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hecaldwell's review against another edition
4.0
I loved most of the ‘short stories’ in this book. In particular syndrome it really stuck with me. It’s about how we sometimes diverge from the norm. It was a really beautiful book and I’d love to read it again.
skynet666's review against another edition
3.0
I'm in the camp that says this is not a novel. While some parts were brilliant and intriguing, some were the opposite.
msginam's review against another edition
This book demands attention. Attention that I currently can not give it due to life 💩 requiring all the brain space
helen's review against another edition
3.0
A fragmentary novel made up of vignettes about modern-day travel and our vehicle of travel, i.e. our bodies.
Turns out I'm not a fan of fragmentary novels; I need plot and/or well drawn characters to keep me interested and I found this a bit of a slog. It felt like reading the author's notebook full of half-formed story ideas. Some of the longer stories are gems - there's one about a Polish man whose wife and son disappear on a Croatian island and then mysteriously reappear; and one about a Russian woman who walks out on her husband and severely disabled son and experiments with riding the Moscow metro and spending time with the homeless - but these are interspersed with random mini-essays and dislocated observations, and this fragmented structure was a huge barrier for me.
However, there were enough strikingly written (and translated) sentences, and glimpses of excellent characterisation that I would definitely read another book by this author.
Note that there's no mention of forced migration or refugees as it pertains to the overall theme of travel/bodies in motion. This might not have seemed odd when it was written in 2007, but is a glaring omission today.
Favourite quotes:
"Describing something is like using it - it destroys; the colours wear off, the corners lose their definition, and in the end what's been described begins to fade, to disappear. This applies most of all to places. Enormous damage has been done by travel literature - a veritable scourge, an epidemic."
"Driving, I pass billboards that announce in black and white, in English, 'Jesus loves even you.' I feel uplifted by the unexpected encouragement; I'm only slightly alarmed by that 'even'"
“I can’t extract nutrition from the ground, I am the anti-Antaeus. My energy derives from movement—from the shuddering of buses, the rumble of planes, trains’ and ferries’ rocking.
Turns out I'm not a fan of fragmentary novels; I need plot and/or well drawn characters to keep me interested and I found this a bit of a slog. It felt like reading the author's notebook full of half-formed story ideas. Some of the longer stories are gems - there's one about a Polish man whose wife and son disappear on a Croatian island and then mysteriously reappear; and one about a Russian woman who walks out on her husband and severely disabled son and experiments with riding the Moscow metro and spending time with the homeless - but these are interspersed with random mini-essays and dislocated observations, and this fragmented structure was a huge barrier for me.
However, there were enough strikingly written (and translated) sentences, and glimpses of excellent characterisation that I would definitely read another book by this author.
Note that there's no mention of forced migration or refugees as it pertains to the overall theme of travel/bodies in motion. This might not have seemed odd when it was written in 2007, but is a glaring omission today.
Favourite quotes:
"Describing something is like using it - it destroys; the colours wear off, the corners lose their definition, and in the end what's been described begins to fade, to disappear. This applies most of all to places. Enormous damage has been done by travel literature - a veritable scourge, an epidemic."
"Driving, I pass billboards that announce in black and white, in English, 'Jesus loves even you.' I feel uplifted by the unexpected encouragement; I'm only slightly alarmed by that 'even'"
“I can’t extract nutrition from the ground, I am the anti-Antaeus. My energy derives from movement—from the shuddering of buses, the rumble of planes, trains’ and ferries’ rocking.
sebastianhafner's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
raaaaaaaach's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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
4.0