I’ll start with what is no small merit of this book: it is completely different in both form and content from the bestselling and much-discussed A LitI’ll start with what is no small merit of this book: it is completely different in both form and content from the bestselling and much-discussed A Little Life. This means that Yanagihara is capable of writing variegated things, and that’s quite something. But what does this novel offer? Well, that's just the issue. There are three parts, each set in New York, but in a different time period: the first in the 1890s, the second in the 1990s, and the third part in a dystopian future, until 2094. In all In those periods, main characters with the same name appear, but each time in a different role. That sounds suspiciously similar to what Michael Cunningham did in Specimen Days, and it's true, Yanagihara admits she took inspiration from him. But what is the connecting theme? Homosexual relationships play a prominent role in the three parts, at least especially those between men; they are even considered normative. Interesting, you would think, but it is strange that the homosexual men are not so commendably depicted: almost all of them are extremely wealthy, very hedonistic, and in the first part even downright racist.
But perhaps Yanagihara was more concerned with portraying alternate realities? The first part is a very attractive Victorian novel, in the style of Henry James; it is set in the wealthy Free States, which have seceded from the rest of America, that has descended into barbarism. The second part focuses on the AIDS epidemic, and also on the loss of Hawaii's independence to the United States. And the third part sketches a very dystopian society, a police state, that seems to be succumbing to climate changes and successive epidemics. I have to say: I don't see the connection. Unless perhaps that in each of the parts the main character is a rather weak person, who is very dependent on a family member (usually the grandfather) and who does not have a very good view of reality. Yanagihara admirably stresses the caring interaction between those family members, so perhaps that is where the core message lies? I don’t know. All in all, this is an interesting cocktail with many spicy elements, but as a whole it doesn't work, especially because the author has developed some storylines very extensively, to the point of being boring. This book clearly lacked an editorial touch. Rating part 1 3.5 stars, part 2 2 stars and part 3 3 stars, clearly a mixed bag....more
Dystopian science fiction that is actually more like a psychological novel, about a writer so desperately longing to have a child that he 'buys' a robDystopian science fiction that is actually more like a psychological novel, about a writer so desperately longing to have a child that he 'buys' a robot-girl. Auke Hulst can write, sure, but he pushes his storyline a little too far and his psychological story gets drowned in too much whining and cheap sci-fi tricks. Not yet translated, therefore Dutch review below.
Auke Hulst is zonder twijfel een kundig schrijver, dat toont hij absoluut in deze lijvige roman. Oppervlakkig gezien zou je dit verhaal kunnen bestempelen als dystopische science-fiction: het speelt zich af in 2032 binnen de ‘Stad’, waarmee duidelijk de huidige Randstad wordt bedoeld, met een streng controlerende overheid en restricties op verplaatsingen naar het buitengebied, dat ontvolkt is als gevolg van aardbevingen. Maar dit is in de eerste plaats toch een psychologische roman. Hulst voert zichzelf op als een schrijver die getraumatiseerd is door de afgesprongen relatie met zijn vriendin Mila, en vooral door de abortus die Mila heeft laten uitvoeren toen ze zwanger was van hem.
Enkele jaren later koopt hij via een Japanse firma een robot-meisje, Scottie, dat ‘gekweekt’ is met dna van de geaborteerde baby, en dat nu effectief functioneert als de dochter die hij nooit had. De interactie tussen vader Auke en surrogaatdochter Scottie is best interessant en soms zelfs vermakelijk. Ook filosofische bespiegelingen over Artificial Intelligence en over de act van het schrijven openen regelmatig interessante vergezichten. Maar Hulst verliest zich echt in oneindig gelamenteer en geneuzel van het personage Hulst over de verbroken relatie en het gemis van de geaborteerde baby. Uiteraard is zo’n trauma best begrijpelijk en niet te onderschatten, maar na tientallen pagina’s neurotisch gezeur, begon het wel op mijn zenuwen te werken.
