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dark
reflective
sad
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
Notes:
- Beautifully written book, both in prose and in overall construction.
- Got SO heavy in the second half that I had to take my time with it. But only speaks volumes to the skill with which this book immerses the reader in Katharina's state of mind by that point.
- I was also really captivated by the 80s/90s setting in Germany and how much of the post-WWII effects were still being felt then (especially given the divide of Berlin). I haven't read anything in this context before and found that the way Erpenbeck intertwines the larger sociocultural factors at play with the very intimate inner complexities of her characters was one of my favourite parts of this book as a whole.
- Beautifully written book, both in prose and in overall construction.
- Got SO heavy in the second half that I had to take my time with it. But only speaks volumes to the skill with which this book immerses the reader in Katharina's state of mind by that point.
- I was also really captivated by the 80s/90s setting in Germany and how much of the post-WWII effects were still being felt then (especially given the divide of Berlin). I haven't read anything in this context before and found that the way Erpenbeck intertwines the larger sociocultural factors at play with the very intimate inner complexities of her characters was one of my favourite parts of this book as a whole.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Self harm, Abortion
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
If I hadn't been reading this for my book club, I would have DNF'd around the 20% mark. I can't remember the last time I disliked the experience of reading a book so much.
At first, I had hope. While the introduction of the main characters' relationship was both puerile and sinister, I thought that it was a decent reflection of what the initial infatuation between a teenager and a man in his mid-fifties would look like. Surely, in the hands of a female author, this Booker prize winning novel would subvert the misogyny of its tired premise. The characters would dazzle me with their complexity, the prose would sparkle, and the much promised motif of the fall of the GDR would be handled sensitively and woven through the narrative with great subtlety.
Instead, the relationship got darker, nastier, and recursive. The featureless run-on sentences about obscure East German politics got longer, and the characters remained excruciatingly bland, so caught up in their tawdry psychodrama that it left little room for the reader to absorb anything else about them. Perhaps this was the ultimate conceit of the book, but it was a fucking painful experience to read. The entire time, I oscillated between disgust, disdain, and boredom, begging for the experience to be over for the characters and for me.
The final section of the book contained some genuinely interesting concepts about the experience of former East Germans after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Unfortunately they came far too late to redeem this book for me.
I am struggling to understand who this book was for or why anyone would enjoy it; the positive reviews make me feel like I read a completely different novel to those singing its praises. At least I am looking forward to an interesting discussion with my book club - I hope that one of the other members can enlighten me.
At first, I had hope. While the introduction of the main characters' relationship was both puerile and sinister, I thought that it was a decent reflection of what the initial infatuation between a teenager and a man in his mid-fifties would look like. Surely, in the hands of a female author, this Booker prize winning novel would subvert the misogyny of its tired premise. The characters would dazzle me with their complexity, the prose would sparkle, and the much promised motif of the fall of the GDR would be handled sensitively and woven through the narrative with great subtlety.
Instead, the relationship got darker, nastier, and recursive. The featureless run-on sentences about obscure East German politics got longer, and the characters remained excruciatingly bland, so caught up in their tawdry psychodrama that it left little room for the reader to absorb anything else about them. Perhaps this was the ultimate conceit of the book, but it was a fucking painful experience to read. The entire time, I oscillated between disgust, disdain, and boredom, begging for the experience to be over for the characters and for me.
The final section of the book contained some genuinely interesting concepts about the experience of former East Germans after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Unfortunately they came far too late to redeem this book for me.
I am struggling to understand who this book was for or why anyone would enjoy it; the positive reviews make me feel like I read a completely different novel to those singing its praises. At least I am looking forward to an interesting discussion with my book club - I hope that one of the other members can enlighten me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol
challenging
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, Grief, Abortion
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse
dark
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
kairos was a book i probably would never have discovered on my own and, therefore, never would have read. however, through bookstagram, i came across the booker book club, which led me to read kairos, the club’s book for january. jenny erpenbeck won the 2024 international booker prize with kairos. while the fact that it was an award-winning book created some expectations for me, it did not negatively affect my reading experience. (the toxicity of the relationship in the book made my reading experience difficult enough anyway hahaha.)
kairos is the god of the perfect moment that must be seized to avoid missing opportunities. he can only be caught by a single lock of hair falling on his forehead. after reading the book, the title makes so much sense that i admired the author for this clever choice.
so, what is kairos about? the book begins with katharina receiving two boxes filled with memories from hans and opening one of them. the story of 53-year-old hans and 19-year-old katharina, who fall in love during an ordinary bus ride on a summer day in 1986, could have been very romantic. however, the 34-year age gap immediately made me go, hmm. even at the very beginning of the book, it is clear that the power dynamics in this relationship are unbalanced and that the relationship will not progress in a healthy way.
yet, their dialogues and the way they express their feelings for each other were so emotional and romantic that, at one point, i wanted to push the age gap to the back of my mind and keep reading. but as it became increasingly clear that the power imbalance was extreme, that katharina was being exploited, and that she mistook it for love, it was hard to ignore my discomfort.
meanwhile, the berlin wall still stands, dividing berlin into east and west, with each side experiencing vastly different realities. we are in east germany with katharina and hans, which allows us to witness the political, economic, and social struggles of the time.
everything begins to fall apart when hans suddenly leaves katharina one day for no apparent reason (what an awful man…). katharina is devastated. the next day, hans returns, but the serious inconsistency in their relationship leads katharina to sleep with a friend she takes refuge in. when hans discovers this, he deems her actions unacceptable, unforgivable, and a sin that must be punished, and he begins to make her life miserable.
reading this part of the book, narrated in its second section, was incredibly difficult. with every page, i was more and more shocked. if i could have, i would have beaten up hans and hugged katharina. she is so lonely due to her absent and indifferent parents that, although i found her choices very wrong, i could not judge her. my sympathy for her only grew because of what she endured. she tries to fill an emptiness within herself with hans, but the fact that she mistakes it for love is heartbreaking. hans, on the other hand, is one of the most pathetic, inadequate, helpless, obsessive, and cruel characters i have ever read.
one of the things that made this book remarkable for me was the author’s storytelling. jenny erpenbeck is apparently famous for the way she portrays time. over the span of a few years, we not only witness this couple’s relationship but also the fall of the berlin wall and the social conditions before and after it. and just as the power dynamics in katharina and hans’ relationship were unbalanced, one side was exploited, the right moments were missed, the right choices were not made, and both sides parted as losers, east germany’s political stance, which it tried to maintain, also resulted in an outcome that satisfied and pleased no one. drawing a parallel between a country’s s historical process and a relationship is such a brilliant method.
another aspect that stood out was the author’s writing style. there were so many beautifully written sentences that, despite how difficult and frustrating the book was to read, i found myself underlining a lot of passages.
in the first few minutes after finishing the book, i kept asking myself, what did i just read? why was this book given an award? but almost immediately, i realized i had read something deeply impactful. after attending the booker book club meeting and listening to deniz yuce basarir basarir’s commentary, i was sure that kairos had become one of my new favorite books. i can’t wait to read more of jenny erpenbeck’s works.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This book is so painful and heartbreaking and beautiful. The age difference in their relationship serves as a vessel for the exploration of one generation handing their best attempts at building a society of ideals to the next. It’s as much about love and loss as it is about the memory of war and the insidious and enforced divisions plastered over once the chips have fallen.
“Americans and Russians are each other’s spitting image. Also in their devotion to kitsch.”
“Americans and Russians are each other’s spitting image. Also in their devotion to kitsch.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence
tense
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
I <3 translated fiction…but she was a little kooky and definitely unsettling.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual violence
Minor: Abortion
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship