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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
funny
tense
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
I have never read writing like this. It was long-winded but not quite prosaic or purple; it rather felt like a frantic stream of consciousness, which worked so well to immerse the reader in the life of Erika Kohut, our main character. I also really liked the third person present tense, it's so effective when it comes to communicating immediacy even when it's omniscient. The way I interpreted it, we had a degree of omniscience most of the time, but every so often we'd go into Erika's head and experience her memories and feelings, the specific moments a present thing would remind her of, and it was so vertiginous that it left me reeling and needing a deep breath. Truly a very experiential (and experimental) style of writing.
The degree of fucked-up-ness was not as high as I was expecting, probably because the blurbs and reviews had warned me to it already and I had gotten myself ready for something even heavier. Still, it was ugly, all right. And in terms of rawness, definitely one of the crudest books I've ever read. It's so complicated in that there is no black-and-white morality, everybody is susceptible to both causing and receiving harm from everybody else.
Some moments that stood out to me were the public transport scene (writing, characterisation, sheer surrealism of it all, insane comedy), the flashbacks to Erika's childhood (and her fraught relationship with her mother!), and the music rehearsal in the gym. Up until then I'd been more or less ok with what was going on, but that whole scene was so wild that it made me go "damn, we're really in it now, huh?".
The ending is so sad, and I think perfect for what the story was trying to say. A big part of Erika's character is that she is stuck between becoming the best she can be, and becoming the worst she can be. And not being able to do either is what makes her such a pitiable character. I also appreciated that Jelinek does not push any particular interpretation of the topics she brings up through her characters: Erika has her own flawed opinions, Klemmer has his own flawed opinions, Mother has her own flawed opinions, and through the use of the third person we realise they often say really apt things, and yet their actions rarely match what they preach, or they have other perspectives that seem to us insanely wrong. Topics such as women's autonomy, capitalism and property, one's artistic purpose and career, and relationships as a whole are discussed by the characters, and they are no more likely to offer an insightful perspective as they are to completely misread a situation.
Overall this was such an incredible reading experience on many levels, and I'm grateful that pieces of literature such as this one exist, for all the ways they make us confront the darkness of humanity.
The degree of fucked-up-ness was not as high as I was expecting, probably because the blurbs and reviews had warned me to it already and I had gotten myself ready for something even heavier. Still, it was ugly, all right. And in terms of rawness, definitely one of the crudest books I've ever read. It's so complicated in that there is no black-and-white morality, everybody is susceptible to both causing and receiving harm from everybody else.
Some moments that stood out to me were the public transport scene (writing, characterisation, sheer surrealism of it all, insane comedy), the flashbacks to Erika's childhood (and her fraught relationship with her mother!), and the music rehearsal in the gym. Up until then I'd been more or less ok with what was going on, but that whole scene was so wild that it made me go "damn, we're really in it now, huh?".
The ending is so sad, and I think perfect for what the story was trying to say. A big part of Erika's character is that she is stuck between becoming the best she can be, and becoming the worst she can be. And not being able to do either is what makes her such a pitiable character. I also appreciated that Jelinek does not push any particular interpretation of the topics she brings up through her characters: Erika has her own flawed opinions, Klemmer has his own flawed opinions, Mother has her own flawed opinions, and through the use of the third person we realise they often say really apt things, and yet their actions rarely match what they preach, or they have other perspectives that seem to us insanely wrong. Topics such as women's autonomy, capitalism and property, one's artistic purpose and career, and relationships as a whole are discussed by the characters, and they are no more likely to offer an insightful perspective as they are to completely misread a situation.
Overall this was such an incredible reading experience on many levels, and I'm grateful that pieces of literature such as this one exist, for all the ways they make us confront the darkness of humanity.
dark
tense
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Tbh I didn't enjoy the book at all
I know my opinion is contrary and will make many readers annoyed, but yes, the 2001 movie is better than the book.
I would rate the movie 8/10 but book nahh
I know my opinion is contrary and will make many readers annoyed, but yes, the 2001 movie is better than the book.
I would rate the movie 8/10 but book nahh
A very bitter, prickly book. Brutal and dry. A very skilled painting of a very arid and desolate scene.
dark
slow-paced
[œdipus, get out of the way !]
i enjoyed – if 'enjoyed' even is the right word – reading this book which is as profane as it is profound. the relationship of Erica's with the world, with her mother, with her student, with herself is grotesque and moving, with such unique musicality attached to it that it was difficult to tear myself away from the pages.
the pages burn with sadomachochist repression and expression, passion investigated from its root upwards ('pati, or even perhaps πάσχω páskhō, πᾰ́θος pathos ... conjectures and guesses, feelings and sufferings mostly), but that is not all. it may be too limiting to call this book simply a psychological thriller or such. it is rather more, and complicated. it is hateful, angry, and unsettling - in a way that beauty so often is.
i enjoyed – if 'enjoyed' even is the right word – reading this book which is as profane as it is profound. the relationship of Erica's with the world, with her mother, with her student, with herself is grotesque and moving, with such unique musicality attached to it that it was difficult to tear myself away from the pages.
the pages burn with sadomachochist repression and expression, passion investigated from its root upwards ('pati, or even perhaps πάσχω páskhō, πᾰ́θος pathos ... conjectures and guesses, feelings and sufferings mostly), but that is not all. it may be too limiting to call this book simply a psychological thriller or such. it is rather more, and complicated. it is hateful, angry, and unsettling - in a way that beauty so often is.
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
slow-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
honestly I really hated the messages portrayed in this book - only giving 3 stars for the Jelinek's writing which is very unique and poetic
remember that lupita nyong'o meme from the oscars when will smith slapped chris rock on live tv? that's literally my face the entire time i'm reading this one holy shit
This is the most fucked up book I have ever read....