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blackbird27's review against another edition
4.0
A Jewish writer of German based in Prague, Leppin inevitably begs comparison with his junior, Kafka, and the name of his protagonist inevitably recalls his senior, Sacher-Masoch. Severin's Journey into the Dark dwells uneasily in the space between Venus in Furs and The Castle, as a man descends into a psychological abyss through the twin engines of sexual domination and abnegation, and the rather more overpowering sensation of alienation under capitalism.
Nothing much, apart from some sexual encounters, actually happens in the book to merit its subtitle, but Leppin's evocation of dissociation, the degeneracy he diagnoses at the heart of the Hapsburg Empire, and the love-hate relationship Severin, a born flâneur, has with the city of Prague (the book could be traced on a city map as easily as Ulysses in Dublin) is worth spending time with. The last page feels more like the kick of a long-deferred comic-strip punchline than the climax of a novel, but in another way that's just more alienation. I really like Twisted Spoon's (the publisher) aesthetic, and I'm going to be seeking out more of their output.
Nothing much, apart from some sexual encounters, actually happens in the book to merit its subtitle, but Leppin's evocation of dissociation, the degeneracy he diagnoses at the heart of the Hapsburg Empire, and the love-hate relationship Severin, a born flâneur, has with the city of Prague (the book could be traced on a city map as easily as Ulysses in Dublin) is worth spending time with. The last page feels more like the kick of a long-deferred comic-strip punchline than the climax of a novel, but in another way that's just more alienation. I really like Twisted Spoon's (the publisher) aesthetic, and I'm going to be seeking out more of their output.
ghosthardware98's review against another edition
3.0
There was potential for a thought-provoking story on the main characters 'Journey Into The Dark', the hallmark of existentialist stories.... but the opportunity is missed. Little of substance actually happens in the book and despite the nice rosy descriptions of the Czech location the characterisation is weak. One of the other reviews here on Goodreads summarises it as a 'sub-par journey into existential wounding.', and that summarises my feelings as well.
lookhome's review against another edition
3.0
Leppin's 'Journey Into The Dark' is an intriguing if somewhat half-baked look into the psyche of a lost soul.
Severin, the narrative's main protagonist, is an intelligent but adrift man who seeks some form of meaning or significance in life. Though he finds physical attention easily, he remains frustrated by his life's seeming lack of purpose.
A chance encounter with a bookseller introduces him to the riches and pleasures of a sort of 'Eyes Wide Shut' type of social gathering, though these pleasures are hinted at rather than described.
The story then escalates into a sort Love Quadrangle and rushes forward onto an aggressive, if muted ending.
There's nothing wholly wrong with this novel, only that it owes much to other novels that have explored similar terrain. The young but middle aged heterosexual, woe is me, my life should have meaning, narrative is explored to a deeper and darker extant in both [b:The Maimed|330077|The Maimed|Hermann Ungar|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1393955974l/330077._SX50_.jpg|320653] and [b:The Fall|11991|The Fall|Albert Camus|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1467904855l/11991._SY75_.jpg|3324245].
As for the subtitle, A Prague Ghost Story, it is ghost barely hinted at and misleading to those wanting some form of halloween distraction.
Severin, the narrative's main protagonist, is an intelligent but adrift man who seeks some form of meaning or significance in life. Though he finds physical attention easily, he remains frustrated by his life's seeming lack of purpose.
A chance encounter with a bookseller introduces him to the riches and pleasures of a sort of 'Eyes Wide Shut' type of social gathering, though these pleasures are hinted at rather than described.
The story then escalates into a sort Love Quadrangle and rushes forward onto an aggressive, if muted ending.
There's nothing wholly wrong with this novel, only that it owes much to other novels that have explored similar terrain. The young but middle aged heterosexual, woe is me, my life should have meaning, narrative is explored to a deeper and darker extant in both [b:The Maimed|330077|The Maimed|Hermann Ungar|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1393955974l/330077._SX50_.jpg|320653] and [b:The Fall|11991|The Fall|Albert Camus|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1467904855l/11991._SY75_.jpg|3324245].
As for the subtitle, A Prague Ghost Story, it is ghost barely hinted at and misleading to those wanting some form of halloween distraction.
daemonad's review against another edition
4.0
Exquisitely dreary. The prose blows your mind like a balloon and loosens it among the dark, angry clouds. Leppin wasn't afraid to look inside a black, tormented soul. I wish there were more like him among the spawn of this plastic century.
porky's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
yulannu's review against another edition
4.0
Exquisitely dreary. The prose blows your mind like a balloon and loosens it among the dark, angry clouds. Leppin wasn't afraid to look inside a black, tormented soul. I wish there were more like him among the spawn of this plastic century.
davidtasselhoff's review against another edition
3.0
exemplary compact language. leppin prefigured the modernists especially the surrealists/existentialists and his writing often outmatches what was to come, though the themes are now a bit dated.
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