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mobyskine's review against another edition
2.0
Awal pembacaan asyik fikir apa yang saya baca ini. Satu kegilaan atau hal pelik-- belum dapat vibe jalan cerita. Nak kata ia satu kerja translasi yang bagus pun tak dapat. Hingga ke mukasurat 100, tentang Naomi dan Nathan dan satu penyakit STD yang buat Naomi menjerit celaka! celaka! dari dalam kapal terbang-- sehingga itu baru saya sedikit catching up dengan jalan cerita. Hal aneh tentang anak beranak Roiphe dan misteri Arosteguy agak mengujakan, tapi jujur cakap-- susah nak hadam sangat relation semua yang jadi (tak pasti ini masalah translasi atau jalan cerita memang rumit macam itu).
Pekerjaan Nathan dan Naomi sangat aneh. Okay ia cuma fotojurnalis dan penulisan artikel/buku, tapi caranya saja saya tidak boleh tahan. Nathan dan kes sindrom Roiphe, saling kaitan dengan misteri Arosteguy, si lelaki falsafah berideologi Marxist yang mahu jadi orang Jepun, dengan isteri yang (kononnya) mati dipotong-potong (kes yang bawa Naomi menjejak Jepun). Jalan cerita intense dan banyak kali buat saya keliru. Agak gore dan thrill-- hal-hal psikopatologi, terapi atau trauma tak masuk akal dan ritual makan daging sendiri.
Hubungan-hubungan asmara yang pelik dan bagaimana Célestine mati barangkali kerana kanser atau khayalan neurotik-- cerita tentang filem, Korea Utara, agama serangga yang harus dihapuskan dan kisah audiologi. Penyampaian cerita berbunyi klasikal, seperti satu teater di atas pentas. Translasi yang buat saya keliru dengan metafora-metafora hingga rasa nak letak tepi dan berhenti seksa otak sendiri.
Bahagian komplot Perancis-Célestine-Korea Utara itu buat saya sedikit terkejut juga dengan kata Elke-- like how? Cerita dah masuk scene misteri dan penemuan Naomi tentang hal dalam laptop Arosteguy mengungkap satu-satu persoalan tentang Célestine.
Satu jenayah sosial dan psikoseksual, dua fotojurnalis yang terjerat di tengah-tengah. Terlalu confusing bagi saya, malas nak faham sudahlah ending buat saya terkedu, agaknya penulis sangat sengaja. Probably just another Cronenberg thingy and fetish.
Pekerjaan Nathan dan Naomi sangat aneh. Okay ia cuma fotojurnalis dan penulisan artikel/buku, tapi caranya saja saya tidak boleh tahan. Nathan dan kes sindrom Roiphe, saling kaitan dengan misteri Arosteguy, si lelaki falsafah berideologi Marxist yang mahu jadi orang Jepun, dengan isteri yang (kononnya) mati dipotong-potong (kes yang bawa Naomi menjejak Jepun). Jalan cerita intense dan banyak kali buat saya keliru. Agak gore dan thrill-- hal-hal psikopatologi, terapi atau trauma tak masuk akal dan ritual makan daging sendiri.
Hubungan-hubungan asmara yang pelik dan bagaimana Célestine mati barangkali kerana kanser atau khayalan neurotik-- cerita tentang filem, Korea Utara, agama serangga yang harus dihapuskan dan kisah audiologi. Penyampaian cerita berbunyi klasikal, seperti satu teater di atas pentas. Translasi yang buat saya keliru dengan metafora-metafora hingga rasa nak letak tepi dan berhenti seksa otak sendiri.
Bahagian komplot Perancis-Célestine-Korea Utara itu buat saya sedikit terkejut juga dengan kata Elke-- like how? Cerita dah masuk scene misteri dan penemuan Naomi tentang hal dalam laptop Arosteguy mengungkap satu-satu persoalan tentang Célestine.