Ongeveer een derde in het boek verrast Hulst dan wel even door een roman in een roman aan te bieden, het verhaal dat personage Hulst aan het schrijven is over een afgesprongen, intense relatie tussen een koppel, inclusief geaborteerd kind. Je raadt het al, dit is een vorm van therapeutisch schrijven die in het begin wel aardig is, - je merkt voortdurend overeenkomsten op met het wedervaren van het personage Hulst -, maar opnieuw verzandt dit in zwelgend zelfmedelijden. Op het moment dat schrijver Hulst dan het personage Hulst een tijdssprong laat maken, met de bedoeling wat verkeerd gegaan is recht te zetten, hield ik het voor bekeken. Ik ben dus maar halfweg geraakt, al waren we toen al 300 bladzijden ver. Zoals gezegd, Auke Hulst kan zeker schrijven, en heeft ook wel wat te vertellen, zowel psychologisch als filosofisch, maar dit geval heeft hij verdronken in teveel gezeur en goedkope scifi-wendingen....more
This book contains enough ingredients to make it into an interesting story. Both the name of the main character and the labyrinthine world that ClarkeThis book contains enough ingredients to make it into an interesting story. Both the name of the main character and the labyrinthine world that Clarke presents to us from the start, are inevitably reminiscent of strange etchings by the 18th century Italian artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi. A number of apocalyptic elements (such as the 'frozen' statues and the mysterious messages) refer to dystopian novels and Borges' fantasies. Clarke also does not shy away from philosophical references, and even lets her narrator Piranesi and his opposite, the Other, conduct short but genuine philosophical dialogues. The perspectivism of Plato's cave allegory and the allusions to the narrative tool of the unreliable narrator also make this story an interesting cocktail. It all seems strange and mysterious, but it works. At least in the first half of the book. Unfortunately, after that the story fades into a mystery and adventure novel, which reminded me a lot of G.K. Chesterton and Robert Louis Stevenson. This is certainly not badly written, but I remained a little underwhelmed. Rating 2.5 stars...more
“Here, a little story about cats”, that was the laconic note with which the Austrian writer Marlen Haushofer (1920-1970) sent the manuscript of this n“Here, a little story about cats”, that was the laconic note with which the Austrian writer Marlen Haushofer (1920-1970) sent the manuscript of this novel to her publisher in 1962. That is typical for her dry, non-sentimental yet precarious approach to her own work and to life in general. Haushofer is one of those underestimated authors who are rediscovered every few decades by a select group of readers but - unjustifiably - still fail to secure a place in the literary pantheon. In her case, perhaps this was due to her gender, her deliberately chosen invisibility, but also her non-spectacular style.
This booklet, for example, tells the story of the survival of an almost 50-year-old woman in an Alipine mountain region after suddenly being closed off from the outside world by a huge glass wall; the rest of the world seems extinct. The woman (we will never learn her name) tells how, after her initial bewilderment, she makes every effort to stay alive within her secluded domain. She succeeds with perseverance, ingenuity and hard work. So this looks like a variation on the Robinson Crusoe story, and it certainly is. But it is also very different.
Only little by little do we learn a bit more about the history of this woman and her view on life. Seems that she was at the stage where she no longer had any illusions, and might have fallen into a depression; she writes very derogatory about her past life, and, actually, she is happy that she no longer has to face other people. In that sense, the wall is also a desirable event, a blessing. The gender aspect is also regularly touched upon: she occasionally muses about her subordinate, caring role in her family, and the fear that in her isolation a man would show up who would treat her again as a servant.
Instead, she develops a close bond with the few animals that happen to surround her: especially the dog Luchs, a cat that gives birth to a few young, and the cow Bella with her bull calf. This book is a wonderful example of a topic that has become very fashionably these days within a posthumanist framework: "The barriers between animals and humans fall very easily", she writes. That is what makes this 60-year-old book so topical, next to the form of isolation we are experiencing during the current Covid-pandemic.
Much of the text the unnamed protagonist is writing down, is dedicated to the precise description of her practical activities, mowing the lawn for hay, planting a potato field, picking berries, shooting game, sitting in the sun or in the forest for hours…. The style is sober and above all chronicle-like, not at all sentimental, on the contrary, rather sobering. This expresses the woman's state of mind very well, but it makes the reading sometimes quite tough, bordering tedious (perhaps also because I read this in the original German).
