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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
reflective
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:
Yes
Endlich habe ich es mal geschafft, ein Buch von Jelinek zu lesen, und ich habe es definitiv nicht bereut. Der Schreibstil ist tatsächlich sehr einzigartig und es bereitet einem durchaus Vergnügen, wie sie sich an der spießigen Gesellschaft abarbeitet, hinter deren Fassade Abgründe lauern.
Trotzdem ist das Buch starker Tobak, einige Szenen sind, auch aufgrund der Art und Weise wie sie geschildert werden, nur schwer zu ertragen. Jelinek zeigt die vielfältigen Formen der Gewalt auf, denen Frauen ausgesetzt sind. Und dass diese eben nicht nur von Männern ausgehen kann, sondern auch von der eigenen Mutter.
Das einzige, das mich ein bisschen gestört hat, war das "Timing" des Buches. Die Situation der Protagonistin und die Beziehung zu ihrer Mutter wird sehr ausschweifend und lange beschrieben, die Beziehung zu dem Klavierschüler, der ja eigentlich auch eine große Bedeutung zukommt, beginnt dann erst etwa nach zwei Dritteln. Diese "Übergangsphase" hat sich dann auch etwas gezogen und las sich langwierig, es war aber kein Grund für mich, den Roman abzubrechen.
Alles in allem ist es ein starker Roman, der zurecht ein Klassiker ist und ich will in Zukunft noch mehr von Jelinek lesen.
Trotzdem ist das Buch starker Tobak, einige Szenen sind, auch aufgrund der Art und Weise wie sie geschildert werden, nur schwer zu ertragen. Jelinek zeigt die vielfältigen Formen der Gewalt auf, denen Frauen ausgesetzt sind. Und dass diese eben nicht nur von Männern ausgehen kann, sondern auch von der eigenen Mutter.
Das einzige, das mich ein bisschen gestört hat, war das "Timing" des Buches. Die Situation der Protagonistin und die Beziehung zu ihrer Mutter wird sehr ausschweifend und lange beschrieben, die Beziehung zu dem Klavierschüler, der ja eigentlich auch eine große Bedeutung zukommt, beginnt dann erst etwa nach zwei Dritteln. Diese "Übergangsphase" hat sich dann auch etwas gezogen und las sich langwierig, es war aber kein Grund für mich, den Roman abzubrechen.
Alles in allem ist es ein starker Roman, der zurecht ein Klassiker ist und ich will in Zukunft noch mehr von Jelinek lesen.
The prose in this book alone makes it worth reading. I don't know if I've read a book before that as successfully uses this literary structure. Jelinek weaves together narrative, past/present events, various characters' trains of thought (rarely telling us which character we are "inside") seamlessly. Here, it adds to the substance of the novel rather than distracting from it. I thought it was quite unique (at least from what I've personally read before).
But the substance is also worth it. Jelinek comments on repression/violence (paternal and patriarchal), and how it is passed through generations, how people respond when confined, etc. The novel is a power struggle between the three main characters - Kohut, Klemmar (Kohut's student and sexual aggressor), and Kohut's mother. The struggle is waged through variations of control/domination, violence (including sexual violence), pain, subjugation, repression, and anti-social dependency. Really, it's a disturbed love/hate/control triangle. And it IS brutal. I think it goes without saying that these characters are unwell. Kohut is a particularly interesting character, and she is very disturbed. It's unfortunately unique to have a female character as developed as Kohut, Jilinek does a great job here. None of these characters are likeable. At all. But the book is about something beyond character development.
But the substance is also worth it. Jelinek comments on repression/violence (paternal and patriarchal), and how it is passed through generations, how people respond when confined, etc. The novel is a power struggle between the three main characters - Kohut, Klemmar (Kohut's student and sexual aggressor), and Kohut's mother. The struggle is waged through variations of control/domination, violence (including sexual violence), pain, subjugation, repression, and anti-social dependency. Really, it's a disturbed love/hate/control triangle. And it IS brutal. I think it goes without saying that these characters are unwell. Kohut is a particularly interesting character, and she is very disturbed. It's unfortunately unique to have a female character as developed as Kohut, Jilinek does a great job here. None of these characters are likeable. At all. But the book is about something beyond character development.
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Bizar boek dat de meningen vermoedelijk extreem verdeelt. De intense schrijfstijl vond ik bij momenten hypnotiserend en verslavend maar zal zeker niet door iedereen gesmaakt worden. Jelinek is zeker geen schrijfster die compromissen maakt.
De personages zijn geschift, meelijwekkend maar ook fascinerend.
Ik moet deze nog effe laten bezinken denk ik dus ga ik voor
3sterren!
De personages zijn geschift, meelijwekkend maar ook fascinerend.
Ik moet deze nog effe laten bezinken denk ik dus ga ik voor
3sterren!
I saw this movie once about 15 years ago and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. It’s a lot better than the book. Even though movie Erika does a very Bad thing in her pursuit of Walter, in some weird way you still pity her and root for them to make it. Book Erika and Walter are so unlikable that you don’t want anything to do with them, even if they’re just characters in a story. I did want to keep reading to see what would happen next, but also to plow through and finish so I could move on.
Equal parts brutally engaging and horribly painful. A human car wreck happening before your eyes where it's extremely hard to turn away but at the same time you'd like to. A deserving Pulitzer winning book? UGH - For effect on the reader, maybe - but left me glad it was over by the end. Hard to score - say 3 stars.
This book not only bites with razor-sharp teeth, you could cut yourself on its edges while picking it up. The language is brutal and uncovers brutality in even the most innocuous, everyday events — just to ride on the bus is to be assaulted and to assault in return. Erika Kohut is the titular piano teacher, a woman so warped by the smothering violence of her relationship with her mother, and the patriarchal repression of Austrian society, that no corner of her person, inside or outside, is untouched. She acts out socially and sexually, seeking to control, to brutalize. The language of the narrator extends the violence done to Erika, always undercutting, constantly distancing, contemptuous and cruel. There's never anyone to root for in this book. Perpetrator and victim are interchangeable in essentials, they've all been shaped by the same hand. Only circumstance separates them. Despite the dehumanization of the characters, Jelinek made me feel tremendous pity for Erika. An instinct towards love still impels her, but it can only be thwarted in the world Jelinek has created. Not recommended for those with delicate sensibilities or weak stomachs.
For a double dose, watch the movie version, directed by Michael Haneke. Any of his oeuvre would go well with this, if you can take it.
For a double dose, watch the movie version, directed by Michael Haneke. Any of his oeuvre would go well with this, if you can take it.
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
