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sidharthvardhan's review against another edition
4.0
A sort of lite Beckett with international settings
In his lecture on Joyce's Ulysses, Nabhokov pointed out that the famous last chapter of the novel (comprising of 8 ridiculously large sentences) would have read just as beautifully if Joyce's editor had decided to introduce punctuation marks. But Joyce was followed by Faulkner (who holds the world record of largest single sentence in his Absolam! Absolam!), Beckett (a 100 page long paragraph) and LK (there is no way I am going to spell that big name!) seems to be on same train. And, IMO, they all would have been as awesome if they used punctuation marks. LK's writings become readable when you observe that he uses comas where full stops and sometimes semi-colans instead of paragraph breaks. It might be a question of personal aesthetic but, to me personally, it is just annoyance. LK also has Beckett's habit of artibitary using nouns instead of pronouns like 'they' or 'these' - this prolonging a sentence which seems to be favourite thing among modernists .... Or Post modernists, I mean what is difference?
This is more of a collection of writeups instead of a novel - and the word is writeups because they aren't exactly stories or most of them. Writeups set in different locations - Bulgaria, India, China, Bulgaria etc. A few of those write-ups worked for me but the ones that did work warranted the 4 star rating. There are couple of tricks (other than those with punctuation marks) LK does with style - especially the second last chapter one which is basically full of footnotes to a book which hasb280 blank pages. But once again, style doesn't enhance the beauty of content.
In his lecture on Joyce's Ulysses, Nabhokov pointed out that the famous last chapter of the novel (comprising of 8 ridiculously large sentences) would have read just as beautifully if Joyce's editor had decided to introduce punctuation marks. But Joyce was followed by Faulkner (who holds the world record of largest single sentence in his Absolam! Absolam!), Beckett (a 100 page long paragraph) and LK (there is no way I am going to spell that big name!) seems to be on same train. And, IMO, they all would have been as awesome if they used punctuation marks. LK's writings become readable when you observe that he uses comas where full stops and sometimes semi-colans instead of paragraph breaks. It might be a question of personal aesthetic but, to me personally, it is just annoyance. LK also has Beckett's habit of artibitary using nouns instead of pronouns like 'they' or 'these' - this prolonging a sentence which seems to be favourite thing among modernists .... Or Post modernists, I mean what is difference?
This is more of a collection of writeups instead of a novel - and the word is writeups because they aren't exactly stories or most of them. Writeups set in different locations - Bulgaria, India, China, Bulgaria etc. A few of those write-ups worked for me but the ones that did work warranted the 4 star rating. There are couple of tricks (other than those with punctuation marks) LK does with style - especially the second last chapter one which is basically full of footnotes to a book which hasb280 blank pages. But once again, style doesn't enhance the beauty of content.
icryallthetime's review against another edition
5.0
Exuberant zen nihilism. Joy in the great horrible truths, peace with the most painful elements of existence, serenity in the face of annihilation. Brilliant characters, insane characters, unsettling characters, desperate characters, normal characters, all converging, all groping their way closer to the same central truth. Enlightenment as something that only a madman could want or achieve. Infinite complexity and total universe-halting clarity as two sides of the same coin.
pearloz's review against another edition
That was a lot more challenging than I typically like my fiction to be. I often found the language simultaneously beautiful and boring...well-written, interestingly structured, but the point was often obscured by seemingly endless sentences, or repeated tedium. The highlight for me was the section of 3 lectures by an academic...taken hostage? It didn't cool me on Krasznahorkai (I have 3 more of his books), but it definitely left me wanting something more traditionally crafted. No rating.
ryanfields32's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
This was a bit of a slog, I found some moments really interesting and some moments were just hard to get into. I’m sure I’m missing some beauty in some of the stories that I felt dragged but I also recognized many of my own emotions in other stories.
jmatthiass's review against another edition
3.0
A bit of a disappointing book from one of my all-time favorites. Like a lesser Seiobo There Below. Where that book concerned itself with beauty and used precise (yet sprawling) language to drive home the transcendental, this one feels sloppier and more mired in the world today (a number of texts read like essays on society at present), meaning that its conclusions and insights are necessarily a bit less striking. Not “big” enough, even though it tries.
grudgemental's review against another edition
1.0
100 pages of rambling before anything resembling a short story starts. Writing is too full of itself to be enjoyable. Visual Ambien
richardpierce's review
4.0
I think Kraznahorkai's writing is fanastic and visionary. However, it's also very intense and difficult. Because this isn't a single story, unlike Satantango, it can be quite a task to read. However, the stories are jewels, especially That Gagarin. Each story has something to say about history and time (and their manipulation) and our place in them. 4.5 stars.
jaccarmac's review against another edition
challenging
sad
medium-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
4.75
In a few of the shorter pieces, language and concept near the edge of gimmick, but those are tiny imperfections in something complete. The themes and tone are constant, but each narrator brings something a little different to the table. Their very choice of particularity proves that the whole-parts monism repeated again and again is not something blankly nihilistic. In that, the austerity is less important the the transcendent beauty beneath the sentences, as long as you can believe it's there. At times, the effect is downright soothing. Tempting as it is to compare the volume to other short stories, there's more than simply that form at play.