jasonhenderson's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kilburnadam's review against another edition
5.0
In the quest to escape the monotonous grip of boredom, one must strive for transcendence. But how can we break free from nothingness? Our primal impulses often serve as our only guide, and unfortunately, they tend to lean towards the carnal side. Those who seek purpose through sexual encounters often find that it's only a fleeting solution, and they are left feeling unfulfilled and uninspired. Alberto Moravia's masterful novel delves deep into this cycle of ennui and transcendence through the life of a protagonist who grapples with the futility of his existence. With its succinct prose and insightful narrative, the book serves as a powerful reminder of the human struggle to find meaning in a world devoid of it.
whatever_andra's review against another edition
dark
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
1.0
vaticerratic's review against another edition
Funny psycho-narrative study of a character who's got himself all wrong. Narrator Dino has been born into wealth, but keeps insisting that he can't afford things simply to avoid the strings attached when he asks his mother for money (meanwhile, she insists, quite rightly, that you don't really stop being a wealthy heir so easily, merely by announcing that you're not).
The story includes many meditations on boredom, but Dino uses the word idiosyncratically, to describe his condition of disconnection from or non-relation to the world. But is he really so uninvested? He gets caught in a cycle, that continues to the end of the book, of insisting that he has the upper hand in his relationship with his young lover Cecilia, only to once again debase himself in his maniacal desire to possess and control her. His alienation isn't so much from the world or the people in it as from himself, whom he barely seems to know.
By the 80% mark of the book, Dino's made so many claims about himself that don't add up that I hardly trust anything he says. At the same time, I felt that I didn't know all the things I didn't know. The book masterfully tortured me with a desire it refused to sate to pinpoint exactly how much his account distorted things.
My favorite aspect of the novel was its absurdism, especially in the long bizarre interrogations to which the hectoring Dino subjects both his mother and Cecilia. Unfortunately the conversations with Cecilia are the point where the mediocre 1963 film adaptation (which our book club also watched) is the most disappointing. In the film, the long interviews with Cecilia are truncated and Cecilia herself is rendered less Bartleby-esque. The movie does a better job with Dino's exchanges with his mother, played by Bette Davis, who is universally seen as the film's saving grace.
The other thing I liked about the book was Moravia's complicated play with vicariousness: Dino thinking about Cecilia with other men, Cecilia getting pleasure from giving pleasure, Dino's mother's will to control him, etc. It's very sophisticated and gets at something profound about desire's slippery propensity for sliding along social networks.
The story includes many meditations on boredom, but Dino uses the word idiosyncratically, to describe his condition of disconnection from or non-relation to the world. But is he really so uninvested? He gets caught in a cycle, that continues to the end of the book, of insisting that he has the upper hand in his relationship with his young lover Cecilia, only to once again debase himself in his maniacal desire to possess and control her. His alienation isn't so much from the world or the people in it as from himself, whom he barely seems to know.
By the 80% mark of the book, Dino's made so many claims about himself that don't add up that I hardly trust anything he says. At the same time, I felt that I didn't know all the things I didn't know. The book masterfully tortured me with a desire it refused to sate to pinpoint exactly how much his account distorted things.
My favorite aspect of the novel was its absurdism, especially in the long bizarre interrogations to which the hectoring Dino subjects both his mother and Cecilia. Unfortunately the conversations with Cecilia are the point where the mediocre 1963 film adaptation (which our book club also watched) is the most disappointing. In the film, the long interviews with Cecilia are truncated and Cecilia herself is rendered less Bartleby-esque. The movie does a better job with Dino's exchanges with his mother, played by Bette Davis, who is universally seen as the film's saving grace.
The other thing I liked about the book was Moravia's complicated play with vicariousness: Dino thinking about Cecilia with other men, Cecilia getting pleasure from giving pleasure, Dino's mother's will to control him, etc. It's very sophisticated and gets at something profound about desire's slippery propensity for sliding along social networks.
chiben's review against another edition
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? Yes
4.0
maledettaaaa's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
melinac's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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
3.0
Este es el primer libro que leo de Moravia, y me resultó fácil de leer y seguir, pese a que no hay necesariamente mucha trama, sigue siendo interesante estar dentro de la cabeza de nuestro protagonista, Dino (que, ya que estamos, es uno de los personajes más cerrados, cabeza duras, soberbios y egocéntricos que leí en mi vida, ¿por qué deberíamos creer que "sabe" lo que los demás personajes están pensando o sintiendo todo el tiempo? El personaje más acuariano que leí en mi vida *facepalm), un ex pintor rico que desprecia su riqueza, y que se siente alienado e incapaz de formar ninguna relación con nada externo a él, cosas, personas, tareas, etc. Cuando forma una relación con Cecilia, una joven modelo que trabajaba con otro pintor vecino a Dino, esa "incapacidad de formar relaciones" se transforma en obsesión tóxica (ah, pero el sostiene que sigue aburrido) que llega al punto de querer pedirle matrimonio con tal de poseerla y, por fin, "aburrirse de ella también" (*facepalm todavía más fuerte). En fin, interesante, sobre todo para quienes disfrutan de protagonistas desagradables.
chervbim's review against another edition
4.0
I was really into this, even though the characters were all unlikable and there wasn't really a plot and there was no resolution at the end and and and... I just liked this a lot. The style drew me in, kind of reminded me of "Nausea" but much more engaging. And Italian! God, this book was so Italian.
kejireads's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5