3.53 AVERAGE

dark reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is a beautiful novel of broken, toxic people and relationships. Control imposed on Erika’s life by her mother makes her begin to take her life in her own hands, visiting porn shows and sleeping with one of her music students. This novel felt stream of consciousness at moments and drifty in ways that takes the reader on an exploration of the mind and how it functions in relation to others. The prose is sophisticated and poetic, while showing the reader the insides of a set of truly dismal characters. Each character is multi-faceted, and their actions seem true to them as people, yet utterly shocking at the same time. It is talent to be able to curate such a contradictory feeling in the reader’s experience of the novel that feels so wrong yet so real.

I am a huge fan of “Lolita” stories. I enjoy the way that the age situation creates complexity in characters and explores moral groundings in subtle ways that involve the reader consciously. I did not expect to find such a work of art in this novel, especially since the copy I ordered has the cheesiest cover of a couple making out. The lucidity of the digression of the relationships in the novel is like water, flowing and splashing.

A couple of my favorite scenes are character revealing ones. The opening scene itself is so grotesquely powerful. Erika rips hair from her mother’s scalp in such a visceral manner that the novel begins at a climax that the rest of the novel continuously attempts to top. Another is the scene where Erika visits the live porn show towards the beginning of the novel. These two scenes, as we are just beginning to get to know Erika, are crucial in our vision of her. The way she bypasses the show line to get inside because of her gender and her excruciatingly detailed peeping of the show reveal her anal nature heavily pressed upon her by her mother.

This novel is a piece of lyrical genius. The prose is experienced like a piece of music, ebbing and flowing through the blood of the reader.

this is how all classical musicians act. i would know.
dark slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

cursed be the word of shame

Lebenslesehighlight!!
Die ersten 50 Seiten funktionierten nur häppchenweise- so fremd war mir der Schreibstil, so bedeutungsschwanger jeder Satz, dass der Kopf rauchte.
Ich habe so viele Sätze 3 mal lesen müssen: "Warte mal, hat sie das jetzt wirklich so geschrieben? Moment, hahaha, wie geil, nää was??!!" Eine Typische Reaktion auf fast jeder Seite.
Ich liebe diese Selbstironie. Niemand, aber wirklich auch niemand wird ausgelassen. Sämtliche Menschen, Bevölkerungsgruppen, gesellschaftliche Normen bekommen ihr Fett weg.
Dieses Buch ist abgrundtief bösartig.
Das Fräulein Kohut, eine durch und durch kaputte Person, die sich selbst nicht mehr spürt. Die durch eine vergiftete Mutter-Tochter -Beziehung und einen wahnhaften Musikdrill, dem Leben entglitten ist. Wie weiß man zu lieben und diese zu zeigen, wenn diese nie bedingungslos erfahren wurde? Wenn man ein Gegenstand ist, Mittel zum Zweck? Völlig leer, freudlos, innerlich tot?!
Wer behauptet, es ginge in dem Buch um BDSM, hat meiner Meinung nach Frau Jelinek nicht verstanden. Es geht um Selbsthass und die zerstörerische Kraft, der ihr innewohnt und eine Gesellschaft die nix checkt, außer ob das Obst nun gespritzt ist oder nicht (Großartige Wochenmarktszene).
"Das letzte Stück Tag zerbröselt wie ein Kuchenrest unter ungeschickten Fingern..." Amen, Frau Jelinek. Selbst der Lauf der Zeit muss in Ungnade fallen
adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
challenging dark slow-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 mysterious 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
challenging dark 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