Reviews

Man in the Holocene by Max Frisch

tfj's review

dark reflective sad fast-paced

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

Okay, ich muss umschwenken, weil in der Forschung mehr von Gewitter und zu wenig über gravitative Massenbewegungen stand, aber damit kenne ich mich ja auch aus. Also, neuer Fokus:

- Gravitative Massenbewegungen
- Wetter im Gebirge und am Gebirge
- Sekundärliteratur (angegeben) 
- Theologische Referenzen (christlich)
- Geologie
- Geomorphologie
- ein bisschen Katastrophenmanagement

Damit lässt sich aber was machen. Eine kleine Goldgrube für Geograph*innen, die mehrere Spaten bedient. Wettermäßig ein bisschen anders als der Rest, da v. a. Kombi aus Wetter/Geomorphologie. Sehr spannend! Jetzt fehlt nur noch die letzte Erzählung! 

zachary_w's review

challenging dark reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

patfield's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

annek1212's review

reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

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

3.5

homesick_for_mono's review against another edition

informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Feel like I need to re-read this in order to fully understand everything

zoeira's review

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Love the use of scale to conceptualize the passing of time in an ecocritical context

enoemo's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.25

There were some moments in this book that were incredibly profound, passages that almost made me cry. And then there were passages that were really hard to not just skim over - which as a deliberate choice to represent how the decay and feelings of elderly people are dismissed in society is brilliant, but it didn't feel too deliberate at all times. I'm not sure, I probably still need more time to process this. But I read it immediately in one sitting after visiting the "Flintridge" VR exhibit by F. Wiesel - which was inspired by the text - and it just made me understand and appreciate the layers of the experience even more. Reading this also made me think of Everywhere at the End of time by The Caretaker, this text feels like a literary pendant on a similar theme. Definitely a read with a subject matter that is worth a deep exploration.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Dementia

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death

lukija's review against another edition

Max Frisch: Ihminen ilmestyy holoseeniin (1979, Basam Books 2008 suom. Markku Mannila) / iäkäs leski herra Geiser asuu laaksossa Alppien hujakoilla ja kerää maanisen ensyklopedistisesti geologista ja paleontologista tietoa aiemmista maailmankausista. Sataa jatkuvasti ja kastanjoissa on syöpä. Tiet laaksoon ovat välillä poikki sekä puhelin mykkä ja sähköt sammuneet. Herra Geiser lähtee vuoristoretkelle ja muistelee toista. Kodin seinät täyttyvät mm. dinosaurusten kuvista. / Ihminen on pieni maailmankausien mittapuussa. Ihminen ihmisen määrittelemänä omaa erityisen selviytymiskyvyn arvioida historiaansa. Auttaako se ihmistä mahdollisen maailmankauden murtumakohdassa? Ihmisen aika lyhyt. / Lempilauseeni: "Katastrofin voi kokea vain ihminen, mikäli hän selviää siitä; luonto ei tunne katastrofeja."

brandonychoi's review

4.0

atmospheric, avant-garde, and chillingly fragmented
loved the extended metaphor of the erosion of nature being paralleled to the deteriorating mind of the narrator
took a bit for me to adjust to the unique structure of the book but once I did I couldn't put this book down
my personal fastest read of 2023

yasferatu's review

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0