Yet the book continued to captivate me. Because there are regularly touching passages about the interaction with her animals, descriptions of the great mountainous views, and occasional reveries about her special situation. Her 'standing out of time', the senselessness of embellishing yourself now that there are no other people to look at you, and the eternal conversation that every person has with himself, are just a few philosophical musings that spice up this story. “Basically, these thoughts are completely irrelevant. Things are just happening, and I seek, like millions of people before me, a meaning in them, because my vanity will not allow one to admit that the whole meaning of an event lies in itself. "
And then there’s the sudden and quite shocking end, that really touched me (no spoiler here). It emphasized the poignant situation of the woman - and by extension of mankind in general - once again. What remains is entering into a dialogue with yourself (“der Selbstsprache”), in order not to go mad. Curiously enough, this novel starts with precisely that reasoning, when the woman offers the motive for writing down her memories: “I took on this task because it is supposed to save me from staring into the twilight and being afraid. Because I am afraid. That fear tickles toward me from all sides, and I don't want to wait for it to reach and overwhelm me. I will write until it gets dark, and this new, unfamiliar job is supposed to make my head tired, empty and sleepy. I'm not afraid of the morning, only of the long, dim afternoons.” This does hit a sensitive chord, doesn't it: aren't we all afraid of the long, dim afternoons? This book sometimes is a tough chunk, but it is a beautifully written and a succinct, very modern story. Rating 3.5 stars...more
The right to be different To be absolutely clear: this is not a religious book, it isn't even about Jesus. On the contrary, this rather is a very dist The right to be different To be absolutely clear: this is not a religious book, it isn't even about Jesus. On the contrary, this rather is a very disturbing novel, I would call it a dystopia.
For starters there’s the setting: a vague country, where people arrive by boat, as refugees, "washed clean" of their past. The main characters, the older man Simon and the little David (the boy he took care of during the boat trip), are such refugees. The order in the new country is consciously left impersonal and invisible, but there are clear laws, such as social differentiation (beautiful residential neighborhoods, poor social neighborhoods, refugee camps, etc.) and a very bureaucratic culture where the rules of what is right and what not are omnipresent (very Kafkaian). The people in this country compensate for this by a striking attitude of "benevolence" towards each other and towards the existing order: everyone behaves neatly, even to a certain extent helps others, but without warmth, without feeling, as from an obvious duty.
Simon and David expose this benevolence culture and go against the tide. In the first part of the novel Simon continually questions the fundaments of the social order. In fact, he stands for the passionate man, who wants more than formal contact, respect, and benevolence; and he always craves for more both intellectually, emotionally, sexually and even in the labour process; and he passionately pleads for the individual's right to want more. But with that he clashes with the benevolent indifference of the officials he comes in contact with, with his fellow dock workers, and with his neighbours in the barracks assigned to him.
To me, the Simon figure is the most captivating figure of this intriguing novel. He is perhaps a bit tedious and paternalistic, but he is also a kind of a Socrate, "a louse in the fur" that drives everyone around him to improbable philosophical conversations. With his fellow dock workers, for example, he talks about good and evil, progress and the meaning of labor, the idea of justice and the elusiveness of history. In these discussions the others accept the natural obviousness of the existing order as a reasonable, rational organization, but Simon doesn't agree.
And then there is the little David, who - in his own way - also challenges the existing order; but he's a character that we, as the reader, barely get a grip on. Sometimes he is an angelic boy who charmes people, but he can also be a son of bitch who stubbornly locks into his own imagination and always wants to be right. For instance, he has his own system of reading, writing and arithmetic, which of course causes him to clash with the school where he is going.
I do not know what to think of this guy, and I think this is intended by Coetzee. Of course, because of that title, you constantly ask yourself: is David an alternative Jesus? And Coetzee cunningly gives small indications to justify that identification: the name of foster father Simon, is a clear reference to Simon-Peter (the most important disciple of Jesus), David’s foster mother Ines is a virgin who always wears blue, and together they form a kind of saint family who flees at the end of the novel. And also the dead horse that, according to David, can become alive again after 3 days is a clear reference to the Christ story, etc. But on many occasions, in the novel, David is just presented as an insatiable spoiled child.
Some (see the review by Vincent Blok on Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) propose a way of reading this novel in which David stands for the singularity that opposes the universal, the individual that opposes the rational organization of society, and demands the right to its own perspective and experience. In this sense he is in line with the portrait I sketched of the older Simon. And there is something to be said for that. With this novel Coetzee would thus offer us a critical view on our culture, which suggests that in our overordered and hyper-rationalist society there apparently is no place for deviant opinions and other ways of living. And that is certainly a relevant message.
I must say that I am not fully convinced. The thesis certainly stands for the first half of the novel, especially because of the stubborn, often very philosophically charged questions that Simon continually asks. But with the whole fuss about the little David in the second half of the novel, Coetzee goes a step further. It seems as if we are going from a Kafkaian atmosphere into a more surreal, beckettian environment. Because of this transition even the stubborn Simon is forced into a defensive role, when he tries to teach David the basic principles of interaction between people, and demonstrates the need for transparent rules for reading, writing and arithmetic. David continues to stubbornly reject it, and that makes it hard to follow his logic.
