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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
medium-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
This is a difficult read, just like it would have been to sit and listen to Dov, the main character. Actually, the beginning is rather agonizing with bad jokes and I quit the book at least twice. When I read that other readers had problems reading the book and persevered, I decide to do the same. My book club (which is at a synagogue)recently said, “No more Holocaust books”. Well, this is definitely a book that explores a Holocaust victim’s impact on her son and husband. The genius of the writer is his unique ability to impart a story gradually, in a suspenseful manner, shared by a stand- up comic, the protagonist, over the course of an evening, interspersed with jokes, asides, tangents, historic references , observations and confessions. If you are a devoted reader, willing to suffer a bit, this book is definitely worth reading.
I slogged through almost 200 pages of absolute drivel to finish this book.
Grossman manages to stretch out what is a fairly simple, if uninspiring, tale to make it feel like the comedian’s evening stretches into eternity. His continual repetition of actions and events certainly make it feel like you are reading a 1000 page novel rather than a relatively short one.
Grossman for me lacked any ability to make his characters engaging. While there is some depth to his characters, they do not elicit any great emotion and feel flimsy, especially against the backdrop of interleaved glib comedy and inane ‘serious’ moments.
It almost feels like Grossman goes out of his way to make you sympathise with the audience members who leave throughout the performance, while those who stay maintain some moral rectitude in seeing it through. Had I been in that situation, I would not have looked back having left the show five minutes in. If only I’d have done the same with the novel...
Grossman manages to stretch out what is a fairly simple, if uninspiring, tale to make it feel like the comedian’s evening stretches into eternity. His continual repetition of actions and events certainly make it feel like you are reading a 1000 page novel rather than a relatively short one.
Grossman for me lacked any ability to make his characters engaging. While there is some depth to his characters, they do not elicit any great emotion and feel flimsy, especially against the backdrop of interleaved glib comedy and inane ‘serious’ moments.
It almost feels like Grossman goes out of his way to make you sympathise with the audience members who leave throughout the performance, while those who stay maintain some moral rectitude in seeing it through. Had I been in that situation, I would not have looked back having left the show five minutes in. If only I’d have done the same with the novel...
Loved this book. I really liked the temporal and spatial condensing to a single comedy set - allowed for many creative twists. The overall dialogue like format of the piece is wonderful too. Highly recommended to pretty much everyone.
Not one I'd recommend. There were moments of humor, and attempts at pathos, but ultimately the ride was far too rough to be worth the effort at a pay-off. Usually I end this sort of a review with "But I'm glad I at least read it."
Not this time.
Not this time.
It would be easy to hate this book and, halfway through, I thought I would probably do so. But it tells a story although very unconventionally. And I did want to keep reading it, finding it difficult put down and then eager to pick it up again to carry on reading as soon a I got the chance.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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
It took me almost a week to get through the first 25 pages, but once I did, I was all in.
'Besides, what am I, at the end of the day?'
'To be whole, it is enough to exist.'
This remarkable novel is, start to finish, a stand-up comedy routine in a small town bar. It's delivered by Dovaleh, a skin-and-bones bundle of contradictions, 'a little rodent eating himself'. He's watched and judged by his childhood friend, Avishai, whose memories and observations punctuate the routine, as he tries to understand why he's come, why he's staying. Also in the audience, perhaps by coincidence, is Pitz, who Dovaleh pretends to have forgotten, while she tries to remind him who he once was.
Reading it felt like being at a comedy gig, in a dingy over-heated room. I was watching Dovaleh pace up and down stage, he was working me as he worked Avishai and the audience, making me smile and howl and squirm, switching from farce to satire, pathos and confession, I watched him sweat and drink and switch again, to old-fashioned jokes and heckler put-downs, bitter philosophy and rabble-rousing chants. A few jokes made me laugh out loud, but I didn't warm to his stage persona or enjoy his world view. Like Avishai, I found Dovaleh irresistible for his struggle towards telling the story that he really wanted to tell. And when he did, he explained himself.
'To be whole, it is enough to exist.'
This remarkable novel is, start to finish, a stand-up comedy routine in a small town bar. It's delivered by Dovaleh, a skin-and-bones bundle of contradictions, 'a little rodent eating himself'. He's watched and judged by his childhood friend, Avishai, whose memories and observations punctuate the routine, as he tries to understand why he's come, why he's staying. Also in the audience, perhaps by coincidence, is Pitz, who Dovaleh pretends to have forgotten, while she tries to remind him who he once was.
Reading it felt like being at a comedy gig, in a dingy over-heated room. I was watching Dovaleh pace up and down stage, he was working me as he worked Avishai and the audience, making me smile and howl and squirm, switching from farce to satire, pathos and confession, I watched him sweat and drink and switch again, to old-fashioned jokes and heckler put-downs, bitter philosophy and rabble-rousing chants. A few jokes made me laugh out loud, but I didn't warm to his stage persona or enjoy his world view. Like Avishai, I found Dovaleh irresistible for his struggle towards telling the story that he really wanted to tell. And when he did, he explained himself.