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A review by dajna
The House of Sleep by Jonathan Coe
3.0
I met Coe in my youth and I like him, or I think I do. I also think we have that kind of dragged relationship that could be broken up any moment, but it goes on out of habit.
I read the Italian translation of this novel many years ago and I decided to read it again in its original language, but the feeling hasn't changed: too complex for a light reading and not complex enough for a deep reading. I think there is too much going on and in the end many subplot are there to act like a deus ex machina, trying to force a kind of serendipity on the reader. I didn't experience it.
On the contrary, I found myself stucked midbook. The beginning and the end are good, if not great, but the central part is sluggish. The plot though is great, the idea behind it original. Unfortunately I fit into the minority of readers who didn't get a good laugh out of it.
I read the Italian translation of this novel many years ago and I decided to read it again in its original language, but the feeling hasn't changed: too complex for a light reading and not complex enough for a deep reading. I think there is too much going on and in the end many subplot are there to act like a deus ex machina, trying to force a kind of serendipity on the reader. I didn't experience it.
On the contrary, I found myself stucked midbook. The beginning and the end are good, if not great, but the central part is sluggish. The plot though is great, the idea behind it original. Unfortunately I fit into the minority of readers who didn't get a good laugh out of it.