suvaznudli's review against another edition
3.0
Připadalo mi to nerovnoměrné - některé části byly originální a zábavné, jinde jsem se strašně nudila. A rozečíst k tomu něco dalšího, tak už to nejspíš nikdy neotevřu. Tak jsem aspoň ráda, že jsem se po těch DVOU MĚSÍCÍCH dobrala relativně uspokojivého konce. A přijímám tipy na rychlé a lehce stravitelné knihy do 200 stránek.
andrew_russell's review against another edition
1.0
It's obvious that there are a great many who hold this book up as something approaching 'Masterpiece' status, and even more that simply rate it as an excellent work of literature. I guess then, that my opinion of Julian Barnes' A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters is in the main, driven by my own tastes as a reader.
Nonetheless, I found this novel (and by the way, it's questionable whether it actually is a novel) to possess several key characteristics, none of which are positive. Here they are;
1) It's unengaging. There simply isn't a hook on which to hang your hat. No solid characters, no well written setting and only the thinnest of philosophical themes on which to muse.
2) It's prose is dull, dull, dull.
3) I couldn't for the life of me figure out why it was written.
This is my 7th Barnes novel and so far the ratings are: 1 5 star, 2 4 stars, 2 3 stars and 2 1 stars. I'll persevere with my mini-project of completing his back catalogue for another couple of books but if they don't yield something decent, then I may go in search of a more enjoyable author. Added to this, I don't think I can claim any longer to hold Barnes up as my favourite author.
Nonetheless, I found this novel (and by the way, it's questionable whether it actually is a novel) to possess several key characteristics, none of which are positive. Here they are;
1) It's unengaging. There simply isn't a hook on which to hang your hat. No solid characters, no well written setting and only the thinnest of philosophical themes on which to muse.
2) It's prose is dull, dull, dull.
3) I couldn't for the life of me figure out why it was written.
This is my 7th Barnes novel and so far the ratings are: 1 5 star, 2 4 stars, 2 3 stars and 2 1 stars. I'll persevere with my mini-project of completing his back catalogue for another couple of books but if they don't yield something decent, then I may go in search of a more enjoyable author. Added to this, I don't think I can claim any longer to hold Barnes up as my favourite author.
suzannalundale's review against another edition
5.0
Bloody brilliant. I've been meaning to read this for years, and will be reading more Barnes very, very soon.
"And does history repeat itself, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce? No, that's too grand, too considered a process. History just burps, and we taste again that raw onion sandwich it swallowed centuries ago."
"And does history repeat itself, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce? No, that's too grand, too considered a process. History just burps, and we taste again that raw onion sandwich it swallowed centuries ago."
dllh's review against another edition
4.0
This is a weird book for me. It came highly recommended, and I was excited to read it, but it took me a long time to get through what is a pretty short book. It's not history (though sometimes it's history-ish) and not always quite fiction. It's not quite a short story collection but also not quite a novel. The writing by and large isn't beautiful, but neither is it unbeautiful. It is I believe by design largely a book rooted in contradiction, which is likely part of why I'm unable to classify it in a straightforward way. It is certainly a book of ideas. I liked a lot of it and loved the last chapter. One day I'd like to read it again at a time when I'm less busy and can read it more closely over the course of two or three nights rather than scattered over several weeks.
damopedro's review against another edition
3.0
I struggled with this. Maybe only really got into two or three of the short stories. Fortunately it ended on a really good one.
monikapuff's review against another edition
5.0
I love this! I expected a lot from Barnes, after the genious of Flaubert's Parrot, and I was not let down. The best thing about this 'novel' is that you can read every chapter without reading all the others, and not lose anything, and yet every one of them is connected, usually in one tiny thing, sometimes something more obvious, and it doesn't stand out. All chapters are interesting, I almost didn't want to finish reading it, and it was an emotional roller coaster! From joy, through sadness to righteousness, I felt it all, and it was amazing!
'The Survivor' is probably the best piece of writing I have read recently, and surely the most painful one. Some tears were shed at the end.
'The Survivor' is probably the best piece of writing I have read recently, and surely the most painful one. Some tears were shed at the end.
dogpro's review against another edition
3.0
Same old with J.B, the final quarter went off course again.
drewtemel's review against another edition
4.0
A map of history
The materialist argument attacks love, of course; it attacks everything. Love boils down to pheromones, it says. This bounding of the heart, this clarity of vision, this energizing, this moral certainty, this exaltation, this civic virtue, this murmured I love you, are all caused by a low-level smell emitted by one partner and subconsciously nosed by the other. We are just a grander version of that beetle bashing its head in a box at the sound of a tapped pencil. Do we believe this? Well let’s believe it for the moment, because it makes love’s triumph the greater. What is a violin made of? Bits of wood and bits of sheep’s intestine. Does its construction demean and banalize the music? On the contrary, it exalts the music further… Am I losing precision?- 243
The materialist argument attacks love, of course; it attacks everything. Love boils down to pheromones, it says. This bounding of the heart, this clarity of vision, this energizing, this moral certainty, this exaltation, this civic virtue, this murmured I love you, are all caused by a low-level smell emitted by one partner and subconsciously nosed by the other. We are just a grander version of that beetle bashing its head in a box at the sound of a tapped pencil. Do we believe this? Well let’s believe it for the moment, because it makes love’s triumph the greater. What is a violin made of? Bits of wood and bits of sheep’s intestine. Does its construction demean and banalize the music? On the contrary, it exalts the music further… Am I losing precision?- 243
tomwbrass's review against another edition
1.0
utter shit, to be blunt about it. Typical middle class, middle aged, white male writing with all your standard atheistic views of religion, casual misogyny, and self-important pseudo-philosophical ramblings. Even technically, it was pretty poorly written. Long, windy sentences, a pretty shoe horned in attempt at constantly referring back to the other stories, which was meant to be subtle, but was so blatantly obvious, it was almost offensive to assume a reader wouldn't notice it. And let's not forget that this "history" (I know it's just a title and barely relates to the content, but using it creates a sense of constructing history narratively) is exclusively from a Western perspective. Even the Ark story was narrated by the most British woodworm ever worded. Just infuriatingly bad in general.
lzad's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0