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shimmery's review against another edition
4.0
After Mr Field damages his wrist in a train accident, he has to give up his career as a concert pianist. Using his compensation payout he buys a home on the coast of South Africa, a villa modelled after Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye. Some time afterwards, his wife leaves him. His days are spent in the house alone, his nights spying on Hannah Kallenbach, the house's previous owner, with whom he has become infatuated.
This is a short, strange, dreamlike novel; a study of desperate loneliness and slow deterioration. You can tell it has been written by a poet as the story reveals itself in a collection of images that show the protagonist's state of mind. It's a sad book and the ubiquity of the sea throughout makes it somehow numbing, and yet there are still flashes of humour in it.
It's a mesmerising read; finishing it felt like coming out of a trance.
This is a short, strange, dreamlike novel; a study of desperate loneliness and slow deterioration. You can tell it has been written by a poet as the story reveals itself in a collection of images that show the protagonist's state of mind. It's a sad book and the ubiquity of the sea throughout makes it somehow numbing, and yet there are still flashes of humour in it.
It's a mesmerising read; finishing it felt like coming out of a trance.
frankensteinscreature's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
I had never heard of this book and had found it in a book exchange and thought it sounded interesting. I found the first third or so to be really quite compelling, as the first signs of madness started to emerge but the rest of the book fell flat entirely and the whole plot just revolved around stalking and wanting to have sex with a dog? it felt ridiculous but not in a surrealist way, just a stupid and poorly written way. I had hoped for a novel about losing oneself in a home and was given one just about a whiny gross man.
mariah_is_awkward's review
dark
emotional
tense
slow-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
chillcox15's review
4.0
Kilalea is really bursting onto the scene with this one; she has an idiosyncratic idea that she pursues here about writing, which I would describe as a layering of sense details (often sound, appropriately for a novel about a concert pianist) rather than an adherence to plot or narration. While I didn't personally love this, I really respect Kilalea's stand for something unique over a safely narrated debut novel, and I'm excited to see what's next.
linesuponapage's review against another edition
4.0
OK, Mr. Field reminded me of a Woody Allen movie. Mr. Field, a concert pianist's career ends when he is involved in a train accident. His loss of purpose made me sad. The book was emotionally deep and telling by how depressed Mr. Field was while missing his wife. The writing was superb. Katharine Kilalea creates a world that no one in their right mind would want to live in by choice if not fighting a mental health issue. The social contact that Mr. Field avoids, on the whole, is painful and I understand how he ends up in that hole that he can't dig out of until he chooses too. The joy we read when he has visitors is a fleeting moment and again, such a sad reality hits you when he walks back into his dream home. If this is dreaming, I call it more a nightmare. His Journey is like the house he lives in - dwindling and uncontrollably shifting.
If you love books like Sinclair's Rabbit Run or Don Delillo's White Noise, you will enjoy this book. It definitely takes a certain high-level reader to make it through the whole book. I loved the emotional journey you take with Mr. Field. It's my book.
If you love books like Sinclair's Rabbit Run or Don Delillo's White Noise, you will enjoy this book. It definitely takes a certain high-level reader to make it through the whole book. I loved the emotional journey you take with Mr. Field. It's my book.
abiggail's review
As hard as I tried I could not enjoy this book. I found myself just reading words and sentences but not a story. While there is no real plot to the book it’s not quite introspective either. None of his thoughts carry any weight or significance, which makes it impossible to invest any emotional attachment or much less any empathy for him. No real or remotely interesting thoughts are thought, no important dialog said, nothing heavy to make you think, no drama that needs resolved, and the few people in the story have no real significance. Everything just is… but nothing is given a valid reason
bookapotamus's review
3.0
I'm not really sure how to describe this book. It's very odd, a bit sad, somewhat quirky, extremely claustrophobic, and very unnerving. It made me feel uncomfortable, and I do believe that may have been it's intention.
Mr. Field is losing his mind. He's a trained concert pianist in London until horrible train accident shatters his wrist and he can no longer play as he did. He becomes a recluse, his partner leaves him, and the entire story told from inside a mind that is slowly losing it's grip on reality. There aren't really many other characters aside from Mim, who left, and an odd obsession he has with his new home's former owner, but again, it's all in his head. Any interactions, conversations, are stemmed from a mind gone mad.
There's a big deal about the house he purchases, a character in itself, one that is designed like LeCorbusier's Villa Savoye (if you google it, you'll probably recognize it if you know art and architecture at all). I found this part interesting though, being an artist, but I didn't really connect with the house as I believe intended. The house is sort of the beginning of the end, as he's first introduced to it's architectural uniqueness staring at a photo in a newspaper, just minutes before the train accident.
I thought the writing was exquisite, but the musings of a mad man were rambling and obsessive (understandably - the point I suppose) and I didn't like feeling uncomfortable, and thought it was a bit uninteresting and somewhat boring at a times.
Mr. Field is losing his mind. He's a trained concert pianist in London until horrible train accident shatters his wrist and he can no longer play as he did. He becomes a recluse, his partner leaves him, and the entire story told from inside a mind that is slowly losing it's grip on reality. There aren't really many other characters aside from Mim, who left, and an odd obsession he has with his new home's former owner, but again, it's all in his head. Any interactions, conversations, are stemmed from a mind gone mad.
There's a big deal about the house he purchases, a character in itself, one that is designed like LeCorbusier's Villa Savoye (if you google it, you'll probably recognize it if you know art and architecture at all). I found this part interesting though, being an artist, but I didn't really connect with the house as I believe intended. The house is sort of the beginning of the end, as he's first introduced to it's architectural uniqueness staring at a photo in a newspaper, just minutes before the train accident.
I thought the writing was exquisite, but the musings of a mad man were rambling and obsessive (understandably - the point I suppose) and I didn't like feeling uncomfortable, and thought it was a bit uninteresting and somewhat boring at a times.
mads_reads20's review
4.0
Very odd book,
A tale of a man losing his mind as the house seems to crumble around him. Exploring the idea of loneliness and a grasp for anything to cure the hole left by that perpetual feeling of loneliness.
It contained beautiful language and metaphors and all round seemed in my opinion to be a metaphor for a man losing himself to depression.
Despite enjoying it i felt as though it was a book that lacked a beginning ending or even a middle, like a clip from someones life and gone as quickly as it came.
I do recommend reading though, the odd sad aura and confusing fever dream like writing was enjoyable as well as perplexing
A tale of a man losing his mind as the house seems to crumble around him. Exploring the idea of loneliness and a grasp for anything to cure the hole left by that perpetual feeling of loneliness.
It contained beautiful language and metaphors and all round seemed in my opinion to be a metaphor for a man losing himself to depression.
Despite enjoying it i felt as though it was a book that lacked a beginning ending or even a middle, like a clip from someones life and gone as quickly as it came.
I do recommend reading though, the odd sad aura and confusing fever dream like writing was enjoyable as well as perplexing
baram's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
frankies_bookshelf's review against another edition
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? N/A
1.0