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A review by urania
Crossing by Pajtim Statovci
challenging
reflective
medium-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
what the hell
despite "crossing" being a complete novel and not a short story collection of any sort, i can't help but have an impression it's like a puzzle made of random snippets to turn into one story. the book is extremely uneven– consisting of fragments i adored, many of statovci's thoughts on the issues regarding identity are well written and definitely worth the attention; but also of truly awful character choices that consistently reappear throughout the book.
while to a degree i can understand *why* bujar is such an awful person (i'm not exaggerating when i say tanja's chapters are some of the most uncomfortable ones i've read in a while), and i certainly appreciate how it actually makes sense, given his previously described adventures, it feels... grotesque, and while it's not bad per se, it makes me wonder whether it was a good decision– it sure did shock me, disgusted to a degree, but other than that, what was the point? i can't seem to figure it out
not to mention the structure of the book is rather repetitive: with every new place and period of time, bajur just follows the same pattern of action. sure, the details are different, and he gradually becomes worse, but other than that? i don't think there was much depth to it. i wish instead of describing all the new and unnecessary details the author focused on bajur's character more. it's weird: i have a feeling he was described with great attention to seemingly even unimportant information, and yet... he lacks depth. i can't explain it, i just caught myself thinking there would be something *more* while reading the book
i can't say i didn't enjoy the book, but it was full of faults– a very conflicting novel
despite "crossing" being a complete novel and not a short story collection of any sort, i can't help but have an impression it's like a puzzle made of random snippets to turn into one story. the book is extremely uneven– consisting of fragments i adored, many of statovci's thoughts on the issues regarding identity are well written and definitely worth the attention; but also of truly awful character choices that consistently reappear throughout the book.
while to a degree i can understand *why* bujar is such an awful person (i'm not exaggerating when i say tanja's chapters are some of the most uncomfortable ones i've read in a while), and i certainly appreciate how it actually makes sense, given his previously described adventures, it feels... grotesque, and while it's not bad per se, it makes me wonder whether it was a good decision– it sure did shock me, disgusted to a degree, but other than that, what was the point? i can't seem to figure it out
not to mention the structure of the book is rather repetitive: with every new place and period of time, bajur just follows the same pattern of action. sure, the details are different, and he gradually becomes worse, but other than that? i don't think there was much depth to it. i wish instead of describing all the new and unnecessary details the author focused on bajur's character more. it's weird: i have a feeling he was described with great attention to seemingly even unimportant information, and yet... he lacks depth. i can't explain it, i just caught myself thinking there would be something *more* while reading the book
i can't say i didn't enjoy the book, but it was full of faults– a very conflicting novel