Reviews

The Seventh Function of Language by Laurent Binet

jrmarr's review against another edition

3.0

I don’t know how I feel about this book. I enjoyed the mystery and detective story element of it, and I really liked the central characters and their relationship, but I found the philosophy hard to trudge through. An intriguing read that might have been easier to navigate at a different time.

saxonnefragile's review against another edition

3.0

Gonflé de prix littéraires (à commencer par le prix interallié), la Septième fonction du langage part de la mort de Roland Barthes, renversé par une camionnette, pour bâtir une conspiration avec espions, mafieux, politiques à la clé. Avec comme principaux acteurs, les post structuralistes et les tenants de la French Theory.
La fin du roman devient très méta de manière assez maladroite (Simon ne cesse de dire "si j'étais dans un roman"), il m'est cependant difficile de ne pas reconnaître un certain charme à l'ensemble, qui mélange vérité et fiction (ainsi Sollers se fait... castrer, Derrida meurt dans une joute avec un philosophe analytique) et qui m'a fait beaucoup pensé à "Le Pendule de Foucault" de Umberto Eco.

elina_stokvis's review against another edition

challenging lighthearted tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

hieronymusbotched's review against another edition

3.0

3.7

Well, it's no HHhH, and while there's no denying how clever it is, and Binet's well intentioned humor (he really never condescends to the reader), the plot simply doesn't hold up, which is a massive shame, because a murder mystery with basically every major French intellectual from the 20th century colliding in orbit should be the best kind of bananas.

But this book is just a bunch of normal bananas tied together with meta-fishing wire. Sometimes you get a really funny banana, but it's still a banana with wire in it.

Digression.

medieval_ist_reading's review

adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

paromita_m's review against another edition

adventurous challenging informative mysterious fast-paced

3.5

moriah541's review

3.0

This books weird, keeps you engaged to the last page and leaves you questioning.

balrog's review against another edition

3.5

Despite the high concept premise, the book ended up being half lectures about semiology and digs at the French intelligentsia of the 1980s. So much of it went completely over my head but I still found it compelling throughout.

Between this, Babel, and Biography of X, alternate history might be my new favourite genre?

lowercasepoet's review

adventurous challenging dark funny informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

kdmr's review

adventurous funny informative reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75