At the end of the novel, old Simon seems to offer us a key by moving into David's mind, "But what if we are wrong and he is right?" He says to his colleague Eugenio. "Suppose this boy is the only one who really sees through it?" It is clear that Coetzee wants to get us out of our comfort zone with this contradiction. And he certainly succeeded in that. It makes me very curious about the next part The Schooldays of Jesus....more
I am not the first to say this, I know, but the dystopian novel is a real hype, lately (and these corona-times certainly aren't going to change that).I am not the first to say this, I know, but the dystopian novel is a real hype, lately (and these corona-times certainly aren't going to change that). In the wake of the television series based on Margaret Atwood's Handsmaid Tale (1985) numerous authors venture into the genre. So now Louise Erdrich too, and this book occupies a very special place in her oeuvre.
Of course, like in her other books, this one also has several links to Native American culture: The protagonist, the 26-year-old Cedar (Mary) Hawk Songmaker, is related to the Ojibwe tribe, near Minnesota; as an adoption child she grew up in a very progressive family. In the course of the story she seeks out her original family, which, like Erdrich's previous novels, provides both a disturbing and intriguing insight into the life and magic of the Native American world.
What about dystopia? Initially this remains relatively limited. The pregnant Cedar begins to write letters to her unborn child, because there are vague indications of things going wrong in the world, especially in nature. There are references to climate shifts, but especially to peculiar natural phenomena, such as the return of disappeared animal species (the saber-toothed tiger, and even a dynosaurus species). As central authority collapses (it is not clear why), there are rumours that natural evolution has stalled and is moving in reverse. And so we end up directly with Cedar and her unborn child.
In the long first part, those dystopian elements remain in the background and the story focuses almost entirely on the rediscovery of Cedar's original family. But especially in the second part, there is a rapid succession of dramatic twists, which are the result of the hunt on pregnant women by fundamentalist Christian militias who meanwhile are in charge. Of course, you can't help but think of Atwood here. And certainly the ending of the novel almost seems like a copy of the Handsmaid Tale.
Compared to Atwood, Erdrich gives much stronger ecological accents and her protagonist is also much nicer, more optimistic. The magical-realistic elements from Native American culture also give this novel its own character. But still you are left with the question what exactly was Erdrich's message, and to what extent it differs or not from Atwood's. In addition, some twists in the story are very unlikely, some interesting characters (such as surrogate father Eddy) remain underexposed, other characters look very much like cardboard and the style varies of Cedar’s letters varies between Young Adult and a philosophical tract about the place of man in evolution. Though some passages are unparalleled and remind us of the better Erdrich novels, at the end this book leaves you with much loose ends and the uncomfortable question what all this really meant. I guess it didn’t resonate with me, but still, this is Erdrich, so 2 stars....more
Update: in these corona/covid19-times this dystopia absolutely is relevant. Perhaps, or better, hopefully, we're not going to go the way of the 'MethoUpdate: in these corona/covid19-times this dystopia absolutely is relevant. Perhaps, or better, hopefully, we're not going to go the way of the 'Method' like in this book, but I guess 'social distancing' and 'quarantine measures' in some way are going to be part of our future.
Normally I'm not a fan of the genre of dystopia, but this is a very successful example. I think it even is a nice 21st-century variant on Huxley's Brave New World. Especially the basic concept – a world in which physical health takes precedence over anything else – is cleverly worked out. And, of course, like with Huxley, the intrigue evolves around people who cannot live with that coercion.
Zeh presents a world, somewhere around the middle of the 21st century, in which everyone has to adhere to 'The Method': people at all time must submit their medical data to the government and proof that they are doing everything to keep healthy (through records of daily exercises). The novel follows the young scientist Mia Holl who tries to fit in, but at the same time is revolting against this 'health obsessed' regime.
