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annauthor's review against another edition
4.0
Très beau, le texte était vivant et j'ai adoré les personnages.
darkside_cookies's review against another edition
2.5
Ποτέ ως τώρα δεν το είχα νιώσει αυτό, αυτού του είδους την κατάρα, αυτή την ανελέητη δύναμη του φωτός πάνω σε μια γη όπου η ζωή κομματιάζεται και διαλύεται, όπου η κάθε μέρα που ξεκινά αφαιρεί κάτι από τη μέρα που προηγήθηκε, όπου ο πόνος είναι κάτι αμετακίνητο, τυφλό, ακατανόητο σαν τα ακατάληπτα λόγια που λέει η γριά Λεϊλά στη σπηλιά της.
Τα ονόματα των δύο πρωταγωνιστριών, Εσθήρ και Νετζμά, σημαίνουν στις γλώσσες τους, αστέρι. Η υπόσχεση της περίληψης του βιβλίου είναι πως η αφήγηση θα περάσει από τη μία χαρακτήρα στην άλλη. Δεν υπάρχει όμως ισορροπία στον χώρο που τους δίνεται. Η ιστορία της Εσθήρ, καταλαμβάνει το μεγαλύτερο μέρος του βιβλίου, είναι πιο ολοκληρωμένη, της δίνεται μια αρχή, μέση και τέλος, ενώ πλαισιώνεται από μια πιο ποικιλόμορφη σειρά από άλλους Εβραίους χαρακτήρες. Διάβασα άλλες κριτικές που βρήκαν την ιστορία της Νετζμά πιο ενδιαφέρουσα, αλλά νομίζω είναι απλώς πιο συμπυκνωμένη (δεν πλατειάζει όσο η ιστορία της Εσθήρ) και πιο σκληρή. Σε κάθε περίπτωση, ο συγγραφέας δεν φαίνεται να θέλει να πάρει κάποια θέση πάνω στο ζήτημα Ισραήλ- Παλαιστίνης ή να αναλύσει οτιδήποτε πιο διεξοδικά – το μήνυμά του περιορίζεται στα δεινά που περνάν οι άνθρωποι σε περιόδους πολέμου (οποιοδήποτε πολέμου) και της ανάγκης για ειρήνη. Το πιο κοντινό σε πολιτικό σχόλιο είναι μια μεταφορά για τον ήλιο: “Ο ήλιος δεν λάμπει τάχα για όλους;” ο οποίος λειτουργεί ως σύμβολο ελπίδας για την Εσθήρ και ως σύμβολο καταστροφής για την Νέτζμα. Η γραφή είναι πανέμορφη, αν και οι συμβολισμοί του γίνονται επαναλαμβανόμενοι από ένα σημείο και ύστερα. Η αφήγηση συχνά πλατειάζει. Οι χαρακτήρες είναι σχετικά μονοδιάστατοι. Γενικά, δεδομένου πόσα βιβλία υπάρχουν με τη συγκεκριμένη θεματική, δεν νομίζω πως αξίζει τον κόπο.
michelemybelle's review
2.0
This book was ok.
On the upside, the book explored the Arab/Israeli conflict from two different points of views, Le Clezio's descriptions of the refugee experience were heartbreaking and thought-provoking, his writing has a lyrical quality to it that can be lovely to read, and the book explores the "brief encounter" and how it can impact participants long after it actually happened.
The downside? The writing flows but the story does not- it goes from slow meandering to abrupt changes and back again. His lyrical quality sometimes disintegrated into vague insinuations that were frustrating to try to interpret. The story reads as though Le Clezio did not do as much research as he could have- he picked up some interesting facts (i.e. the Palestinian myth of the dejeune (sp?)), read some newspapers so he would get the names right, and wrote a story.
On the upside, the book explored the Arab/Israeli conflict from two different points of views, Le Clezio's descriptions of the refugee experience were heartbreaking and thought-provoking, his writing has a lyrical quality to it that can be lovely to read, and the book explores the "brief encounter" and how it can impact participants long after it actually happened.
The downside? The writing flows but the story does not- it goes from slow meandering to abrupt changes and back again. His lyrical quality sometimes disintegrated into vague insinuations that were frustrating to try to interpret. The story reads as though Le Clezio did not do as much research as he could have- he picked up some interesting facts (i.e. the Palestinian myth of the dejeune (sp?)), read some newspapers so he would get the names right, and wrote a story.
lukeskywalker's review against another edition
2.0
from a craft perspective, why were there random jumps from 1st to 3rd person pov with no warning? and from a story perspective, something about marketing the book as a story about both esther and nejma, but then only having one chapter from nejma, and only strange, forced-in mentions of her afterwards, made me kind of uncomfortable/rubbed me the wrong way.
regynalonglank's review against another edition
5.0
This is an amazing account of two women whose lives intersect. One woman's story is much easier to read than the other, although they are both tragic. His language for finding the humanity in warfare makes this writer's words sing.
sarah_dietrich's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful, sad and confronting. Missed the mark in a few minor ways.
nwhyte's review against another edition
3.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1406891.html
I was very impressed. Le Clézio tells the story of Esther, a Jewish girl displaced from France over the Alps to Italy and eventually to Israel in the mid-1940s; her story briefly touches on that of Nejda, a Palestinian girl who becomes a refugee as a result of the 1948 conflict. The book is beautifully expressive of both the geographical landscapes of the Alps and Palestine, and of the psychological landscape of displacement, homelessness, and building new ties. I did wish we had learned more about what happens to Nejda in the end, and was a bit disappointed that the last few chapters were about Esther's life decades later. But the pluses outweigh the minuses.
I was very impressed. Le Clézio tells the story of Esther, a Jewish girl displaced from France over the Alps to Italy and eventually to Israel in the mid-1940s; her story briefly touches on that of Nejda, a Palestinian girl who becomes a refugee as a result of the 1948 conflict. The book is beautifully expressive of both the geographical landscapes of the Alps and Palestine, and of the psychological landscape of displacement, homelessness, and building new ties. I did wish we had learned more about what happens to Nejda in the end, and was a bit disappointed that the last few chapters were about Esther's life decades later. But the pluses outweigh the minuses.
lottesuardi's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
jytteanne's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
kincardine's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5