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A review by adperfectamconsilium
The Interrogation by J.M.G. Le Clézio
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
'Slowly, quietly, imperceptibly, Adam forgot that he was Adam, that he had heaps of things of his own downstairs, in the sunny room; heaps of deck-chairs, newspaper, all sorts of scribbles, and blankets that smelt of him, and scraps of paper on which he had written 'My dear Michele' as though beginning a letter '
After time to reflect I'm pretty sure that The Interrogation is a work of genius, or utter codswallop, or possibly both in equal measure.
It's a stream of consciousness prose style where the stream is constantly broken for digressions, inconsequential events and stylistic tricks from lists & poetry, newspaper clippings; diary fragments & letters.
It all adds up to a confused and mind boggling experience entering the mind of Adam Pollo, our very unreliable narrator.
It's about mental illness. Accompanying Adam on a mental breakdown. Maybe he's had one before. It's unclear like much of the novel.
Muddled thoughts and remembering, probably selective amnesia means Adam doesn't know if he's recently left the army or a mental institution.
What we do know is that he's squatting in an empty seaside villa & lack of human contact is affecting his already fractured mind.
States of heightened consciousness, experiencing reality through the eyes of a dog and a rat.
Adam is an unlikeable young man. It appears that in the past he raped his friend Michele but she's the only one to visit him by the seaside and lends him money for his trips to town, most of which is spent on cigarettes. At least I think that's what happened. After all, Michele could be a figment of his imagination.
A trip to a zoo; the washing up of a dead body; American sailors and tourists; a fight; garbled rhetoric in the town centre; questions in an asylum. These all come together for a narrative of sorts.
And a dead rat. Adam killed it. Or somebody else killed it. It's definitely dead, that's all I'm sure of.
Utter nonsense but in a clever way. Strangely compelling and tedious. One of the strangest books I've ever read. Let's leave it at that.
After time to reflect I'm pretty sure that The Interrogation is a work of genius, or utter codswallop, or possibly both in equal measure.
It's a stream of consciousness prose style where the stream is constantly broken for digressions, inconsequential events and stylistic tricks from lists & poetry, newspaper clippings; diary fragments & letters.
It all adds up to a confused and mind boggling experience entering the mind of Adam Pollo, our very unreliable narrator.
It's about mental illness. Accompanying Adam on a mental breakdown. Maybe he's had one before. It's unclear like much of the novel.
Muddled thoughts and remembering, probably selective amnesia means Adam doesn't know if he's recently left the army or a mental institution.
What we do know is that he's squatting in an empty seaside villa & lack of human contact is affecting his already fractured mind.
States of heightened consciousness, experiencing reality through the eyes of a dog and a rat.
Adam is an unlikeable young man. It appears that in the past he raped his friend Michele but she's the only one to visit him by the seaside and lends him money for his trips to town, most of which is spent on cigarettes. At least I think that's what happened. After all, Michele could be a figment of his imagination.
A trip to a zoo; the washing up of a dead body; American sailors and tourists; a fight; garbled rhetoric in the town centre; questions in an asylum. These all come together for a narrative of sorts.
And a dead rat. Adam killed it. Or somebody else killed it. It's definitely dead, that's all I'm sure of.
Utter nonsense but in a clever way. Strangely compelling and tedious. One of the strangest books I've ever read. Let's leave it at that.