Take a photo of a barcode or cover
lookhome 's review for:
The Painted Bird
by Jerzy Kosiński
Kosiński's The Painted Bird is a grotesquely mesmerizing book.
Though it is inarguably filled with haunting, unforgettable images, images which sear the mind and haunt the soul, it is ultimately the voice of the narrator, or lack thereof, that carries the story along its Hellish, Boschian descent into True Chaos.
While reading the novel, I found myself having to pause and digest the young boy's numerous encounters with various peasants. Though these encounters range from frightening to horrific, consisting of the consumption of balled feces, live burial, numerous beatings and nonchalent encounters with beastiality, most if not all of the encounters felt 'Real'. There's something in the writing that not only suggest but practically imposes the sense of a True, Documented encounter with all that is Surreal and Terrible in the human condition.
While the novel may not have been entirely inspired by Kosiński's actual experiences during the war, there was quite a bit of controversy about this back in the day, there's no denying the depicted scenes seem to capture a fundamental, though hate-filled Truth about human nature.
Maybe I'm an optimistic pessimist but I think Kosiński got a lot of hate in the latter half of his life for writing this and I think while he may certainly have been misleading, it doesn't take away from the sheer shock value of the novel. Say what you will but it will shock even the more die hard gore hounds..
I don't think I've ever been more surprised and bewildered by the content of a book.
It's definitely not for everyone but it is certainly an experience and one I will continue to process or digest in the coming weeks.
While it's hard to pinpoint what it is that makes this novel feel and inhabit a reality of sorts, but there is anger and hate and resentment dripping on every page.
Though it is inarguably filled with haunting, unforgettable images, images which sear the mind and haunt the soul, it is ultimately the voice of the narrator, or lack thereof, that carries the story along its Hellish, Boschian descent into True Chaos.
While reading the novel, I found myself having to pause and digest the young boy's numerous encounters with various peasants. Though these encounters range from frightening to horrific, consisting of the consumption of balled feces, live burial, numerous beatings and nonchalent encounters with beastiality, most if not all of the encounters felt 'Real'. There's something in the writing that not only suggest but practically imposes the sense of a True, Documented encounter with all that is Surreal and Terrible in the human condition.
While the novel may not have been entirely inspired by Kosiński's actual experiences during the war, there was quite a bit of controversy about this back in the day, there's no denying the depicted scenes seem to capture a fundamental, though hate-filled Truth about human nature.
Maybe I'm an optimistic pessimist but I think Kosiński got a lot of hate in the latter half of his life for writing this and I think while he may certainly have been misleading, it doesn't take away from the sheer shock value of the novel. Say what you will but it will shock even the more die hard gore hounds..
I don't think I've ever been more surprised and bewildered by the content of a book.
It's definitely not for everyone but it is certainly an experience and one I will continue to process or digest in the coming weeks.
While it's hard to pinpoint what it is that makes this novel feel and inhabit a reality of sorts, but there is anger and hate and resentment dripping on every page.