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drewtemel's review against another edition
5.0
Death, he felt, was only a kind of warning rather than a desperate and permanent end.
sophiaxlm's review against another edition
5.0
语言意外流畅的一个故事——有着类似名气的、并无太多实际情节的书常有不好读的风险，所以这倒是个愉快的意外。同一事件从多个村民的角度被一再重述，“人们要耐心地听完一个又一个新的故事版本，所能做的只有等待”。磨坊楼上的两姐妹百无聊赖地等客，酒馆老板偷偷调高取暖器的温度好让某位夫人多解颗扣子，被“种摇钱树”故事骗走零花钱的女孩抱着死猫吞下老鼠药，一个据说已死之人突然出现，（似乎）结束了某种僵持状态。新的错觉，这才是村民们需要之物，毕竟“在我和一只甲壳虫之间，在一只甲壳虫和一条河流之间，在一条河流和一声从我头顶划过的呐喊之间，并不存在任何的差别，所有的一切都在空虚地、无意义地运转，相互依存于一个永恒的、疯狂震动的强制体系里，只是我们……以为我们能够通过自己的努力将自己从悲凉的洞穴中解救出来。”
marinalikeaboatyard's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
A challenging but mind-blowing read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, and Suicidal thoughts
dougus's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.75
sea_raider's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
brandon_melcher's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
brannigan's review against another edition
1.0
I have never experienced life in a decaying late-Soviet Hungarian work collective, but after struggling through the first third of this novel, I feel like I have.
It is a novel designed to disorientate, to bore, to make you feel a bit grimy. The prose is claustrophobic, with over-long and distractingly complex sentence structures; the characters are grotesque, their motives unclear; the plot is as thin and uninteresting as Mrs. Schmidt's paprika stew.
This is all well and good from an artistic standpoint, but it does not necessarily make for an enjoyable reading experience. Or you know, maybe I think life is shit enough already without seeking out little black holes of despair to read on my lunch break.
So, this book failed for me because it proved its point too well. I couldn't stomach more than a hundred pages. Maybe I'll return to it later, probably not.
It is a novel designed to disorientate, to bore, to make you feel a bit grimy. The prose is claustrophobic, with over-long and distractingly complex sentence structures; the characters are grotesque, their motives unclear; the plot is as thin and uninteresting as Mrs. Schmidt's paprika stew.
This is all well and good from an artistic standpoint, but it does not necessarily make for an enjoyable reading experience. Or you know, maybe I think life is shit enough already without seeking out little black holes of despair to read on my lunch break.
So, this book failed for me because it proved its point too well. I couldn't stomach more than a hundred pages. Maybe I'll return to it later, probably not.
jonbrammer's review against another edition
5.0
The epigraph by Kafka is illuminating: the influence is everywhere in this mysterious and bleak novel, especially in the section near the end where bureaucrats are attempting to translate each character into official government idiom. There is also some of Beckett's absurdism, and the tone is very 19th century Russian, especially Dostoevsky. The girl Esti echoes Stinking Lizaveta in the Brothers Karamazov, as a kind of human symbol of suffering.
The religious aspect of the story is most striking. The residents of the farm collective are trapped in a type of purgatory, as they wait for Irimias to arrive and redeem them. There is a Mary Magdalene character (Mrs. Schmidt), and Irimias supposedly returns from the dead, which is never fully explained. At the end, the characters are spread to the wind by Irimias as they wait for paradise to come at the manor, much like Jesus' disciples are scattered to spread the word of the Gospel.
Which makes me wonder about the title and the source of evil in the story. The doctor at the end is writing the novel as it cycles back to the beginning, and it is notable that he along with Esti's family are the only characters left behind at the collective. The symbol of the bell ringing at the beginning of the end was evocative, especially once the doctor finds out that it is just an "idiot" making the noise (Macbeth allusion?). The doctor returns to his chair, his drinking, and his writing. He embodies the malaise that trapped the other characters in the village. That he is writing the story means that he has some omniscience and power over the characters' lives. The tango in the title is the drunken dance the characters do as they wait in the bar for Irimias. This time loop is the trap that Satan has sprung for them. The book is saying that, although the Christ-figure is probably also a con man, and his promises of paradise are lies, the real evil is in the debauched stasis of the character's lives before his arrival.
Just my interpretation.
The religious aspect of the story is most striking. The residents of the farm collective are trapped in a type of purgatory, as they wait for Irimias to arrive and redeem them. There is a Mary Magdalene character (Mrs. Schmidt), and Irimias supposedly returns from the dead, which is never fully explained. At the end, the characters are spread to the wind by Irimias as they wait for paradise to come at the manor, much like Jesus' disciples are scattered to spread the word of the Gospel.
Which makes me wonder about the title and the source of evil in the story. The doctor at the end is writing the novel as it cycles back to the beginning, and it is notable that he along with Esti's family are the only characters left behind at the collective. The symbol of the bell ringing at the beginning of the end was evocative, especially once the doctor finds out that it is just an "idiot" making the noise (Macbeth allusion?). The doctor returns to his chair, his drinking, and his writing. He embodies the malaise that trapped the other characters in the village. That he is writing the story means that he has some omniscience and power over the characters' lives. The tango in the title is the drunken dance the characters do as they wait in the bar for Irimias. This time loop is the trap that Satan has sprung for them. The book is saying that, although the Christ-figure is probably also a con man, and his promises of paradise are lies, the real evil is in the debauched stasis of the character's lives before his arrival.
Just my interpretation.
ticianeaneane's review against another edition
dark
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
3.0
morrisem90's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5