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airdog

fossilfranv@good.franv.site

Joined 3 years, 1 month ago

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Gehen, ging, gegangen (German language, 2015) 3 stars

How does one cope with the passing of time when forced to inactivity? How do …

Interesting but not earth shattering

3 stars

Everyday life viewed from the perspective of a retired Berlin professor and that of African refugees who are constantly pushed from country to country after having entered Europe through Lampedusa. They can work in Italy (their port of entrance) but there is no work to be had there and cannot work in any other country. Their daily life, as well as their past, is constantly intertwined with that of said professor bringing to light the unfathomable difference a few papers can make on a life.

Extinction (French language, 1990) 4 stars

From the late Thomas Bernhard, arguably Austria's most influential novelist of the postwar period, and …

Not for everyone

4 stars

This author has been described, on a commercial alternative to Bookwyrm as, "the dentist drill of literature". I have to admit that the description fits quite well. Bernhardt is famous for his endless sentences that repeat what has already been said many times before just a little bit differently. And to add to the "pain", he never, but never says anything positive. He's Austrian and criticizes his country to such a point that most of his compatriots have reacted very negatively to his novels. Personally, I liked it. By the way, I read it in German and noticed that the English edition has 250 pages and the German one 651 pages. Am I to assume that the English editors believed that English readers will not be able to stomach so many pages of reflections on life?

I don't know. In my case, it induced in me some kind of comfortable …

The Three-arched Bridge (Paperback, 1998, Harvill Press) 2 stars

The bards who stopped at the inn near the riverbank were forever being asked to …

Not my cup of tea

2 stars

Potentially very interesting subject: the building of a stone bridge in 14th century Balkans is almost a very simple chronicle with a few considerations about mythology and beliefs. This seems to me the opposite of the last book I read, which took a trivial anecdote and turned it into something magical, this one takes a very potentially rich subject and turns it into nothing.

The door (2005, Harvill Secker) 5 stars

A busy young writer struggling to cope with domestic chores, hires a housekeeper recommended by …

A masterpiece!

5 stars

Challenge for any writer: create an incredibly interesting novel from an absolutely trivial anecdote. I fell like a child reading a fairy tale, enchanted from beginning to end! Most young readers will not understand how it is possible for someone, apparently ordinary, to take almost mythological proportions in the eyes of others. Not so long ago, specially in smaller communities this happened sometimes which makes this book perfectly credible for me. And again, enchanting.

The Bezzle (2024) 4 stars

New York Times bestseller Cory Doctorow's The Bezzle is a high stakes thriller where the …

Leave your illusions at the checkroom

4 stars

I'm no expert but I have the feeling that what he describes of the American penal system is not totally fiction. Interesting book, forces you to look differently at the beauties of business and the availability of the law (everybody should know about the law but one doesn't get that konwledge for free).

Long Bright River (2020, Riverhead Books) 4 stars

KENSINGTON AVE, PHILADELPHIA:

THE FIRST PLACE YOU GO FOR DRUGS OR SEX. THE LAST PLACE …

Somewhat immersive novel about Philadelphia

4 stars

This, apparently, belongs to the category of literary thrillers. The author has obviously made extensive research about the city and while this really plunges us decidedly in the atmosphere it also has the downside of often stalling the action with long, elaborate descriptions. I'm not against descriptions, but the author has to keep in mind that these should be generated by the internal needs of the work, not by any external goal to provide atmosphere.

Honest Living (2022, Penguin Publishing Group) 4 stars

“Like the best noir practitioners, Murphy uses the mystery as scaffolding to assemble a world …

Ode to New York

4 stars

According to other sites most people didn't like this one very much. I, on the contrary loved it. The tone reminds one of Chandler's novels, although this one is taking place in NY around 2005. Also reminded me a lot of the movie Chinatown without the cynicism. The intrigue goes nowhere, we're talking long walks in various NY neighborhoods and meeting all kinds of interesting characteers, reminding me so much of the 2 years I worked there and did more or less the same. Incredible town, where you stop at any jazz joint and hear people jamming, for a handful of listeners the best music I've ever heard.

The Kellerby Code (2024, Faber & Faber, Limited) 3 stars

Edward is living in a world he can't afford and to which he doesn't belong. …

Interesting for the language

3 stars

Literary thriller which is interested more in demonstrating a (often boring) mastery of English than anything else.
For example:"The fug of evening heat, deoxy genated by too much conversation, was now crackling above the chocolate and the olive oil parfaits." This emphasis on language makes it tediously heavy with the intrigue starting well, getting lost in the middle to make a comeback for the last section.

HHhH (French language, 2009, Bernard Grasset) 2 stars

Deux parachutistes tchécoslovaques envoyés par Londres sont chargés d’assassiner Reinhard Heydrich, chef de la Gestapo, …

Très intéressant mais aussi très irritant

2 stars

L'intrigue principale devrait, et nous raconte, les événements qui ont conduit à l'assinat de Heydrich en 1942.

Laurent Binet inclut les détails importants mais c'est dommage de voir qu'il inclut également ses propres commentaires sur ce qu'il devrait inclure et ne pas inclure pour finalement inclure ou exclure, peu importe ce qu'il en a dit auparavant.

Je suppose que ses réflexions personnelles, toujours présentes, sont censées alléger quelque peu le ton du roman, mais dans mon cas, elles n'ont réussi qu'à rendre très irritante une histoire qui autrement m'aurait beaucoup intéressé.

Heart of Darkness 2 stars

Heart of Darkness (1899) is a novella by Polish-English novelist Joseph Conrad about a narrated …

For those who like metaphors

2 stars

This is a 110 pages book of metaphors, long metaphors, short ones, tortured ones and blistered ones.

Disappointing, I've been to Africa in the 60s and it's a beautiful but sometimes really hard world that is certainly worth much more than obscure metaphors.

For those interested in gaining a more insightful vision I highly recommend Romain Gary's Les racines du ciel.

Bonavia (2017, Impedimenta) No rating

The novel's going nowhere but roughly it takes us on many character's journeys through their …

Personally I like it very much but since the plot doesn't have a goal it might not appeal to everyone.

No rating

Reading the German translation of a not simple text. Just to give you an idea, tried translating the translation to English. Take it with a grain of salt:

"Marko observed her beloved face, it had barely any wrinkles. The past would only gradually be written into the white void, he thought. The area around the eyes will become darker, vision blurred by thick glasses. Yet, he was filled with quiet anticipation. The wisdom of dusk(Dämmerung). No fear of morning. He had said something to her about accompanying oneself with oneself. She reacted with a bon mot and did not further comment on the incidentally mentioned fact that not only his father but also his five-year-old son lived in Vienna. He had left empty-handed. They built their game there at the table in the Café Miró in Buda, each with their own combinations."

Hopefully this gives you an idea of the …

The salesman (1999, Picador USA) 3 stars

It's Dublin, June 1995, the hottest summer since records began. But Billy Sweeney, a middle-aged …

Not a thriller!

3 stars

Reading the blurb on the cover, one has the impression that this is going to be a revenge thriller or at least some kind of thriller. But not at all, this is a novel. For the first half of the book, one is intrigued, wondering where this is going to lead to. Then one becomes clear that this is not a revenge book, it's something else. Interesting nevertheless...

Stalker (Hardcover, 2016, Alfred A. Knopf) 2 stars

The much-anticipated fifth thriller in Lars Kepler's bestselling series featuring Joona Linna. Perfect for fans …

Fill the form thriller

2 stars

One has the feeling that this was, for the author, an assignment. Long stretches of text which seem obviously to be written to fill space, to reach the number of pages required by the teacher.

Not really my type.