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dellaposta's review against another edition
2.0
I had a lot of trouble getting into this one. The narrative conceit is that the entire novel takes place in the course of a single stand up comedy routine that goes off the rails and becomes a tortured exploration of the performer’s past. Too often I sympathized with the groaning audience members, and the pacing of the story just felt deadly slow.
jayseewhy's review against another edition
4.0
This book begins as a mildly entertaining retelling of a stand up comedy routine. As it progresses it turns into something strange and gripping, exploring a human experience of tragic loss and painful remorse.
I was particularly enthralled by the exploration Israeli culture with which I am unfamiliar. I’m going to make an effort to read authors with different backgrounds this year.
I was particularly enthralled by the exploration Israeli culture with which I am unfamiliar. I’m going to make an effort to read authors with different backgrounds this year.
juunaonno's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
brunogcarr's review against another edition
2.0
Sim, venceu o Prémio Man Booker International. Sim, a escrita não tem muito que se lhe aponte. No entanto, o livro não funcionou comigo, procurei até ao final encontrar algo que me prendesse ao livro e isso simplesmente não aconteceu.
Voltarei a Grossman, ainda assim.
Voltarei a Grossman, ainda assim.
angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
1.0
Oh man. International Man Booker Prize. And it just wasn’t good. The entire book takes place during a stand up comedy act. An audience member and the comedian share back stories and flashbacks. Unfortunately the comedian is doing a comedy act as the book rolls forward and it was just not funny. I chuckled once through the six-hours of reading. And the dramatic backstory just didn’t hold my interest. Perhaps it was the translation, but I’m nearly certain it was just a boring story.
juliancmajor's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
fantasynovel's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know why I didn't enjoy this book. I feel like it was trying so so so so so hard to create a piece of meaningful art that each element was super obvious in what it was trying to do. I know that humor wasn't really the point of this book, but it's bold to make you spend 200 pages with an unfunny comedian. Though of course that's the predicament of the audience in this book. Unlike the audience, though, I wasn't actually listening to a real-live person recount a tragic formative memory, and didn't owe the narrator anything that people owe to each other. I still read the whole thing, but it was a slog.
andrewmf's review against another edition
2.0
Didn’t really enjoy. Feels like the story doesn’t move along. Ended up putting down with 20% to go