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reaffirmsfaith's review against another edition
4.0
A 3 that'll likely become a 4 once I've discussed it and gone through the introduction, bloody hell. It does out Poe Poe, and even the marginally more realistic second half is still clouded in opium hallucinations and madness.
sara_boll's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
oana_dragomir_'s review against another edition
1.0
For some reason this just did not do it for me, although I could have sworn I was going to like it
thisismahnaz's review against another edition
4.0
من اینو سه چهار سال پیش خوندم. چرا اومده بالای بالای لیستم
bloodcamp's review against another edition
dark
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
4.0
hux's review against another edition
2.0
Painfully underwhelming.
I know a lot of people rave about this book so my expectations were high. But I found it utterly mundane, oppressive, and devoid of emotion. In theory, it ought to appeal to me; an opium fueled fever dream of repetition and prose, a swirling descent into madness and surrealism. And as much I loved the idea of his perspective being lost in a haze of vague interpretation and illusion, the murder of his wife, his whore, set to a backdrop of obscured memory, unreliable narration, and confusion, the fact remains... I was so thoroughly bored by its sheer banality.
There's something interesting here to be sure, something unique and worth exploring, but it simply drags on in a monotonous tone of drab half-formed stream of consciousness. If you're going to do that then the writing needs to be significantly better than this (I will assume the translation was an additional hurdle).
Even the fact that it's short doesn't help. It only adds to the sense that something meaningful needs to arrive sooner rather than later. But it never does. The whole book felt like a slog to me, only a brief moment towards the end possessing a lyrical fluidity which is lacking everywhere else. But even that doesn't last. As much as I like the themes of the book (as well as the subverted narrative style), the fact remains I need to be engaged... and I just wasn't. I might go back to it in the future (an alternative translation perhaps) but it's not a priority.
I know a lot of people rave about this book so my expectations were high. But I found it utterly mundane, oppressive, and devoid of emotion. In theory, it ought to appeal to me; an opium fueled fever dream of repetition and prose, a swirling descent into madness and surrealism. And as much I loved the idea of his perspective being lost in a haze of vague interpretation and illusion, the murder of his wife, his whore, set to a backdrop of obscured memory, unreliable narration, and confusion, the fact remains... I was so thoroughly bored by its sheer banality.
There's something interesting here to be sure, something unique and worth exploring, but it simply drags on in a monotonous tone of drab half-formed stream of consciousness. If you're going to do that then the writing needs to be significantly better than this (I will assume the translation was an additional hurdle).
Even the fact that it's short doesn't help. It only adds to the sense that something meaningful needs to arrive sooner rather than later. But it never does. The whole book felt like a slog to me, only a brief moment towards the end possessing a lyrical fluidity which is lacking everywhere else. But even that doesn't last. As much as I like the themes of the book (as well as the subverted narrative style), the fact remains I need to be engaged... and I just wasn't. I might go back to it in the future (an alternative translation perhaps) but it's not a priority.
alevis's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- 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
3.0
ferzemkhan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
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
3.5
Beautifully written and evokes uncomfortability on every page, but left me as uncaring and cold towards the narrator as the narrator himself seemed to be.
ohkrasias's review against another edition
1.0
i never want to read anything comparing anything to the end of a cucumber ever again
(did enjoy this line though, it's 10/10: If it’s true that everyone has a star up in the heavens, then my star must be dark, far, and meaningless—maybe I didn’t have a star at all.
(did enjoy this line though, it's 10/10: If it’s true that everyone has a star up in the heavens, then my star must be dark, far, and meaningless—maybe I didn’t have a star at all.
melissa_cosgrove's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A misanthropic, brilliant, opium-fueled fever dream of a book. Disturbing, enchanting, and haunting, it reads like a bad trip with themes and phrases and images spiraling and repeating. Like watching a person’s psyche spin in circles in the dark and then collapse in on itself.