tomtomthedondon's review
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
fil's review
5.0
Here we have the episodic misadventures of the Golovlyov family, somewhat centered on 'Little Judas', the greedy and tight-fisted tsar (or star!) of this accursed clan. From proud landowners to paragons of avarice, we are witness to their downfall, slow and incremental true, but downfall nonetheless.
Almost every page is infused with doom (and gloom), adversity follows calamity follows catastrophe. Saying I enjoyed it is misleading, there is nothing enjoyable in this bleak Russian classic.
Porfiry, otherwise known as Little Judas, is a sneaky little bastard and he does sneaky little bastard things; fake praying for the sake of appearances, manipulating circumstances for his benefit, withholding or leaking information to suit his needs, stealing just about everything that is not bolted down… and so on and so forth. An iron-fisted mother, a drunk brother, two naive nieces, a weak-willed mistress and many, many others are included in the long list of his victims.
Our little Porfiry is quite the endearing character, I'm glad I got to know him.
Almost every page is infused with doom (and gloom), adversity follows calamity follows catastrophe. Saying I enjoyed it is misleading, there is nothing enjoyable in this bleak Russian classic.
Porfiry, otherwise known as Little Judas, is a sneaky little bastard and he does sneaky little bastard things; fake praying for the sake of appearances, manipulating circumstances for his benefit, withholding or leaking information to suit his needs, stealing just about everything that is not bolted down… and so on and so forth. An iron-fisted mother, a drunk brother, two naive nieces, a weak-willed mistress and many, many others are included in the long list of his victims.
Our little Porfiry is quite the endearing character, I'm glad I got to know him.
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