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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
Ik dacht eerst dat ik dit vier sterren ging geven, omdat ik het echt goed vond, en toen begreep ik het opeens. Shit man.
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A fascinating description of what a character is not. Perhaps Melville was describing his late career fade into obscurity in the minds of himself and his contemporaries.
To go from ticklish British humor through subtle absurdity to contemplative compassion: I don't think I've ever been on a story ride so acute and simple.
Poor Bartleby.
Poor Bartleby.
I found this entrancing, though I could not pierce its meaning as I listened (though perhaps due to my own exhaustion, driven by my own exploitation). I instead followed along with a light intrigue, waiting for a twist to provide an answer. In retrospect, the passive resistance of Bartleby to the demands of others, and that the only way he vould assert agency was by opting out entirely, fills me with a deep uneasiness. I have a habit of simplifying others, when in reality their complexity is incomprehensible.
Audiobook read
Audiobook read
I don't know if I get it, but I thought it was an interesting read. Bartleby works for the narrator copying law documents, along with some other guys with crazy nicknames and strange personality quirks-- the drunk Turkey, the 12-year old Ginger Nut, and the strange Nippers. Bartleby starts work, then just starts saying "I prefer not to" in response to any request. Before long he is not doing any work, just living in the office and staring at the wall in a makeshift cubicle in the boss's office while the other guys work next door. The boss tries to kick him out, tries to take him home, tries to be nice, and Bartleby is just falling apart. The boss is so frustrated that he MOVES HIS OFFICE to another building, which is kind of a ridiculous amount of effort just to avoid calling the police and really all it does is shift the responsibility to someone else. So the new tenants call the police and Bartleby goes to a really nice prison or home or something and won't eat even though the boss pays a special bribe for good food and he dies there. I suppose that Bartleby brings out his humanity, but mostly Bartleby annoys the crap out of coworkers and frustrates anyone who tries to help him, even though he really needs help. As a state worker, I can attest that numerous Bartlebys are still in existence, though maybe not bringing out the humanity in anyone. Maybe my sense of this is skewed because of where I work!
I'm not sure this would count as an entire book - more of a short story - but it was too great not to list! What a fabulous story of either madness in the midst of respectable endeavor or a story of the only sane response to a career and lifetime of the endless petty grind of respectable endeavor. Also an attempt at charitable understanding and compassion in the face of what seems incomprehensible behavior.
What if everyone said "I would prefer not to" in response to soul-sucking "fabulous new initiatives," "great new programs" and all the tired, petty drivel people are exposed to in the modern workplace? How long would it take for the entire system of work to collapse and reinvent itself?
What if everyone said "I would prefer not to" in response to soul-sucking "fabulous new initiatives," "great new programs" and all the tired, petty drivel people are exposed to in the modern workplace? How long would it take for the entire system of work to collapse and reinvent itself?
Funny, well-written, didn't outstay its welcome - can't think of much else I'd want from a short story