Scan barcode
tiernanhunter's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-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
chillcox15's review against another edition
4.0
Fulgentius is Aira in historical-fiction mode, seeking out a ignominious figure or space from the past and instilling it with some of his awesome ability to capture and translate the idiosyncrasies of human thought into that space. What better topic for Aira than a Roman general, the type of figure we usually think of cast in unchanging marble! In Fulgentius, we have a military man, a scion of imperialism, fraught with thoughts that he maybe should have spent more time writing plays. Aira's depictions of the brutality of the Roman army are made so much more captivating by his askant perspective.
marinocelot's review
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
trve_zach's review
An aging general, Fulgentius, leads a campaign to pacify the province of Pannonia. Along the way, he obsesses about a tragic play, a farcical version of his won life, that he had written as a child. He also has made a point to have this play produced in various cities across his military career, so that what was once farce and comedy has now become a reflection of his reality.
Fulgentius is extremely vain, comically so, embracing poetry while rejecting anything resembling philosophy because it would only serve to depress him.
“The relentless nervous tension of life at the center of imperial power was such that men went to war for relief.” (16)
The way he normalizes violence and the murder of innocent people gives us a window into him as leader-figure and his complete lack of regard for anything outside of his immediate needs or self aggrandizing (he absolutely hates talking to normal people and doesn’t look at most people as human).
“As part of an empire that spanned the world, they were the ones who got to impose norms of behavior and thought. Understanding the casual chains that shaped reality had cost them centuries of work, which consisted basically of annihilating anything that was different.” (67)
This is my first time reading Aira, and I’m impressed. The writing is dense but flows right along, throwing details of landscape and war maneuvers along side inner turmoil and Fulgentius’ philosophical meanderings…it makes for something unique and is incredibly engaging.
“He had to kill, of course, but once the corpses were piled high, he had to be able to map out the route to prosperity.” (130)
He changes at the end of the book, wanting to become a man of knowledge rather than war: “What was the world for if not to be absorbed by thought and used to build beautiful castles, interesting stories, and poetry?” (158) Almost immediately, though, he realizes that he’s too old to start such pursuits in earnest, that he has wasted his life, trying and failing (with his play) to recapture it.
[review copy provided by New Directions]
Fulgentius is extremely vain, comically so, embracing poetry while rejecting anything resembling philosophy because it would only serve to depress him.
“The relentless nervous tension of life at the center of imperial power was such that men went to war for relief.” (16)
The way he normalizes violence and the murder of innocent people gives us a window into him as leader-figure and his complete lack of regard for anything outside of his immediate needs or self aggrandizing (he absolutely hates talking to normal people and doesn’t look at most people as human).
“As part of an empire that spanned the world, they were the ones who got to impose norms of behavior and thought. Understanding the casual chains that shaped reality had cost them centuries of work, which consisted basically of annihilating anything that was different.” (67)
This is my first time reading Aira, and I’m impressed. The writing is dense but flows right along, throwing details of landscape and war maneuvers along side inner turmoil and Fulgentius’ philosophical meanderings…it makes for something unique and is incredibly engaging.
“He had to kill, of course, but once the corpses were piled high, he had to be able to map out the route to prosperity.” (130)
He changes at the end of the book, wanting to become a man of knowledge rather than war: “What was the world for if not to be absorbed by thought and used to build beautiful castles, interesting stories, and poetry?” (158) Almost immediately, though, he realizes that he’s too old to start such pursuits in earnest, that he has wasted his life, trying and failing (with his play) to recapture it.
[review copy provided by New Directions]
drewtemel's review
4.0
What a true blessing that thought and the words that conveyed it went everywhere with the thinker, weighed nothing, and were always available.
He wondered why he always ended up with fragments of a world, never a world in its entirety.
He wondered why he always ended up with fragments of a world, never a world in its entirety.
gabbimay's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
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
2.5
beepbeepbooks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Aira does it again. A beautiful book
art11's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
More...