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A review by bethywa
The Ice-Cream Makers by Ernest van der Kwast
1.0
I picked this book up while browsing the library because it is called The Ice Cream Makers. I thought that was enough. A cozy story about some brothers who make ice cream in Italy. No.
Two brothers are raised to take over their father's ice cream shop as many generations have done before. When the older brother decides he wants to run poetry festivals (not a poet himself, just a poet gatherer?) he in some ways leaves his family high and dry. As their parents age, the ice cream making brother calls on his older brother for help - but not at all for what you expect he ask for help with. You will never guess what the brother could possibly ask his other brother to do and it is wild. Not a good, what an interesting story wild, but wild.
This book sort of feels like it is about nothing. We hop around in time way too much to keep track of anything. I would imagine listening to this as an audiobook would be a nightmare. There are also a lot of stories about nothing. There is an entire chapter about the hotel rooms the poet-loving brother has stayed in all over the world. I am not kidding, 6 pages of "in Oslo there was a hot tub but in Jakarta they put cookies in a drawer and in Moscow there were no windows." WHY?!
I feel as though there was very little story, it was told in a confusing way, and then it just ended. I wonder a little bit if this is because it is translated? I also wonder if European writing is somehow different than here? I don't know how this could possibly be what people want to read. Your time is much better spent going to get a nice ice cream or maybe a cappuccino.
Two brothers are raised to take over their father's ice cream shop as many generations have done before. When the older brother decides he wants to run poetry festivals (not a poet himself, just a poet gatherer?) he in some ways leaves his family high and dry. As their parents age, the ice cream making brother calls on his older brother for help - but not at all for what you expect he ask for help with. You will never guess what the brother could possibly ask his other brother to do and it is wild. Not a good, what an interesting story wild, but wild.
This book sort of feels like it is about nothing. We hop around in time way too much to keep track of anything. I would imagine listening to this as an audiobook would be a nightmare. There are also a lot of stories about nothing. There is an entire chapter about the hotel rooms the poet-loving brother has stayed in all over the world. I am not kidding, 6 pages of "in Oslo there was a hot tub but in Jakarta they put cookies in a drawer and in Moscow there were no windows." WHY?!
I feel as though there was very little story, it was told in a confusing way, and then it just ended. I wonder a little bit if this is because it is translated? I also wonder if European writing is somehow different than here? I don't know how this could possibly be what people want to read. Your time is much better spent going to get a nice ice cream or maybe a cappuccino.