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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
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:
Complicated
challenging
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Why are you like this? You were a good boy!
This novel forces you to be in the audience and watch a man you don't really like break down on stage. It's uncomfortable. But you will also in the end have empathy for him.
There's metaphors, symbolism and a whole parable to tackle. And perhaps even a reworked story of Peer Gynt in there
The only question is if it becomes to self-centered on it's chosen format, or excercise in style. Does it really say anything new?
Ok, so this rating might change as I have no idea how to process what I just read...
I don’t know whether it was funny, pointless or clever. Maybe that’s it’s beauty?
I don’t know whether it was funny, pointless or clever. Maybe that’s it’s beauty?
I read the whole thing in one sitting. It felt like I was experiencing this morbid trainwreck of a show in real time. I was gritting my teeth and cringing and laughing and holding back tears. Truly brilliant. You cannot look away.
I just found it completely uninteresting to read. It was very repetitive and not for me. I found the main character extremely dislikable (which is probably how you’re meant to feel) but it just didn’t reel me in to read about him at all. Not a comfortable read, very strange and nothing had really happened by page 87.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
A really novel format being based around 2hour stand up set and the comedian’s wrestle with the joke-hungry audience to tell of his tragic childhood and keep it funny. Our perspective is from an old acquaintance, begged by the comic (Dov) to come and tell him what he sees.
Whilst it’s clear that there’s history to be unpacked between the two, I wasn’t massively gripped by the book and did take a month long break about a third, just not getting a lot from the standup routine
Dov G a really interesting main character though and someone I could definitely place in my life from childhood memories.
Things do get pretty moving once more of Dov’s history is revealed but I just don’t think the book did a whole lot for me
Whilst it’s clear that there’s history to be unpacked between the two, I wasn’t massively gripped by the book and did take a month long break about a third, just not getting a lot from the standup routine
Dov G a really interesting main character though and someone I could definitely place in my life from childhood memories.
Things do get pretty moving once more of Dov’s history is revealed but I just don’t think the book did a whole lot for me
Comedians seem to feel so deeply, probably because of how acutely they must observe life.
I'm still thinking about this one. I was emotional by the end of it, for a combination of things. I tried my best to read it in one sitting, to get into the spirit of its framing device. It made for a tense, sometimes awkward, reading experience, surely as if I was one of Dovaleh G's captive audience.
I'm still thinking about this one. I was emotional by the end of it, for a combination of things. I tried my best to read it in one sitting, to get into the spirit of its framing device. It made for a tense, sometimes awkward, reading experience, surely as if I was one of Dovaleh G's captive audience.
Der Comedian Dovele lädt seinen Jugendfreund und jetzt pensionierten Richter, unseren Ich-Erzähler, zu einem Abend ein, an dem er, Dovele, Stand-Up Comedy macht. Dovele hat an dem Tag Geburtstag und beginnt, statt eines Comedy-Programms, Geschichten aus seiner Kindheit zu erzählen. Das Buch gibt den Abend wieder, beschrieben wird die erzählte Geschichte und das seltsame Verhalten von Dovele auf der Bühne. Er schlägt sich zum Teil sehr heftig selbst und zerbricht seine eigene Brille. Der Ich-Erzähler beschreibt in ein paar Sektionen, wie er Dovele von früher kannte. Dovele erzählt, dass er auf einen Jugend-Militärcamp war und plötzlich nach Jerusalem verfrachtet wurde, weil er zu einem Waisen geworden war. Wer seiner Eltern gestorben war, wusste er nicht. Ein Großteil der Geschichte dreht sich um die Fahrt nach Jerusalem, bei der Dovele nicht weiß, wer tot ist und schlussendlich das Gefühl hat, er muss darüber entscheiden. Während dem Comedy-Abend passiert auch einiges, die meisten Gäste stehen auf und gehen, da kein Comedy-Abend geboten wird. Am Schluss sind ein paar Wenige da, die Doveles Geschichte anhören.
Obwohl es gut geschrieben war und mit guten Dialogen punktete, konnte der Roman mich nicht überzeugen. Das Verhalten Doveles während des Erzählens war mir zu seltsam, und die Geschichte die er erzählte, zog sich wie ein zäher Kaugummi.
Obwohl es gut geschrieben war und mit guten Dialogen punktete, konnte der Roman mich nicht überzeugen. Das Verhalten Doveles während des Erzählens war mir zu seltsam, und die Geschichte die er erzählte, zog sich wie ein zäher Kaugummi.
*Slow Claps*
Phew! When I started to read this book and was a few pages in, I realised I was in the wrong state of mind to read this. I had expected to slowly ease into a book and what happened blew my mind. The book is told at a breathless speed but then it twaddles its thumbs and then just as you get restless again the book is speeding again. At its core is the story of a stand up comic, this part falsely lulls you into imagining that the book might be funny but this isn't comedy. The MC, Doveleh, starts a comic routine and you, the reader, are welcomed into the show. By the end of it when the curtains fall and the book ends, you are either there with the MC and the handful members of the audience that were all that were left of a sold out show, able to stomach the unraveling of a human being or you have left long ago, uncaring what happened to this person.
This is a must read. Just not in the holiday season or maybe it is right for the season, I did a lot of cleaning after reading this book. It will rattle you.
Phew! When I started to read this book and was a few pages in, I realised I was in the wrong state of mind to read this. I had expected to slowly ease into a book and what happened blew my mind. The book is told at a breathless speed but then it twaddles its thumbs and then just as you get restless again the book is speeding again. At its core is the story of a stand up comic, this part falsely lulls you into imagining that the book might be funny but this isn't comedy. The MC, Doveleh, starts a comic routine and you, the reader, are welcomed into the show. By the end of it when the curtains fall and the book ends, you are either there with the MC and the handful members of the audience that were all that were left of a sold out show, able to stomach the unraveling of a human being or you have left long ago, uncaring what happened to this person.
This is a must read. Just not in the holiday season or maybe it is right for the season, I did a lot of cleaning after reading this book. It will rattle you.