Satu jenayah sosial dan psikoseksual, dua fotojurnalis yang terjerat di tengah-tengah. Terlalu confusing bagi saya, malas nak faham sudahlah ending buat saya terkedu, agaknya penulis sangat sengaja. Probably just another Cronenberg thingy and fetish.
woowottreads's review against another edition
3.0
I'm still not sure what I think about this book. It could have a sequel, but that's not necessary. It's so weird, it probably won't have a sequel. If it were less weird, I'd say sequel. I kinda enjoyed it, especially the bits from Naomi's p.o.v. Nate sometimes got on my nerves. They weren't a very good couple. And I'm not at all into techno porn, which this sort of is. But part of me still enjoyed it. It does indeed involve global conspiracies involving North Korea and hearing aid devices and French philosophers and illegal Eastern European surgeons and STIs. And reality is incredibly dubious. I was only disappointed because I wanted a bit more horror and a bit more strange sex. I feel like the blurb on the jacket was being a bit misleading about all the sex. It was actually pretty tasteful, for the most part. If you're up for a bit of a mindscrewing, this might be your book.
rominadelap's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
divya968's review against another edition
1.0
Book was way more confusing than it needed to be not a fan.
greyscarf's review against another edition
4.0
David Cronenberg's debut novel, Consumed, follows political and cultural intrigues much like [b:Sacred Games|40090|Sacred Games|Vikram Chandra|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347326247s/40090.jpg|1131999], but on a smaller (but no less denser) scale. The story originally focuses on Nathan Math & Naomi Seberg & the extreme stories that they chase in hopes of turning into accessible new media-worthy "journalism". Naomi is obsessed with getting to the bottom of the grisly murder of a beloved French philosopher, Célestine Arosteguy & what part her husband, Aristide Arosteguy, may have played in her death. Nathan, a medical student turned journalist, hunts down an unlicensed Hungarian surgeon who performs illegal surgeries as a political act. Naomi & Nathan's respective assignments converge in unexpected ways & they unwittingly begin to uncover a conspiracy that spans not only multiple continents, but touches on multiple fields of thought.
As an English major, I saw many influences present in Cronenberg's writing. The work is undeniably Nabokovian with its many doubles, the ardent pursuit of an ephemeral idea (or illusion) & the manipulations/traumas of language. I found one character, Hervé, remarkably similar to Iris Murdoch's Trickster characters, who thrive on sensuality, chaos & the drive to instigate, well, everything. Aristide's example of eating a rose recalled one of David Foster Wallace's major symbols in "Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way." But for all of these literary allusions, the story is undeniable Cronenberg's, reflecting his own obsessions with hermetic societies, the lifespan and transformative powers of disease, and of course, body horror and all the taboos it uncovers.
Consumed was a fascinating book that entangled me. In fact, I felt the same way I did after watching one of Cronenberg's films--enjoyed it but felt overwhelmed by everything lurking under the surface. I was pleasantly surprised that much of the physical violence and horror did not effect me as much as I feared. I was someone who passed out while reading Palahnuik's [b:Haunted|22288|Haunted|Chuck Palahniuk|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391152326s/22288.jpg|1602272] but in Consumed, each physical act was so encoded in ideas & symbolism that I was continually trying to grasp what exactly was happening. (The book did give me some weird vivid dreams though.) Recommended to anyone who is looking for new, intense fiction or, more specifically, to anyone who enjoys Cronenberg's films or was disappointed by what last year's [b:Night Film|18770398|Night Film|Marisha Pessl|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397425352s/18770398.jpg|15182838] tried to, but couldn't, pull off.
As an English major, I saw many influences present in Cronenberg's writing. The work is undeniably Nabokovian with its many doubles, the ardent pursuit of an ephemeral idea (or illusion) & the manipulations/traumas of language. I found one character, Hervé, remarkably similar to Iris Murdoch's Trickster characters, who thrive on sensuality, chaos & the drive to instigate, well, everything. Aristide's example of eating a rose recalled one of David Foster Wallace's major symbols in "Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way." But for all of these literary allusions, the story is undeniable Cronenberg's, reflecting his own obsessions with hermetic societies, the lifespan and transformative powers of disease, and of course, body horror and all the taboos it uncovers.
Consumed was a fascinating book that entangled me. In fact, I felt the same way I did after watching one of Cronenberg's films--enjoyed it but felt overwhelmed by everything lurking under the surface. I was pleasantly surprised that much of the physical violence and horror did not effect me as much as I feared. I was someone who passed out while reading Palahnuik's [b:Haunted|22288|Haunted|Chuck Palahniuk|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391152326s/22288.jpg|1602272] but in Consumed, each physical act was so encoded in ideas & symbolism that I was continually trying to grasp what exactly was happening. (The book did give me some weird vivid dreams though.) Recommended to anyone who is looking for new, intense fiction or, more specifically, to anyone who enjoys Cronenberg's films or was disappointed by what last year's [b:Night Film|18770398|Night Film|Marisha Pessl|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397425352s/18770398.jpg|15182838] tried to, but couldn't, pull off.
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