it towards my reading goal but I did get around 100 pages in. Wasn't enjoying it, couldn't see what others were so fond of in it. Not funny, not endearing, just dull. I guess I am slightly curious as to how this ends, but not enough to waste another couple of hours of my life to find out. Would have never picked it up if it hadn't been shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize. Not my type of read at all sadly.
Update: This won? What even.
Update: This won? What even.
I don’t think I can rate this book in any way that does it justice. It is an experience more so than just a book or a story. You get sucked in and it won’t let you go until it is finished.
David Grossman‘s writing style is almost cinematic, you feel invested and distant at the same time. You are just watching, nothing more and nothing less, as a man tells us about his personal hell.
David Grossman‘s writing style is almost cinematic, you feel invested and distant at the same time. You are just watching, nothing more and nothing less, as a man tells us about his personal hell.
Personally, this didn't just suck me in and transport me into the audience, it also really touched me - while always being only an inch away from being too much, too radical, too vulgar. And that was just right, in a strange way.
3.5 stars
I liked reading this book. And although I appreciate what is written and the way in which it is written (the latter of which was very good, to write something like this from a stand-up artist's point of view which in turn is from the narrator's PoV), I think to have read it at not such a good time for me. Nevertheless, am glad to have read it. Glad for readers who can appreciate even more. :)
I liked reading this book. And although I appreciate what is written and the way in which it is written (the latter of which was very good, to write something like this from a stand-up artist's point of view which in turn is from the narrator's PoV), I think to have read it at not such a good time for me. Nevertheless, am glad to have read it. Glad for readers who can appreciate even more. :)