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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
“Amid the banal recitation of procedure and the understated but sharp satire about privileged people, such a strong sense of feeling about the world rises from these pages” Foreword by Jeff VanderMeer
I would have loved to study this, there were gaps that urged discussion and speculation and felt lacking without it. It’s the perfect book for shared, communal reading. Without that, it left me feeling unsatisfied, like I’d read half a book.
I would have loved to study this, there were gaps that urged discussion and speculation and felt lacking without it. It’s the perfect book for shared, communal reading. Without that, it left me feeling unsatisfied, like I’d read half a book.
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:
No
dark
medium-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:
Complicated
This paragraph, more than anything else in the novella, captures the surreal experience of surviving a nuclear holocaust at a fancy hotel where staff have cleaned the landscape of fallout for its rich guests:
“The sight of the Atlantic Ocean, which chilled me so profoundly, gave me my first realization of what had happened. Yet this had nothing to do with the disaster; on the contrary, this was the last place one would expect to find traces of it. The ploughed-up grounds, the washed-down cactus plants, the churned-up flower-beds, all these changes affected me less than the wholly inalterable sea.”
The tension between the generous and the stingy when sick survivors begin to appear is captured so well here:
“The chairman’s total lack of consideration seemed to have silenced his opponents. But his powerful obstinacy, his primitive blend of cunning and stupidity attracts supporters to rally round behind him. I build up in my imagination a satisfying mental picture of the chairman as a Roman charioteer, coarse, stiff-backed, standing on his chariot holding the reins of many horses in his left hand and a whip in his right, thinking only about driving the other chariots into the ground.”
I can almost hear him yelling “Build a wall!”.
LATER:
Thinking about this book a bit more I realized it’s a reverse Genesis.
“The sight of the Atlantic Ocean, which chilled me so profoundly, gave me my first realization of what had happened. Yet this had nothing to do with the disaster; on the contrary, this was the last place one would expect to find traces of it. The ploughed-up grounds, the washed-down cactus plants, the churned-up flower-beds, all these changes affected me less than the wholly inalterable sea.”
The tension between the generous and the stingy when sick survivors begin to appear is captured so well here:
“The chairman’s total lack of consideration seemed to have silenced his opponents. But his powerful obstinacy, his primitive blend of cunning and stupidity attracts supporters to rally round behind him. I build up in my imagination a satisfying mental picture of the chairman as a Roman charioteer, coarse, stiff-backed, standing on his chariot holding the reins of many horses in his left hand and a whip in his right, thinking only about driving the other chariots into the ground.”
I can almost hear him yelling “Build a wall!”.
LATER:
Thinking about this book a bit more I realized it’s a reverse Genesis.
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Gave a university elevator pitch presentation on this novella.
Unfortunately, this is quite possibly the worst book I have ever had the displeasure of reading. Anything meaningful or interesting I fear was lost in the translation of the novel from Danish. Simply, nothing happens; the format is atrocious and the story lacks conviction and any real direction. Shocking that this is considered a classic by some critics and held in such high esteem by none other than Jeff VanderMeer.
Unfortunately, this is quite possibly the worst book I have ever had the displeasure of reading. Anything meaningful or interesting I fear was lost in the translation of the novel from Danish. Simply, nothing happens; the format is atrocious and the story lacks conviction and any real direction. Shocking that this is considered a classic by some critics and held in such high esteem by none other than Jeff VanderMeer.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
A disquieting read. It's a book that's as much about inequality as it is about the rejection of the ineluctability of death. Very prescient and written in beautiful, bare prose.
fast-paced
Ramble review, just typing out words as they come into my brain haha.
This book really drew me in so fast. I read this within 24 hours and cannot stop thinking about it over the following days.
I’m not sure if this was the intention but i found seeing an apocolyptic story from the privileged POV was so interesting. It also made me think about the world politics and how if people just accepted each other and worked together then things may end differently, however as the privileged couldnt allow the outsiders in and fled instead of communicating with them ended in their deaths ?
Overall it really got me thinking and I’ll be adding it to my bookshelves.
This book really drew me in so fast. I read this within 24 hours and cannot stop thinking about it over the following days.
Overall it really got me thinking and I’ll be adding it to my bookshelves.
dark
fast-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:
No
I liked the dystopian premise of the book and the fact that despite being written in the 1960s, many of the criticisms on society ring true today. However, I struggled to fully get into the writing style.