Reviews

The Abyss: A Novel by Marguerite Yourcenar

amelie5m's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

verago's review against another edition

3.0

Complesso, intellettuale e astruso. Sempre in bilico tra il capolavoro e il sonno. Eccessivo è l'aggettivo che meglio lo descrive.

Non vi affezionerete al protagonista ma apprezzerete la capacità di descrivere il periodo a cavallo tra il medioevo e l'era moderna.

Le "Memorie di Adriano" è su un altro livello qualitativo (altamento superiore).

upokyin's review against another edition

3.0

Having read Memoirs of Hadrian, I felt I must read more of this writer's work. After a survey of all her other books here in Goodreads, I chose this one, as it seemed to have the most potential. Half way through the book, I realised that I would be disappointed. It starts off well with a long, slow detailed build up of what I thought were the main characters. However, one by one, these people fade out of the story and by the time I reached the Chapter entitled "Innsbruck", I sensed a distinctive shift in the tone and pace of the novel. This chapter features a long and rather banal discourse between the two "main" characters introduced earlier. From then on the story follows only the fate of Zeno right until the end. Although the rest of the book is also interesting, I felt somewhat let down as I realised that all the different strands from the first part of the novel would not be coming together in the second.