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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
New fav love love love love
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
mysterious
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Going into this book knowing nothing about it, all I could think of was "this is giving me major Eyes Wide Shut vibes" and it turns out it's because the movie is indeed based on this book. I'm sure there are great psychological analysis on this book but on the surface this huge snowball created from a husband that panics just because her wife confesses a fantasy of hers is just... ridiculous.
A sublime novella that explores reality, dreams, sexuality, and guilt. Fridolin, a doctor, and his wife, Albertine, are putting their daughter to bed. After this they begin having an earnest discussion about their recent holiday to Denmark. Both of them confess to having been sexually attracted to other people on the holiday and agree to confess any such similar feelings in the future. The following day, Fridolin goes on his rounds visiting a patient who has died. He wanders the streets of Vienna and stops in a coffee shop where he bumps into his old friend, Nachtigall, a pianist. Nachtigall tells him a tale of his current occupation which involves being blindfolded, and given a secret password, and taken to different mansions where he plays for the guests. Occasionally, he will get a glimpse of what is happening and see naked men and women wearing masks. Fridolin is intrigued and convinces Nachtigall to provide the password. He follows him in a night coach and enters the party with the password. Inside, he sees all the naked women but is asked by someone to provide the secondary password. He is cornered. Then a woman comes to his aide, at enormous cost to herself, but he doesn't entirely know why.
What follows is a bizarre and very dreamlike adventure. At one point, his wife literally gives him the details of one of her dreams and the whole thing feels very familiar and lingers to the point where you can't be sure if anything is real or not. The woman's motivations, the married couple's sexual desires and interests, all confused and swirling in a haze of Viennese coffee shops, antisemitism and sex workers. Apparently this book was the basis for Kubrick's 'Eyes Wide Shut.'
I really enjoyed this. It had shades of Bataille's 'Story of the Eye' as well as Chesterton's 'The Man Who Was Thursday.' It was a delight to read. A mystery which is never solved. Like most dreams I suppose.
What follows is a bizarre and very dreamlike adventure. At one point, his wife literally gives him the details of one of her dreams and the whole thing feels very familiar and lingers to the point where you can't be sure if anything is real or not. The woman's motivations, the married couple's sexual desires and interests, all confused and swirling in a haze of Viennese coffee shops, antisemitism and sex workers. Apparently this book was the basis for Kubrick's 'Eyes Wide Shut.'
I really enjoyed this. It had shades of Bataille's 'Story of the Eye' as well as Chesterton's 'The Man Who Was Thursday.' It was a delight to read. A mystery which is never solved. Like most dreams I suppose.
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated