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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
screen_memory's review against another edition
4.0
The major theme of Moravia's Boredom should need no introduction. The former artist, Dino, defines his boredom as a lack of relation to external things. He claims to have grown bored of his mother and the almost unconditional funds she offers him. He's grown bored of painting, bored of his studio, of his expensive sports car, and he grows immediately bored of his love interest, Cecilia, the former muse of a recently deceased artist whose nude portraiture consisted solely of portraits of Cecilia.
The irony of Dino's boredom, or perhaps the paradox of it all, is that Dino, despite his apparent loss of relation to and interest in certain things, pursues certain of them obsessively. Embarking from the initial delusion of discovering whether or not Cecilia truly loves him, he pursues her as a lover only so that he might grow bored of her after being assured of her love. Further delusions follow from then on: Dino relentlessly stalks Cecilia to confirm whether or not his suspicions of her infidelity are true; he funnels all of the money he receives from his mother into Cecilia's hands after their lovemaking to see if she is as venal as he suspects; he seeks her hand in marriage so that, with the ultimate symbolic affirmation of their love finally won, he might finally grow bored of her.
Dino's boredom is a nauseating sickness characterized by a seemingly fevered desire to regain his relation to external things. He interrogates his mother and Cecilia on separate occasions, seeking a greater understanding of their interior emotional world. Dino's boredom is perhaps nothing like a lack of relation to external things, but rather an obsessive fascination with them, a fascination that cannot be satisfied, moving him to recognize .
It is Cecilia who is truly bored and fails to recognize her total boredom precisely because of her boredom.
She is the muse of all men who she is or has been involved with, all of whom have spent fortunes on her, fortunes she gives away to other lovers, fortunes that might have aided her disabled father and her poor mother in moving out of their austere flat. She has no apparent interest in anything, and she responds to each of Dino's questions with her essentialist tautology: this is this, that is that - "What kind of room?" Dino might ask. "A room with a table, chairs, those sorts of things," she might say. She sees no importance in anything, nor does she see the importance of remembering anything.
She loves Dino for reasons she both cannot describe and doesn't care to describe. She recollects episodes of her past life with no details, no reference to anything, and is only forced to account for her past in her own peculiar way - informed by little to no relation to or recollection of anything - during Dino's recurrent interrogations. Cecilia is bored with her life to the utmost limits of boredom, while Dino fails to realize that he is nauseatingly bound to the things he claims to have resigned from. For fans of more psychological literature.
The irony of Dino's boredom, or perhaps the paradox of it all, is that Dino, despite his apparent loss of relation to and interest in certain things, pursues certain of them obsessively. Embarking from the initial delusion of discovering whether or not Cecilia truly loves him, he pursues her as a lover only so that he might grow bored of her after being assured of her love. Further delusions follow from then on: Dino relentlessly stalks Cecilia to confirm whether or not his suspicions of her infidelity are true; he funnels all of the money he receives from his mother into Cecilia's hands after their lovemaking to see if she is as venal as he suspects; he seeks her hand in marriage so that, with the ultimate symbolic affirmation of their love finally won, he might finally grow bored of her.
Dino's boredom is a nauseating sickness characterized by a seemingly fevered desire to regain his relation to external things. He interrogates his mother and Cecilia on separate occasions, seeking a greater understanding of their interior emotional world. Dino's boredom is perhaps nothing like a lack of relation to external things, but rather an obsessive fascination with them, a fascination that cannot be satisfied, moving him to recognize .
It is Cecilia who is truly bored and fails to recognize her total boredom precisely because of her boredom.
She is the muse of all men who she is or has been involved with, all of whom have spent fortunes on her, fortunes she gives away to other lovers, fortunes that might have aided her disabled father and her poor mother in moving out of their austere flat. She has no apparent interest in anything, and she responds to each of Dino's questions with her essentialist tautology: this is this, that is that - "What kind of room?" Dino might ask. "A room with a table, chairs, those sorts of things," she might say. She sees no importance in anything, nor does she see the importance of remembering anything.
She loves Dino for reasons she both cannot describe and doesn't care to describe. She recollects episodes of her past life with no details, no reference to anything, and is only forced to account for her past in her own peculiar way - informed by little to no relation to or recollection of anything - during Dino's recurrent interrogations. Cecilia is bored with her life to the utmost limits of boredom, while Dino fails to realize that he is nauseatingly bound to the things he claims to have resigned from. For fans of more psychological literature.
teafairy's review against another edition
reflective
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
4.75
kingkong's review against another edition
3.0
Hmm an atheist blank slate girl with a tiny waist, big boobs and massive thighs and ass that wants to just have sex all the time, no wonder he went crazy
pasinsky's review against another edition
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
Moravia ha un bellissimo stile di scrittura. Questo romanzo è spesso associato a "Gli indifferenti" e si capisce subito il perché: l'atmosfera è simile e entrambi i romanzi affrontano due temi, quello dell'indifferenza e quello della noia, che nel modo in cui sono descritti non sono molto differenti. Ottima lettura.
jferrell526's review against another edition
5.0
Need a laugh?
Joel Spriggs never fails!! With Boredom &Bedlam he gives us another round of Esmy and Jake getting in trouble. Of course, Great-Grandpa Loki is there to pull them out. Get ready to laugh yourself silly!!!
Joel Spriggs never fails!! With Boredom &Bedlam he gives us another round of Esmy and Jake getting in trouble. Of course, Great-Grandpa Loki is there to pull them out. Get ready to laugh yourself silly!!!
nikolairanko's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
gempoole's review against another edition
2.0
The beginning of this book is amazing. Dino's characterisation is so good and his voice really reminded me of Camus' 'The Outsider'? Also, the way Moravia constructs this idea of boredom and disconnection with reality was really interesting and I was excited to see where it was going to go. However, as soon as Cecelia was introduced and their story began to unfold I just lost interest. Dino is too intense, too creepy and it made me super uncomfortable. Of course i'm taking into account the attitudes of the time but the book was ruined for my by the incessant lusting after a young girl and the repeated attempts of men to 'possess' her and manipulate her into staying with them for their own amusement / psychological development?
The two stars are purely for Moravia's writing, I really loved it and although the characters are pretty awful (besides Cecelia who probably has a lot of emotional trauma), they are written really effectively and I could believe that they were real people, kinda terrible, but well written.
The two stars are purely for Moravia's writing, I really loved it and although the characters are pretty awful (besides Cecelia who probably has a lot of emotional trauma), they are written really effectively and I could believe that they were real people, kinda terrible, but well written.
amkclaes's review against another edition
4.25
Moravia's novel draws you in through a character whose self-proclaimed ennui proves to be anything but. As his obsession with his young lover escalates, it throws his discerning eye for other personalities and interpersonal dynamics into sharp relief. Dino's delusion of his own ennui is further emphasized by Cecilia's utter detachment with the world as well as her disinterest in anything but the present moment. Her hyperbolic apathy serves as the perfect foil to Dino's obsessive interrogation and speculation.
One star taken off for the pacing. It was at times tedious to go along with Dino through the same patterns over dozens of pages though the effect paid off.
One star taken off for the pacing. It was at times tedious to go along with Dino through the same patterns over dozens of pages though the effect paid off.