Reviews with content warning for Death - The Blind Owl

Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat

13 reviews

hannxm's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

An unusual book, that's pretty dark and depressing, with somewhat outdated themes. It's literary fiction so they don't always make much sense, but I could still appreciate the artistry of the writing, and there were some really notable and thought provoking philosophical sentences said by the protagonist.

The book is much more interesting when you know the story of the author's life. It felt like I was really listening to the thoughts of the author, not the MC.

I listened to the Spotify audiobook which was excellently read, but is why I don't have any highlights to share.

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sas_lk's review

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challenging dark

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Someone said this book was a trip, and yes, it was just that.

"I was conscious of a relationship between me and the pulsation of nature, between me and the profound night which had descended upon my spirit. This silence is a language which we do not understand. My head began to swim in a kind of intoxication."

There were so many insanely beautiful I think I highlighted half of the book.
Although I not vibe with the misogyny.

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deathmetalheron's review

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challenging dark funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Since I restarted reading, I have been searching for this book, or rather, one much like it. The Blind Owl succeeds in all three aspects of great fiction--the story is gripping and interesting, the themes are poignant and relevant, and the prose is astounding and powerful. It's hard to look at this story and truly unpack it and find each little piece.
Even in its presentation, the book seeks to alienate and confuse the reader--there are five chapters, but only really 2 and 4 share 90% of the written text. The other three are short set pieces and framing devices. By the end of both the core chapters, Hadeyat starts to repeat passages of text, forcing the reader to go back and question whether they've read--and suddenly you realize you're going insane as you read the book, as reading the text itself simulates the same descent of insanity as the reader. The dramatic irony thickens in Chapter 4 when you see images repeat themselves in such a mundane fashion, and they are paced so well throughout the story you forget that they are coming--cypress trees, bone-handled knives, laughing so hard you get goosebumps--these moments all sing together in harmony, terrorizing the reader completely while the character himself exists in total unawareness.

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kabornman's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

4.0

A very trippy book - reminded me of You Dreamed of Empires. The least reliable of all narrators and the line between past and present, memory and reality, madness and sanity slowly disappears. I’d definitely like to read this again some time.

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a_davis's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

2.75

I didn’t really get this. I had a general idea of what took place at the end, and I really liked the repeated imagery since it helped track the character’s progression into madness, but I have no idea what the narrative was about.

I very much want to try revisiting this after I’ve read some interpretations of it, and historically and culturally contextualized it

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