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A review by justinkhchen
Cheese by Willem Elsschot
4.0
4 stars
A humorous, fish-out-of-water tale about a man's failed attempt at elevating his social status and wealth, by becoming a cheese merchant.
Cheese uses its novella format effectively, as we follow the naive, clearly incompetent protagonist, making one foolish business decision after another, which snowballs into bigger lies and higher stakes. Maintaining its laid-back, slightly cynical tone throughout, I was anticipating Cheese to build towards an all-out, absurdist climax, but in the end it took a more sober, contemplative path for its finale.
Instead of learning the rope of the trade, the protagonist goes to great length furnishing the office of a not yet existed enterprise. The commentary still rings true today (this was written in the 30s); we often are attracted to, and envious of the image of success, but fail to comprehend (or willing to put in) the effort in order to truly achieve it. So we become obsessed with creating the illusion, through material and appearance. I definitely have gone though a phase when I thought upgrading my camera gears will make me a better photographer!
Quick, painless read, and it gets you thinking—worth checking out.
A humorous, fish-out-of-water tale about a man's failed attempt at elevating his social status and wealth, by becoming a cheese merchant.
Cheese uses its novella format effectively, as we follow the naive, clearly incompetent protagonist, making one foolish business decision after another, which snowballs into bigger lies and higher stakes. Maintaining its laid-back, slightly cynical tone throughout, I was anticipating Cheese to build towards an all-out, absurdist climax, but in the end it took a more sober, contemplative path for its finale.
Instead of learning the rope of the trade, the protagonist goes to great length furnishing the office of a not yet existed enterprise. The commentary still rings true today (this was written in the 30s); we often are attracted to, and envious of the image of success, but fail to comprehend (or willing to put in) the effort in order to truly achieve it. So we become obsessed with creating the illusion, through material and appearance. I definitely have gone though a phase when I thought upgrading my camera gears will make me a better photographer!
Quick, painless read, and it gets you thinking—worth checking out.