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pascalthehoff's reviews
404 reviews
Heaven by Mieko Kawakami
3.0
Heaven, for the most part, is a tightrope act between:
1) Tropes of (sometimes abhorrent) bullying
2) Romanticizing bullying and disability
The fact that the novel still has so much literary value speaks volumes about Mieko Kawakami's qualities as a writer.
At times, Heaven is tough to read. Often, you might want to disagree with it. But the thing it's going for – questioning our predetermined positions in society and finding nihilism in the dynamics between bullies and their prey – yeah, it kinda works.
What I want to commend the novel for is how it depicts the bullies as something akin to a force of nature. Something that is just THERE and can't be circumvented. After all, adults don't really seem to account for anything in this world as they are barely present in the narrative – especially the teachers. At one point or another, any reader will ask themselves: "Why don't the protagonists just rat the bullies out?" And, on second thought, it is that utter disinterest and ignorance of the adult characters that makes the bullies "work".
1) Tropes of (sometimes abhorrent) bullying
2) Romanticizing bullying and disability
The fact that the novel still has so much literary value speaks volumes about Mieko Kawakami's qualities as a writer.
At times, Heaven is tough to read. Often, you might want to disagree with it. But the thing it's going for – questioning our predetermined positions in society and finding nihilism in the dynamics between bullies and their prey – yeah, it kinda works.
What I want to commend the novel for is how it depicts the bullies as something akin to a force of nature. Something that is just THERE and can't be circumvented. After all, adults don't really seem to account for anything in this world as they are barely present in the narrative – especially the teachers. At one point or another, any reader will ask themselves: "Why don't the protagonists just rat the bullies out?" And, on second thought, it is that utter disinterest and ignorance of the adult characters that makes the bullies "work".
Wild: A Journey from Lost to Found by Cheryl Strayed
5.0
Immediately after finishing Wild, I rated it 3 stars. I felt like it dragged a bit, like it was a bit lengthy... Well, that's a book about arduous hiking for you. The fact that I had to read the book on a deadline for a university seminar probably didn't help with my patience.
Since then, however, for the last three years, I've thought about Wild so often that, in retrospective, it turned out to have been one of the most memorable reading experiences I've ever had. The mere concept of embarking on a journey of that scale with nothing but your muscles to carry you still fascinates me. Maybe it's the covid lockdown, but I've really come to appreciate nature (said the city boy). Although I'd never have the guts myself, Wild showed me how it might feel to explore the overlooked wilderness that is still there somewhere in-between our civilized cities.
The whole self-search aspect resonated with me to a lesser degree, but I'm still fascinated with it on a weird philosophical level, because I definitely get why it might work for a person in the author's position.
Since then, however, for the last three years, I've thought about Wild so often that, in retrospective, it turned out to have been one of the most memorable reading experiences I've ever had. The mere concept of embarking on a journey of that scale with nothing but your muscles to carry you still fascinates me. Maybe it's the covid lockdown, but I've really come to appreciate nature (said the city boy). Although I'd never have the guts myself, Wild showed me how it might feel to explore the overlooked wilderness that is still there somewhere in-between our civilized cities.
The whole self-search aspect resonated with me to a lesser degree, but I'm still fascinated with it on a weird philosophical level, because I definitely get why it might work for a person in the author's position.
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
2.0
I absolutely respect this novel's subject matter and it definitely has its educational values. It might serve as an entry point into literature about Colonial/African/Afro-American history for many people and that's great. However, it convinced me, personally, neither from an entertainment nor a literary standpoint.
It feels like most of the short character arcs HAVE to rely on clichés in order to fit themselves on a few pages. Why the novel has to be so short, I don't know. But it is one of the very few cases where I have wished for a book to be a bit more excessive in its length. The way it is, just when you feel like you got to know a character a bit better, the novel moves on to the next one.
The first few character arcs on the African continent were still among the more interesting ones as those were the settings that I was least familiar with. Other than the "oh, that's an interesting historical / cultural fact" here and there, however, I was never invested in any of the characters because the book didn't give me the time to get attached to them.
In the same way, Homegoing falters as a "family novel" or "generational novel" as the connections to other family members mostly exist in name drops. In the few instances where character arcs actually overlap (for a few lines), it never feels significant. The concept of "look at how this lineage of people is spread around the world" alone is fascinating, but it is superficial at best and it can't carry the novel.
If you have already read your fair share of novels or have seen a lot of movies that tackle a similar subject matter, you will be bored by how few unique ideas you will find in Homegoing. As a compilation of sorts, for educational purposes, it might still serve its purpose, though.
It feels like most of the short character arcs HAVE to rely on clichés in order to fit themselves on a few pages. Why the novel has to be so short, I don't know. But it is one of the very few cases where I have wished for a book to be a bit more excessive in its length. The way it is, just when you feel like you got to know a character a bit better, the novel moves on to the next one.
