Would have probably given it 3 stars if not for the more satisfying ending. Very nicely written, and makes you smirk a little about Nietzsche, too ;).Would have probably given it 3 stars if not for the more satisfying ending. Very nicely written, and makes you smirk a little about Nietzsche, too ;). (Which is a good thing for those of us who tend to eye-roll at his ideas just a little bit.)
This is a beautiful book for everyone who: a) enjoys reading about the times when now outdated psychoanalysis ideas were just being born (hello Freud and Jung). b) enjoys fiction about alternate life story scenarios and mid-life crisis-ing (Hey, what if I would have chosen another path for myself?) c) enjoys strongly built characters which really clash, conversationally (although the female characters in this book could/should be less cliches, I'm still willing to give the book this distinction). ...more
“Sometimes I can hear my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I'm not living.”
I won't rehash the plot(s) here, there are countless well-w“Sometimes I can hear my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I'm not living.”
I won't rehash the plot(s) here, there are countless well-written reviews doing just that. I'll say just that this book managed to re-open up my willingness to allow events and people and places to touch me. I've become so good at building walls, this is one of those really good 'what for?' wake-up calls....more
It took over half a year to finish this book, I couldn't seem to make it past the initial 50 pages, at first. It bored me beyond reason, thought readiIt took over half a year to finish this book, I couldn't seem to make it past the initial 50 pages, at first. It bored me beyond reason, thought reading it was supposed to be this gauntlet of patience in the face of post-modern mumbo-jumbo without a proper narrative line and so on. If you feel bored by the beginning of this book as well, trust me on it and just push through. I will get much better, I promise.
After the first 100-150 pages or so, the main narrative line reveals itself, a tale of a murder and of the family's children out to revenge their father. Somehow this deep Western vendetta story manages to connect all other disparate story lines and make the entire book whole. Once that story hooks you, you'll be fine to be dragged through an entire 1000 pages worth of every cultural space there was in the 1900s world and then some. The only storyline I'll confess I didn't enjoy very much was the one centered on the zeppelin boys, the Chums of Chance, coincidentally being also the one which opens the book (and which drove me away from plunging deeper into it, for a while).
As an added bonus, Against the Day will really drag you through a little taste of everything you can imagine. No exaggeration. Just read on and see. :)
---------------------------------------------------------- "Ah, I understand", murmured the imperial scapegrace. Turning to the room: "When Franz Ferdinand drinks", he cried, "everybody drinks!" Which helped restore a level of civility in the room, and soon even of cheer, as smart neckties were soaked in suds, the piano player came back from under the bar, and people in the room resumed dancing syncopated two-steps. After a while someone started singing "All Pimps Look Alike to Me", and half the room joined in. Lew, however, noticing the way the Archduke seemed to keep inching stealthily but unmistakably toward the street door, thought it wise to do the same. Sure enough, just before sliding out the door, Der F. F., with a demonic grin, screamed: "And when Franz Ferdinand pays, everybody pays!" whereupon he disappeared, and it was a near thing that Lew got out with his keester intact."...more
Loading...
