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3.13 AVERAGE
3.13 AVERAGE
I think Amazon and Goodreads have accidentally categorised this as fiction.
A reasonably amusing little story, but it doesn't really justify messing with Kafka (the reversal is a device looking for a problem to solve, and the main narrative doesn't provide it).
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There is a simple fact that all of us know. We are human beings and in my opinion, nothing can connect us more than this simple fact. But it is often the simplest of things that delude us in a way complexities cannot. Perhaps this is the reason behind our understanding of the galaxy while not being empathetic to the person next door. This chain of thinking, from as far as what I have known and understood of the animal world, is quite distant to them. If coronavirus was a human being, I wonder how many arguments they would have had among each other before they would have attacked unitedly (or in various groups) to the host.
The Cockroach by Ian McEwan is a living example of human beings' diffidence towards each other. So competitive are we that we often try to pull others down while climbing the stairs of success. Climbing upwards should not have related itself to another person, at least not in the way it commonly relates itself anyway. Deriving its inspiration from Franz Kafka's seminal short story "The Metamorphosis", Ian McEwan's The Cockroach stops having any similarities with the former beyond its inspiration. While Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" revolves around the absurdities of human world by metamorphosing into something the human world is not, McEwan's The Cockroach satirises the human world for what it is.
A cockroach wakes up and finds himself transformed into a gigantic creature. The gigantic creature is a human being who is also the Prime Minister of Britian. I would not have known that the novella was satirising Brexit had I not read its blurb. Even though I did not understand completely how Brexit is superimposed into the narrative of the novella, I found my own way through it which is even better. The cockroach who has turned into a prime minister works for the benefit of (his) community by introducing Revisionalism into the British society while being as corrupt as a human prime minister would have been. Revisionalism enforces the revision of economic structure of the society through which the people have to pay for the job they are doing and in turn, they will be payed for their consumption. The cockroach does this in order to make human beings poor so that their community can profit from human beings' poverty. Human beings take pride in their intelligence but on the same note, they are very individualistic in their approach. Even with all the miracles our brain can perform, what is the use of such intelligence if cockroaches can outsmart us any day because of their harmonious actions?
Also on Instagram.
The Cockroach by Ian McEwan is a living example of human beings' diffidence towards each other. So competitive are we that we often try to pull others down while climbing the stairs of success. Climbing upwards should not have related itself to another person, at least not in the way it commonly relates itself anyway. Deriving its inspiration from Franz Kafka's seminal short story "The Metamorphosis", Ian McEwan's The Cockroach stops having any similarities with the former beyond its inspiration. While Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" revolves around the absurdities of human world by metamorphosing into something the human world is not, McEwan's The Cockroach satirises the human world for what it is.
A cockroach wakes up and finds himself transformed into a gigantic creature. The gigantic creature is a human being who is also the Prime Minister of Britian. I would not have known that the novella was satirising Brexit had I not read its blurb. Even though I did not understand completely how Brexit is superimposed into the narrative of the novella, I found my own way through it which is even better. The cockroach who has turned into a prime minister works for the benefit of (his) community by introducing Revisionalism into the British society while being as corrupt as a human prime minister would have been. Revisionalism enforces the revision of economic structure of the society through which the people have to pay for the job they are doing and in turn, they will be payed for their consumption. The cockroach does this in order to make human beings poor so that their community can profit from human beings' poverty. Human beings take pride in their intelligence but on the same note, they are very individualistic in their approach. Even with all the miracles our brain can perform, what is the use of such intelligence if cockroaches can outsmart us any day because of their harmonious actions?
Also on Instagram.
funny
medium-paced
The Cockroach an amusing exploration of our current political world. I enjoyed it and found the premise intriguing. Overall, I'd generally recommend it for those looking for a short, interesting political novella.
Ahhh what can I say? I love Ian McEwan.
Although it’s not my favourite, this little book continues my love affair with McEwan’s writing. Brilliantly strange and clever, in The Cockroach the Cabinet of the United Kingdom (that was rather formal) have been body-swapped with cockroaches, PM and all!
An attempt at satirising the shambles that is Brexit that kept me waiting for more — take it further Ian
Although it’s not my favourite, this little book continues my love affair with McEwan’s writing. Brilliantly strange and clever, in The Cockroach the Cabinet of the United Kingdom (that was rather formal) have been body-swapped with cockroaches, PM and all!
An attempt at satirising the shambles that is Brexit that kept me waiting for more — take it further Ian
funny
fast-paced
fast-paced