Reviews

The Pine Islands by Marion Poschmann

amrituu's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Picked this up in a clearance section and was intrigued to try something different to my usual, and also an author from another country. May have been misled by the cover art (though it is appealing) and the many positive reviews - this book was not half as funny or as endearing as those two elements initially led me to believe. We follow a character who is making a drastic change in his life and searching for meaning, but I didn't feel any meaning or emotion come through until the last few pages. I think it's meant to be funny that Gilbert is pretentious and set in some haughty views, but it just made me care a lot less than I probably should have.

I appreciate that maybe the different cultural setting (German protagonist visiting Japan) may mean some of the nuance of the writing is lost on me. There are some beautiful passages of writing and nice inclusions of haikus, but generally the narrative didn't keep me gripped.

nordicreads's review

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

It has a poetic and ghostly feel to it, but too often sways into pretentious and pompous territory (feels occasionally like the writer is patting herself on the back for an unnecessarily complex choice of words).
When the text flows, it has that lucid, dream-like feel to it that makes it something between a poem and deep self-reflection. When the text gets caught in its own narcissism, it reads like bad fanfiction.
Overall okay; execution lets it down.

tashmachin's review

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

mcglassa's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

k101's review against another edition

informative inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

regan's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense

3.0

madameroyale's review against another edition

2.0

A few funny moments and nice haikus throughout, as well as a sweet little ending line, unfortunately can’t make up for an overall underwhelming novel about a very unimpressive and condescending man.

simoncolumbus's review against another edition

2.0

Gilbert Silvester, Privatdozent und Bartforscher, träumt davon, dass seine Frau ihn betrügt und reist darauf überstürzt nach Japan. Dort trifft er den suizidalen Studenten Yosa Tamagotchi, mit dem er sich auf die Spuren Bashos (Silvester) beziehungsweise eines Suizid-Ratgebers (Tamagotchi) macht. Es muss wohl Leute geben, die es komisch finden, wenn Roman-Charaktere Gilbert Silvester und Yosa Tamagotchi heißen; den Rezensionen nach zu schließen arbeiten diese allesamt in den Feuilleton-Abteilungen deutscher Wochenzeitungen. Mir erschließt sich weder der Humor noch die vermeintliche Tiefgründigkeit dieses Romans.

kiso's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0

missbookiverse's review against another edition

3.0

Überzeugt haben mich der klare, schöne Schreibstil und der selbstgefällige Protagonist Gilbert, ein Narzisst wie er im Buche steht und dabei so übertrieben unreflektiert, dass ich ständig darüber lachen musste. Gerade wenn japanische und deutsche Kultur aufeinandertreffen, ist das bitter, zeigt aber die oft herrschende westliche Überheblichkeit umso deutlicher. Die Besuche der Selbstmordorte sind unangenehm faszinierend und in Kombination mit den Naturbeschreibungen geradezu schön. Allerdings ist die Darstellung der Natur gleichzeitig unglücklich gelöst, denn sie scheint am Ende nur als heilender Ort der Erleuchtung zu dienen. Eine Reflektion darüber hinaus findet nicht statt, was wiederum zu Gilberts begrenztem Weltbild passt und in Einklang mit der Darstellung des Charakters womöglich als ironische formulierte Kritik gelesen werden kann.