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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
2.5/5. mommy issues! the poetry of classical music! as someone who grew up with piano professors as parents and was classically trained, i found the parts on music spot-on and beautifully written. i loved how she used this motif to unravel for us Erika's isolation and failure in life.
the premise drew me in, as it is something that i would usually love reading about—it's a glimpse into the mind of an extremely troubled, lonely, repressed woman who is no longer young. she has the decay of her physical and social status to think about, and her "best years," as society tells her, are behind her, not because she's lived them, but because they've passed her by, thanks to her problematic relationships with her mother. and also setting the scene is the appearance of an underage lover. i am very conflicted with this one. i usually rate based on a balance of enjoyment + how much i can glean from the experience. however, everything else was just so gritty and painful to read. i did not enjoy the ending nor the process it took to get there. for me, there is some greater message in there somewhere that just seems out of reach.
the language here is interesting to note as well. i would be reading about a simple scene of dialogue between characters, and be whisked away into some random metaphor in the next sentence. it takes more than lyrical prose and constant layers of metaphor to impress. it seems that, for Jelinek, that "something more" was crossing the line into taboo territory. maybe this was revolutionary at the time, but reading this today, it just seems gratuitous.
for what it's worth, Jelinek knows what she's talking about in regard to music. unsurprisingly she also played the piano...
<blockquote> <i> "Often, before an exam, Erika sermonizes: Fluffing a note, she says, isn't as bad as rendering a piece in the wrong spirit, a spirit that does not do justice to it. She is preaching to deaf ears, which have been closed by fear. For many of her students, music means climbing from the depths of the working class to the heights of artistic cleanliness...They are afraid that when they play at the examination, their sweaty, fear-filled fingers, driven by a swifter pulse beat, will slip to the wrong keys. Erika can talk a blue streak about interpretation, but the only thing the students wish to do is play the piece correctly to the end." </i></blockquote>
the premise drew me in, as it is something that i would usually love reading about—it's a glimpse into the mind of an extremely troubled, lonely, repressed woman who is no longer young. she has the decay of her physical and social status to think about, and her "best years," as society tells her, are behind her, not because she's lived them, but because they've passed her by, thanks to her problematic relationships with her mother. and also setting the scene is the appearance of an underage lover. i am very conflicted with this one. i usually rate based on a balance of enjoyment + how much i can glean from the experience. however, everything else was just so gritty and painful to read. i did not enjoy the ending nor the process it took to get there. for me, there is some greater message in there somewhere that just seems out of reach.
the language here is interesting to note as well. i would be reading about a simple scene of dialogue between characters, and be whisked away into some random metaphor in the next sentence. it takes more than lyrical prose and constant layers of metaphor to impress. it seems that, for Jelinek, that "something more" was crossing the line into taboo territory. maybe this was revolutionary at the time, but reading this today, it just seems gratuitous.
for what it's worth, Jelinek knows what she's talking about in regard to music. unsurprisingly she also played the piano...
<blockquote> <i> "Often, before an exam, Erika sermonizes: Fluffing a note, she says, isn't as bad as rendering a piece in the wrong spirit, a spirit that does not do justice to it. She is preaching to deaf ears, which have been closed by fear. For many of her students, music means climbing from the depths of the working class to the heights of artistic cleanliness...They are afraid that when they play at the examination, their sweaty, fear-filled fingers, driven by a swifter pulse beat, will slip to the wrong keys. Erika can talk a blue streak about interpretation, but the only thing the students wish to do is play the piece correctly to the end." </i></blockquote>
Esta fue una lectura difícil. Desde la manera en que está escrita, donde en muchas ocasiones es complicado saber quien está sintiendo que, hasta los temas que trata: el abuso parental, la dominación y en general las relaciones interpersonales, son temas que se narran con crudeza y, no se me ocurre otra palabra, horror.
'En esencia, el amor es aniquilación'
Esta frase representa el cómo ve Erika el amor, su única referencia: la relación sofocante que tiene con su madre. De ahí que lo que espere de Walter, su alumno, sea una relación llena de privaciones y agresión. Mientras él esperaba encontrar un afecto, casi materno, por parte de la maestra.
El libro es un estudio psicológico que aprovecha muy bien a sus tres protagonistas: Madre, Erika y Walter Klemmer. Y resulta en una lectura apasionante pero, repito, llena de horrores. No tiene intenciones de crear empatía hacia los personajes, sino explorar un mundo trágico lleno de relaciones que se categorizan como enfermizas.
Aparte de el estudió psicológico, Jelinek realiza una dura crítica hacia la sociedad, que siempre ha favorecido al varón y el patriarcado.
Fue una lectura, como dije al principio, difícil pero reveladora y única. Ahora espero ver la adaptación cinematográfica de Haneke.
'En esencia, el amor es aniquilación'
Esta frase representa el cómo ve Erika el amor, su única referencia: la relación sofocante que tiene con su madre. De ahí que lo que espere de Walter, su alumno, sea una relación llena de privaciones y agresión. Mientras él esperaba encontrar un afecto, casi materno, por parte de la maestra.
El libro es un estudio psicológico que aprovecha muy bien a sus tres protagonistas: Madre, Erika y Walter Klemmer. Y resulta en una lectura apasionante pero, repito, llena de horrores. No tiene intenciones de crear empatía hacia los personajes, sino explorar un mundo trágico lleno de relaciones que se categorizan como enfermizas.
Aparte de el estudió psicológico, Jelinek realiza una dura crítica hacia la sociedad, que siempre ha favorecido al varón y el patriarcado.
Fue una lectura, como dije al principio, difícil pero reveladora y única. Ahora espero ver la adaptación cinematográfica de Haneke.
I really don’t know how to rate this. Today it feels like a five star book, tomorrow it might be two. One thing is for sure: it’s a powerful book about repression, sex, control, and individualism.
The act of reading it is an experience: dark, disturbing, intense, and unsettling. I’m still reeling a little from the experience of it and whether or not I enjoyed it is almost beside the point, because I can wholeheartedly acknowledge that it’s an amazingly provocative book.
Part of me wants to read the English translation to see how it differs. The German text is super interesting in that the rhythms sound like a dark funeral hymn (which seems entirely appropriate).
The act of reading it is an experience: dark, disturbing, intense, and unsettling. I’m still reeling a little from the experience of it and whether or not I enjoyed it is almost beside the point, because I can wholeheartedly acknowledge that it’s an amazingly provocative book.
Part of me wants to read the English translation to see how it differs. The German text is super interesting in that the rhythms sound like a dark funeral hymn (which seems entirely appropriate).
dark
reflective
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:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm sure there was something to be gained from reading this, I just don't know what yet. Probably my first and last Jelinek. Using sophisticated words and prose sometimes doesn't make up for the lack of a story after all, I guess. What I felt reading this was anger most of the time, but maybe that was the intention in the first place.
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes