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ungildedlily's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-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
4.0
jansbookcorner's review against another edition
1.0
I did not connect with much of anything about this book. Not the characters nor the writing style, I know it was up for the Booker Prize and is highly rated in reviews - but just not for me.
b_e_stuart's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
thebobsphere's review against another edition
3.0
Fred is a criminal. Not only does he steal a painting in order to pay a bad debt but he kills a person who watches him. This novel is his confession.
The problem is that Fred is an unreliable chronicler of his tale.He can't remember names, is drunk most of the time and adds random facts into his story. The reader has to sift between truth and fiction. The only certainties is that Fred did commit two crimes and that he does not show any remorse for his actions.
So why three stars? I found the first half exhilarating but the second half a bit dull. Also the negativity in this book is almost a parody. My version of the book was revised with a ton of supplementary material, which does help give more light in Fred's character.
The problem is that Fred is an unreliable chronicler of his tale.He can't remember names, is drunk most of the time and adds random facts into his story. The reader has to sift between truth and fiction. The only certainties is that Fred did commit two crimes and that he does not show any remorse for his actions.
So why three stars? I found the first half exhilarating but the second half a bit dull. Also the negativity in this book is almost a parody. My version of the book was revised with a ton of supplementary material, which does help give more light in Fred's character.
ingy_be's review against another edition
3.0
Written in a fun, clever, and witty way, but didn’t love the story or the character.
brendap's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sloatsj's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book because I really enjoy despair and self-pity. Especially if it’s couched in a good story by an Irish writer with a fabulous vocabulary.
Banville is the saint of sumptuous sentences. Although the book is riddled with them, there’s a real knock-out on page 32:
“I drank my drink. There is something about gin, the tang in it of the deep wildwood, perhaps, that always makes me think of twilight and mists and dead maidens. Tonight it tinkled in my mouth like secret laughter.”
Okay, that’s three sentences. It’s mostly the center one I mean, but also the sequencing of these three with 1) the simple set-up, 2) the sensual ravishing, and 3) the kill-off, is masterful.
He also hits the bullseye when evoking the senses.
"...I caught a whiff of something, a faint, sharp, metallic smell, like the smell of worn pennies.”
“I had not thought paper would make so much noise, such scuffling and rattling and ripping, it must have sounded as if some large animal were being flayed alive in here.”
As above, he’s fabulous with “as if.”
“His left eyelid began to flutter as if a moth had suddenly come to life under it.”
“She drove very fast, working the controls probingly, as if she were trying to locate a pattern, a secret formula, hidden in this mesh of small deft actions.”
“Her pale colouring and vivid hair and long, slender neck gave her a startled look, as if some time in the past she had been told a shocking secret and had never quite absorbed it.”
“When I spoke to her the poor girl turned crimson, and wincingly extended a calloused little paw as if she were afraid I might be going to keep it.”
His words savor color and light:
“I have always loved that hour of the day, when that soft, muslin light seeps upward, as if out of the earth itself, and everything seems to grow thoughtful and turn away.”
Lying in bed, the main character describes watching lights scan across the room:
“Now and then a car or lorry passed by, and a box of lighted geometry slid rapidly over the ceiling and down the walls and poured away into a corner.”
There’s so much more! Just read the book if you like good writing. I warn you that the murder is horrible and sad. Also, the characters are horrible and/or sad. I recommend this to anyone who thinks the “general awfulness of everything” can be redeemed by art.
Banville is the saint of sumptuous sentences. Although the book is riddled with them, there’s a real knock-out on page 32:
“I drank my drink. There is something about gin, the tang in it of the deep wildwood, perhaps, that always makes me think of twilight and mists and dead maidens. Tonight it tinkled in my mouth like secret laughter.”
Okay, that’s three sentences. It’s mostly the center one I mean, but also the sequencing of these three with 1) the simple set-up, 2) the sensual ravishing, and 3) the kill-off, is masterful.
He also hits the bullseye when evoking the senses.
"...I caught a whiff of something, a faint, sharp, metallic smell, like the smell of worn pennies.”
“I had not thought paper would make so much noise, such scuffling and rattling and ripping, it must have sounded as if some large animal were being flayed alive in here.”
As above, he’s fabulous with “as if.”
“His left eyelid began to flutter as if a moth had suddenly come to life under it.”
“She drove very fast, working the controls probingly, as if she were trying to locate a pattern, a secret formula, hidden in this mesh of small deft actions.”
“Her pale colouring and vivid hair and long, slender neck gave her a startled look, as if some time in the past she had been told a shocking secret and had never quite absorbed it.”
“When I spoke to her the poor girl turned crimson, and wincingly extended a calloused little paw as if she were afraid I might be going to keep it.”
His words savor color and light:
“I have always loved that hour of the day, when that soft, muslin light seeps upward, as if out of the earth itself, and everything seems to grow thoughtful and turn away.”
Lying in bed, the main character describes watching lights scan across the room:
“Now and then a car or lorry passed by, and a box of lighted geometry slid rapidly over the ceiling and down the walls and poured away into a corner.”
There’s so much more! Just read the book if you like good writing. I warn you that the murder is horrible and sad. Also, the characters are horrible and/or sad. I recommend this to anyone who thinks the “general awfulness of everything” can be redeemed by art.