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3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
dark
sad
I was flabbergasted when I heard this book had won the International Booker Prize 2020. Not because I knew anything about the book or the author -not that I was aware of, that is- but because the author is from a small town closeby. When I saw her last name, I was immediately reminded of an incident which has shaped me almost 27 years ago. I was 11 when I started the Dutch version of High School which meant biking to a city, meeting new people, a new school building in which everything was weird and chaotic. About 3 months later, when I started to get the hang of it a little while still remaining in my mental comfort bubble, the school intercom announced something tragic had happened and students were gathered in the lunchroom. A kid who was in my class had died on the way to school. Hit by a truck on his bike. I can still envision the pamphlet with his picture and name on it a few days later. Bye mental comfort bubble, hello real world, where, instead of our careless childhood in rural shitville, kids could Just die on their way to school. The boy who died was Arjen Rijneveld. The 'big' brother of Marieke Lucas Rijneveld. The death which shaped this book.
I started reading it a few days after watching the news announcement.
At first I noticed the author changed events and names, and hussled up several towns to create her own. The bronze statue of the prize winning bull Dirk IV is in fact standing in the town where I live today. The characters keep referring to "the other side" which is how we call people from the other side of the Merwede river here. "The other side" for me meant Christianity galore, narrow-mindedness and weird accents. My mom is from "the other side". "The other side" for 'them' apparently meant heathendom, wildness and no limits: freedom.
Jas and her siblings want to go to "the other side". No holding back there. It made me smile every time because the fact is we're just as narrow minded. Even the number of churches per town might be the same, we're just less outspoken about it.
The book: the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was due to the abundance of animal cruelty in it.
I can see why it was necessary but that doesn't mean I like to cringe read about it. As for the rest, this is Booker Prize worthy for sure. I admire the author thinking in pictures (I get some strong autism vibes here by the way) and translating those pictures into beautiful words again. Highly recommended!
I started reading it a few days after watching the news announcement.
At first I noticed the author changed events and names, and hussled up several towns to create her own. The bronze statue of the prize winning bull Dirk IV is in fact standing in the town where I live today. The characters keep referring to "the other side" which is how we call people from the other side of the Merwede river here. "The other side" for me meant Christianity galore, narrow-mindedness and weird accents. My mom is from "the other side". "The other side" for 'them' apparently meant heathendom, wildness and no limits: freedom.
Jas and her siblings want to go to "the other side". No holding back there. It made me smile every time because the fact is we're just as narrow minded. Even the number of churches per town might be the same, we're just less outspoken about it.
The book: the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was due to the abundance of animal cruelty in it.
I can see why it was necessary but that doesn't mean I like to cringe read about it. As for the rest, this is Booker Prize worthy for sure. I admire the author thinking in pictures (I get some strong autism vibes here by the way) and translating those pictures into beautiful words again. Highly recommended!
Bleak, well-written, the ending is too much, I felt.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Excrement, Grief, Sexual harassment
dark
medium-paced
I don’t know how I feel about this book. I found reading this book very perturbing and uncomfortable. At the same time, the writing styel of Rijneveld is skilled, poetic, brutally honest and that makes it so engaging.
I found very interesting the way in which the death of a family member is address. The fact that this event is told by the eyes of the sister of the deceased, makes it unique as we rearly get the perspective of siblings when authors write about death. I also found very sharp the role that relgion plays in the way this family deals with grief.
Unfortunately, with every chapter, the novel turns unnecesarly grotesque and graphic, and for me, sort of lost the plot of the story.
I found very interesting the way in which the death of a family member is address. The fact that this event is told by the eyes of the sister of the deceased, makes it unique as we rearly get the perspective of siblings when authors write about death. I also found very sharp the role that relgion plays in the way this family deals with grief.
Unfortunately, with every chapter, the novel turns unnecesarly grotesque and graphic, and for me, sort of lost the plot of the story.
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I do understand the premise of this book, but it went to far (even for me, pretentious hipster) when Rijneveld tried to reveal that the way 'mother' ate a cordon bleu, had particular meaning: he compared the grief of her lost son to her mother eating a f$$ cordon bleu, for gods sake.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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