Fortunately, Zeh does not present a completely black & white portrait of this world: the rebellious good ones also have their drawbacks and the ruling Methodists (mostly) can also see the negative sides of their system. Also positive is that the book is short enough to stimulate the reflection on the problem of regulation and free will, without to be pushy (which was the case in the previous books by Zeh). I only questioned the role of the "ideal lover" in the beginning, which to me is an annoying magical-realistic element, and especially questioned the role of Heinrich Kramer who is presented as a kind of supreme authority, but also acts as a (very hypocritical) journalist. A journalist as Supreme Conscious of the world? My God, the chills are running down my spine!...more
Halfway through this book I thought I'd shut it down, because it seemed to go nowhere. Fortunately, I didn't do it. In essence these are the memoires Halfway through this book I thought I'd shut it down, because it seemed to go nowhere. Fortunately, I didn't do it. In essence these are the memoires of a about 40-year-old nurse Kathy H. about her time in a boarding school and the period after that. Back then she had a triangular relationship with her friends Ruth and Tommy. Kathy tells us about an endless list of conversations and incidents, recording the responses of the others in great detail and constantly expressing her own feelings.
I have to admit that after a while, this is quite enerving, because you wonder where the hell Ishiguro is heading to. But eventually this method of story telling, through the eyes of Kathy, gets a value in itself. It shows how we (or most of us) are constantly assessing the people we are confronted with, - certainly those who are close to us -, interpreting their remarks and body language, sometimes misunderstanding them, and adapting our own behavior to this perception. This gives an at first estranging but ultimately very realistic picture of how people interact, constantly changing from open to closed, from sympathetic to bitish, from lovingly to crooked, from empathetic to angry, and vice versa, always, or better usually, starting afresh. It's fascinating how Ishiguro brings this to life.
And then, of course, there is the meta-story, which I'm not going to say much about, because this is only released haphazardly in the novel. Let's say that this layer has a science fiction-like character, although I do not think this was really Ishiguro's aim. And on top of that it sketches an important social-ethical issue. I apologize for the vagueness of this description, but I don't want to spoil your reading pleasure. That ethical aspect is, in turn, quite intriguing because the main characters do not seem to be aware of the abnormal situation in which they live their life, at least abnormal to our current standards. Over time, the story turns out to be a dystopia, reminding us of "A Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood, sketching a future society where something really has gone wrong.
But then again Ishiguro in fact is misleading us: just as this story isn't really science fiction, it also neither is a real dystopia. It's more about ordinary people coping with the human condition, just little players in a game they don't control and don't understand, making the best of it. It's fantastic how Ishiguro hided this layer behind a very misleading curtain!
For the first time since "The Remains of the Day," Ishiguro made a strong impression on me, even though the reading process wasn't always pleasant. I'm only disappointed about the last chapter, in which Ishiguro thought it necessary to explain everything explicitly. That spoiled the beautiful magic that pervades this story. (rating: 3 1/2 stars)...more
Six stories that suddenly break off (except the 6th), stories and episodes chronologically divided between the mid-19th century and a very distant futSix stories that suddenly break off (except the 6th), stories and episodes chronologically divided between the mid-19th century and a very distant future. Each story turns out to have a function in the following. Half way through, the interrupted stories are continued and brought to an end. Mitchell has put this ingeniously together, in each story a different world is evoked, each in a accustomed style. Some of the stories are intriguing and charming (the 6th, for example, is written in a very difficult, primitive style, but gradually you come into the story and you develop sympathy for the main character-storyteller), but others are so badly written (for example, the 3rd story in airport novel-style) that they really repel. And you keep asking yourself: what is the purpose of it all, this show? With some creativity in each of the stories you can detect the theme of ' barbarism and civilization ', but then you really have to have some imagination. No, however ingenious this postmodernist dystopia is, it did not resonate with me....more
Extreme situations bring out the worst in people, but also the best; thus, for writers they are great storylines. Saramago’s variation on this theme iExtreme situations bring out the worst in people, but also the best; thus, for writers they are great storylines. Saramago’s variation on this theme is about a group of people, an entire city actually, that suddenly and for unexplained reasons become blind. He follows 7 characters in particular; they are first put in quarantine, but can break out; with them there is 1 woman who can still see (for equally obscure reasons) but she keeps that hidden, which of course is very useful for the others, but also for us, the readers because we see things developing through her eyes.
Initially Saramago describes endearing, even amusing scenes of clumsy, helpless people suddenly struck by blindness. But then the atmosphere gets grim and predictably turns into something very negative: big chaos, survival instincts emerge, people who abuse the situation, and downright gruesome scenes of rape and murder. Saramago illustrates how everything we take for granted can suddenly fall away, and there's no distinction any more between good and evil, "homo homini lupus" or "l'enfer c'est les autres", man as the worst enemy of himself. He does this in his well-known style, with long meandering phrases, dialogues without clear punctuation, and with continuous comments on human behavior. This book is certainly worth reading as a variation on "La Peste" by Camus, Sartre's "Huis Clos" or "Lord of the Flies" by Golding.
