Scan barcode
everydayesterday's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
melcsim's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
mathias_arvidsson's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
Temporary review: First 1/3 of the book was 4/5 stars. Very intriguing and mysterious.
Second 1/3 of the book was 2/5 stars. A bit drawn out, felt like a reset of what had happened first. Wasn't sure it was leading anywhere. The repeated imagery and ominous tone kept things somewhat interesting.
Last 1/3 was 5/5 stars. Horrifying, beautiful, suspenseful. Amazing writing. Even a satisfying conclusion. Although Im not sure I quite understood all of it.
This book is somewhat similar to No Longer Human, and Confessions of a Mask, but doesn't reach their level as a whole. I think 3 stars is an appropriate rating.
Second 1/3 of the book was 2/5 stars. A bit drawn out, felt like a reset of what had happened first. Wasn't sure it was leading anywhere. The repeated imagery and ominous tone kept things somewhat interesting.
Last 1/3 was 5/5 stars. Horrifying, beautiful, suspenseful. Amazing writing. Even a satisfying conclusion. Although Im not sure I quite understood all of it.
This book is somewhat similar to No Longer Human, and Confessions of a Mask, but doesn't reach their level as a whole. I think 3 stars is an appropriate rating.
parizaad's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
"Idle thoughts! Perhaps. Yet they torment me more savagely than any reality could do."
oh, what a work of breathtaking prose—haunting, poetic, and deeply unsettling but wtf was that portrayal of pedophilia and misogyny in the narrative? I wonder if this is how the world appears to the alcoholic, the drug-addicted, the disillusioned.
Maybe I needed to smoke opium to fully grasp the surrealism Hedayat was after. But I won’t ever see his nightmare since I’m one of the unlucky ones—too sober to escape reality.
Reading Hedayat, Kafka, and Manto in the same month feels like a self-inflicted punishment. Heaven know I am a miserable man now.
oh, what a work of breathtaking prose—haunting, poetic, and deeply unsettling but wtf was that portrayal of pedophilia and misogyny in the narrative? I wonder if this is how the world appears to the alcoholic, the drug-addicted, the disillusioned.
Maybe I needed to smoke opium to fully grasp the surrealism Hedayat was after. But I won’t ever see his nightmare since I’m one of the unlucky ones—too sober to escape reality.
Reading Hedayat, Kafka, and Manto in the same month feels like a self-inflicted punishment. Heaven know I am a miserable man now.
mariavdl's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ariesbookshelf's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
glenncolerussell's review against another edition
5.0
A friend once told me Sadegh Hedayat wanted the book itself to be the experience and not a book about an experience. I couldn’t agree more. So what was my Blind Owl experience? With every page I felt as if I was spiraling down through my subconscious and unconscious until I plunged into the collective unconscious. A female figure in a black cloak and a meeting of eyes, shinny, alluring, sensuous eyes – the anima? Another turn and there's an ancient old man with white hair and long white beard with the index finger of his left hand pressed against his lips – the wisdom archetype? And yet another turn and I was walking in a fantastic landscape of trees and hills of geometrical shapes: cylinders, perfect cones, truncated cones – a dream or hallucination? And there are the eyes again and the ancient old man with his index finger pressed against his lips – a dream or hallucination or a reading of The Blind Owl? I put the book down and walk outside and the landscape is fantastic: all the trees and hills are cylinders, perfect cones and truncated cones, and I see up ahead a female figure in a cloak. I was warned by Porochista Khakpour in her preface to The Blind Owl. And now you’ve been warned.
lexybear's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0