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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
Didn't really come together for me like previous books of hers I've read, although the voice and structure are consistent: snapshots of a crumbled and authoritarian yet industrious Romania, it's cold, hard people scrambling for existence, trying to strike a balance between duty and personal freedom, a barely-there plot. It's challenging in that there is no romance and little kindness, it just feels like a narrative of disillusioned people surviving. I don't know that she hadn't written this book already.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Lyrical to the point of losing the plot.
Possibly due to being lost in translation or just the writing style I found it confusing and difficult to get through.
Personally, just not for me.
Possibly due to being lost in translation or just the writing style I found it confusing and difficult to get through.
Personally, just not for me.
The narrative tone was bleak and detached. The author won a Nobel Prize so I’ll try another book by her down the road.
I think I’m just not smart enough for this book. Went right over my head and I was bored the whole time.
It may be difficult to get immersed in her writing, her style is like watching a movie filmed on high speed with a handheld camera. But if you experienced the era she is so lyrically snapshotting, once you get used to her style and keep focused, every sentence breaks your heart.
slow-paced
Siamo in Romania nell’ultimo anno del regime di Ceaușescu, 1989. Una gigantografia nella prima pagina del giornale, il ricciolo scuro e luminoso sulla fronte, l’occhio nero e brillante. Il ricciolo vede, l’occhio vede. Ogni cosa che luccica, quindi, vede. Il riflesso di un vetro, la luce sulle increspature del Danubio, il vetro di una bottiglia. Cosa vuol dire vivere con l’angoscia di essere spiati in ogni momento? Cosa si prova nello scoprire che non puoi fidarti di nessuno, nemmeno di coloro che credevi amici? Quanti battiti del cuore saltano nell’esatto istante in cui scopri di essere stato preso di mira dai servizi segreti? Adina fa la maestra e, un giorno, alla sua pelle di volpe viene recisa la coda. Adina sa rispondere a queste domande.
•
Questo romanzo è il mio primo approccio a Herta Müller, vincitrice del premio Nobel per la letteratura nel 2009. Non posso dire che sia stata una lettura semplice; la prosa è folgorante ma anche molto complessa, va masticata e necessita del giusto tempo e delle giuste attenzioni per capire ciò che le parole tengono celato. Non c’è nulla di immediato, ogni immagine proiettata nella pagina si sgretola nell’occhio del lettore per poi unirsi a quella successiva, capitolo dopo capitolo. Ogni frammento è la tessera di un mosaico che raffigura una società in frantumi. Una lettura poetica, evocativa, prismatica.
•
Questo romanzo è il mio primo approccio a Herta Müller, vincitrice del premio Nobel per la letteratura nel 2009. Non posso dire che sia stata una lettura semplice; la prosa è folgorante ma anche molto complessa, va masticata e necessita del giusto tempo e delle giuste attenzioni per capire ciò che le parole tengono celato. Non c’è nulla di immediato, ogni immagine proiettata nella pagina si sgretola nell’occhio del lettore per poi unirsi a quella successiva, capitolo dopo capitolo. Ogni frammento è la tessera di un mosaico che raffigura una società in frantumi. Una lettura poetica, evocativa, prismatica.
dark
tense
slow-paced
I won a complimentary eCopy of this book courtesy of the publishers via a book giveaway. My full review of the novel can be found on my blog, eclectictales.com: http://www.eclectictales.com/blog/2016/11/10/review-the-fox-was-ever-the-hunter/
My feelings are quite mixed about this book. On the one hand it’s beautifully written, that sense of touch and go with the experiences of these characters, what they see, how their everyday lives go, the little things that just add to the overall experience of living under the Ceausescu regime. It’s quite poetic and on that alone, it gives the book an artsy and haunting feel/atmosphere.
Having said that, the book as a whole felt rather disjointed which made for a rather jarring and detached reading experience. The book felt more like a slice-of-life novel moreso than a book driven by plot; even after Adina and her friends find themselves tracked by the secret police, I didn’t quite feel a sense of urgency in the story. Nor did I ever feel really connected to the characters that it was easy to lose attention as I read.
So unfortunately I didn’t quite enjoy The Fox Was Ever the Hunter as much as I would have liked to. It was beautifully written but it didn’t quite engage me as I thought it would have.
My feelings are quite mixed about this book. On the one hand it’s beautifully written, that sense of touch and go with the experiences of these characters, what they see, how their everyday lives go, the little things that just add to the overall experience of living under the Ceausescu regime. It’s quite poetic and on that alone, it gives the book an artsy and haunting feel/atmosphere.
Having said that, the book as a whole felt rather disjointed which made for a rather jarring and detached reading experience. The book felt more like a slice-of-life novel moreso than a book driven by plot; even after Adina and her friends find themselves tracked by the secret police, I didn’t quite feel a sense of urgency in the story. Nor did I ever feel really connected to the characters that it was easy to lose attention as I read.
So unfortunately I didn’t quite enjoy The Fox Was Ever the Hunter as much as I would have liked to. It was beautifully written but it didn’t quite engage me as I thought it would have.