But still, “Blindness" disappointed me somewhat, especially in comparison with these illustrious predecessors. Perhaps this is because by now this is my 5th Saramago, and I have become a little tired of his stereotypical style; especially in this book the constant sarcastic remarks became a bit overdone and repetitive. I also think that he has not used all possibilities of the story: the main characters remain fairly shallow, as moving dolls (they also have no name); the mutual interaction could have been more intensive in function of the theme "the worst and the best",- now only the seeing woman is the sole representative of the good, but even she downplays her own role continually - ; and finally, I can imagine that the very negative interpretation of the term blindness (as if that automatically implies a state of primitiveness and evilness) can be very demeaning to real blind people.
On this last point, Saramago has defended himself with the argument that it's all meant allegorically, as an illustration of the fact that we are all “seeing blind” and unaware that the obviousness that we assume around us, the natural framework in which we live, in reality is artificial and superficial. In that sense, I read the book as a warning that we must cherish and defend our humanity, just because it is but a thin layer and can very easily disappear....more
This is one of the more interesting, but at the same time also one of the worst written novels I've read in recent years! The storyline is simple and This is one of the more interesting, but at the same time also one of the worst written novels I've read in recent years! The storyline is simple and predictable, the characters are superficial, the dialogues are horribly simplistic and the descriptive parts just clumsy. I might be exaggerating a bit, but it's quite remarkable that a publisher presents this book as literature. Nevertheless the actual content of the story really is interesting, so much so that I kept on reading till the end. Eggers focusses on the increasing grasp of social media, and presents a dystopian vision of where they can lead us. Now, I acknowledge the benefits social media have brought us (Goodreads is a very fine example), but their monopolistic and sectarian character really is a danger, especially so because lots of people just want to conform and aren't conscious of what they're doing. Eggers has done a fine job in presenting us with a clear warning, although he clearly is a lousy writer. So, I guess, 2 stars is an honourable rating....more
One of the best dystopian works ever A woman, living in a great city, somewhere in the future, after some catastrophe has hit the earth, observes how sOne of the best dystopian works ever A woman, living in a great city, somewhere in the future, after some catastrophe has hit the earth, observes how society slowly collapses and living turns into surviving. Suddenly a 12-year-old girl is put into her custody, and a very subtle relationship develops between the two. We see how the girl, Emily (Emile < Rousseau?) gets to know the hard facts of life in a very short period of time.
Doris Lessing really succeeds in mixing the different themes (surviving in a collapsing society, the growing barbarism, educating a puberal girl) into a very readable whole. There is also a touch of magical-realism through some dreamy scenes ("behind the wall") that literally add an extra psychological dimension. All in all a very impressive book; I especially loved the subtle, very detached tone of the narrating woman. Only the sudden end of the novel is a bit disappointing....more
Mixed feelings about this classic dystopia. The story itself is rather shallow, with very little excitement, especially after chapter 9; the sudden tuMixed feelings about this classic dystopia. The story itself is rather shallow, with very little excitement, especially after chapter 9; the sudden turnaround of the main character is not plausible. But even after 80 years this remains a very powerful vision of the future, a brilliant meditation on man and excessive society-control. (rating 2.5 stars)...more
Even even after the fall of Soviet Communism this novel remains an impressive book. The vision on the future is outlined in detail in an hallucinatingEven even after the fall of Soviet Communism this novel remains an impressive book. The vision on the future is outlined in detail in an hallucinating way. There are only few weak points: the romantic story line is a bit thin and some documentary fragments are rather dull. But that is amply compensated by the build up of tension that culminates into the cruel scenes of torture and the sobering "healing" of the main character....more
Beautiful iconic story about how hard it is to keep up civilization in difficult conditions. Wonderful find of Golding to just let the "most innocent"Beautiful iconic story about how hard it is to keep up civilization in difficult conditions. Wonderful find of Golding to just let the "most innocent" of creatures, that is children, derail. There is a continuous tension between the heavenly exotic setting and the spiraling decline of the mutual relationships. One of the top 20 stories of the 20th century. I'm aware of the critique on Golding's take (see Rutger Bregman's Humankind: A Hopeful History): it expresses a fundamental pessimistic view on human nature, and one can surely disagree with that from a philosophical point of view. But as a literary exploit, this is unique....more
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