The first few character arcs on the African continent were still among the more interesting ones as those were the settings that I was least familiar with. Other than the "oh, that's an interesting historical / cultural fact" here and there, however, I was never invested in any of the characters because the book didn't give me the time to get attached to them.
In the same way, Homegoing falters as a "family novel" or "generational novel" as the connections to other family members mostly exist in name drops. In the few instances where character arcs actually overlap (for a few lines), it never feels significant. The concept of "look at how this lineage of people is spread around the world" alone is fascinating, but it is superficial at best and it can't carry the novel.
If you have already read your fair share of novels or have seen a lot of movies that tackle a similar subject matter, you will be bored by how few unique ideas you will find in Homegoing. As a compilation of sorts, for educational purposes, it might still serve its purpose, though.
Identitti by Mithu Sanyal
5.0
Identitti ist ein Essay im trojanischen Pferd und dafür liebe ich es. Es vermittelt Essentials der Identitäts- und Postkolonialstudien (und weit mehr aktuell relevante Themen), die hoffentlich deutlich mehr Leser*innen finden, weil all die erzählerischen Vorzüge eines Romans die sperrige Theorie sanft den Hals hinunterspülen. Show, don‘t tell!
Dass Identitti dabei nicht nur als verkapptes wissenschaftliches Essay funktioniert, sondern auch als Roman wunderbar erzählt ist, ist essentiell für diesen Effekt. Gerade bei Erzählungen, in denen sich die innere Welt der Hauptfigur kontinuierlich umwälzt, fällt es auf, wenn die emotionalen Wendepunkte plump herbeigedichtet werden. Identitti hingegen nimmt sich die Zeit, plausibel auf Aha-Momente hinzuarbeiten – und das, obwohl der Plot gleichzeitig in einem sehr kompakten Rahmen bleibt und selten Zeit verschwendet.
Was die Protagonistin selbst an einer Stelle dazu sagt, trifft den Nagel auf den Kopf (paraphrasiert): „Kann Saraswati nicht EINEN Satz sagen, nach dem ich nicht sprachlos bin!?“
Dass die Charaktere gerade in der zweiten Hälfte manchmal im Kreis diskutieren, trägt nur dazu bei, zu zeigen, wie komplex die behandelten Themen sind. Dass DIE große Frage des Buches erst sehr spät aufgelöst wird, ist der einzige Bruch, dürfte aber der Tatsache geschuldet sein, dass der Roman diese dramaturgische Spannung braucht. Im Großen und Ganzen ist das aber ein Makel, den man dem Buch verzeihen kann.
Dass Identitti dabei nicht nur als verkapptes wissenschaftliches Essay funktioniert, sondern auch als Roman wunderbar erzählt ist, ist essentiell für diesen Effekt. Gerade bei Erzählungen, in denen sich die innere Welt der Hauptfigur kontinuierlich umwälzt, fällt es auf, wenn die emotionalen Wendepunkte plump herbeigedichtet werden. Identitti hingegen nimmt sich die Zeit, plausibel auf Aha-Momente hinzuarbeiten – und das, obwohl der Plot gleichzeitig in einem sehr kompakten Rahmen bleibt und selten Zeit verschwendet.
Was die Protagonistin selbst an einer Stelle dazu sagt, trifft den Nagel auf den Kopf (paraphrasiert): „Kann Saraswati nicht EINEN Satz sagen, nach dem ich nicht sprachlos bin!?“
Dass die Charaktere gerade in der zweiten Hälfte manchmal im Kreis diskutieren, trägt nur dazu bei, zu zeigen, wie komplex die behandelten Themen sind. Dass DIE große Frage des Buches erst sehr spät aufgelöst wird, ist der einzige Bruch, dürfte aber der Tatsache geschuldet sein, dass der Roman diese dramaturgische Spannung braucht. Im Großen und Ganzen ist das aber ein Makel, den man dem Buch verzeihen kann.
Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion
3.0
I feel like I'll forget most of these essays in the long run, but some of their more minute details, the sentiments purveyed as well as the broad image of mid-20th century California this collection paints will stick with me and resurface every now and then when reflecting upon this region and era.
Max, Mischa und die Tet-Offensive by Johan Harstad
5.0
Wieso sind selbst viele linksgesinnte, antikapitalistische und antiimperialistische Menschen so fasziniert von den USA? So sehr, dass sie dennoch fantasieren, in diese Hochburg des Neoliberalismus auszuwandern? Max, Mischa und die Tet-Offensive liefert auf 1.250 Seiten eine mehr als ausführliche und bildhafte Antwort auf diese Frage, falls ihr sie euch jemals gestellt haben solltet.