rmghete's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
carateresa's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
iammandyellen's review against another edition
5.0
I suppose childhood's heart is either savage or enchanted depending on the circumstances enclosing it, but depending even more, I think, on the disposition of the child. Müller's extraordinary manipulations of syntaxes and the performative functions of words create the sense of slippery, unfixed meaning that comes as such a trauma to the child narrator. I love also her exploration of the friction between the world-understanding the adults are trying to develop in the child and the many ways it is betrayed by the actions of those same adults.
bringyourstory's review against another edition
4.0
The more impressive stories in this book are those shorter than 6 pages. Really breathtaking how a world can be constructed, developed and ended in such succinct space.
Great poetic prose.
Got the spanish version; I now admire the translator.
Great poetic prose.
Got the spanish version; I now admire the translator.
jramm's review against another edition
2.0
Herta, so your stories have no plot, that's ok. They lack character development. Fine, as long as I get some fresh perspective about life. NO? Ok, no plot, no character development, no fresh perspective, but that's ok because you're going to teach me something, right? Ok, Herta, ok, so, maybe you don't want to be a teacher but surely you will challenge my sensibilities and cause me to re-examine my sense of the moral? NO?!? Ok, I'm getting impatient by now, but maybe you're just not a moralist. Maybe you just want to ramble, without discernment, about vague things in a vague place in a vague way. There we go, Herta, there we go. Mission Accomplished!
This book reads like Sandra Cisneros without personality. Like Willa Cather without passion for place and people. Like Steinbeck without storytelling. Herta's scenes are rather interchangeable, her style is strained, and her prose is well...for the sake of kindness, I'll assume lost in translation. Someone please, set me straight. Does she deserve a Nobel prize? Can her genius be found in her novels? I hope so...
This book reads like Sandra Cisneros without personality. Like Willa Cather without passion for place and people. Like Steinbeck without storytelling. Herta's scenes are rather interchangeable, her style is strained, and her prose is well...for the sake of kindness, I'll assume lost in translation. Someone please, set me straight. Does she deserve a Nobel prize? Can her genius be found in her novels? I hope so...
cwebb's review against another edition
4.0
Bist du deppert, das ist deprimierend!
Die kurzen Erzählungen sind zwar teils offensichtlich eher Traumsequenzen, aber die Realität, die düstere Realität des Lebens im kommunistische Rumänien ziegt sich oft. Oft und derb. Nicht schön.
Die kurzen Erzählungen sind zwar teils offensichtlich eher Traumsequenzen, aber die Realität, die düstere Realität des Lebens im kommunistische Rumänien ziegt sich oft. Oft und derb. Nicht schön.
serenaac's review against another edition
4.0
Nadirs by Herta Muller, who recently won the the Nobel Prize for Literature, is a collection of mostly autobiographical short stories about surviving a communist regime and personal drama. This 120-page work is translated from her native German language, and is one of only a few of her works that have been translated into English. Muller straddles the surreal and reality in her stories, and in some cases this balance is executed better than in others. However, her concise and detailed language paints vivid pictures for readers of harsh conditions and deep sadness and other emotions.
"In all the pictures, Father was frozen in the middle of a gesture. In all the pictures, Father looked as though he didn't know what to do. But Father always knew what to do. That's why all these pictures were wrong. All those false pictures, all those false faces chilled the room. I wanted to get up from my chair, but my dress was frozen to the wood." (from "The Funeral Sermon," Page 2)
In many ways these short stories are more like long, narrative poems filled with imagery, metaphor, and illusion, but there are occasions when Muller clearly outlines what is happening in these families and how it impacts each narrator, who in many cases is a young girl. In "Rotten Pears," the young narrator travels with her father and her aunt to a village to sell their vegetables and fruit, but staying overnight in a strange village reveals dark family secrets and alludes to other possibilities.
"I walk through the cemetery gate and the bell is in front of my face. The stroke of the bell is under my hair. The stroke is in my pulse next to my eyes and in my weary wrists under the tangled fern. The knot that dangles from the rope of the bell is in my throat." (From "Oppressive Tango," Page 86)
With stories ranging from just a few pages to 60 pages or more, Nadirs has something for the quick trip on the subway or the long leisurely moments on the couch, though many of these stories deal with deep sadness and betrayal. Muller also is clearly a poet, economizing her words to create images that will burn into readers minds and remain there for many hours, days, weeks, and months. She uses repetition and juxtapositions of black and white, noise and silence, and other techniques to peak readers' curiosity.
"Their velvety bulging bellies popped and sprinkled white milk on the floor. Then loathing crawled up on me from my shoes and put its tentacles around my throat, and its hands were gaunt and cold like the hands of the old people I saw in those beds with lids in front of which people would sit in silence and prayer." (From "Nadirs," Page 18)
Overall an excellent collection to get a sense of Muller's style, and many of these stories resemble nightmares from a child's point of view. Unfortunately, the short story from which the collection's name is taken was the least engaging and overly surreal. With "Nadirs" being the longest story in the collection, it was tough to get through and ultimately some readers (including me) may give up and skip to other stories in the collection.
"In all the pictures, Father was frozen in the middle of a gesture. In all the pictures, Father looked as though he didn't know what to do. But Father always knew what to do. That's why all these pictures were wrong. All those false pictures, all those false faces chilled the room. I wanted to get up from my chair, but my dress was frozen to the wood." (from "The Funeral Sermon," Page 2)
In many ways these short stories are more like long, narrative poems filled with imagery, metaphor, and illusion, but there are occasions when Muller clearly outlines what is happening in these families and how it impacts each narrator, who in many cases is a young girl. In "Rotten Pears," the young narrator travels with her father and her aunt to a village to sell their vegetables and fruit, but staying overnight in a strange village reveals dark family secrets and alludes to other possibilities.
"I walk through the cemetery gate and the bell is in front of my face. The stroke of the bell is under my hair. The stroke is in my pulse next to my eyes and in my weary wrists under the tangled fern. The knot that dangles from the rope of the bell is in my throat." (From "Oppressive Tango," Page 86)
With stories ranging from just a few pages to 60 pages or more, Nadirs has something for the quick trip on the subway or the long leisurely moments on the couch, though many of these stories deal with deep sadness and betrayal. Muller also is clearly a poet, economizing her words to create images that will burn into readers minds and remain there for many hours, days, weeks, and months. She uses repetition and juxtapositions of black and white, noise and silence, and other techniques to peak readers' curiosity.
"Their velvety bulging bellies popped and sprinkled white milk on the floor. Then loathing crawled up on me from my shoes and put its tentacles around my throat, and its hands were gaunt and cold like the hands of the old people I saw in those beds with lids in front of which people would sit in silence and prayer." (From "Nadirs," Page 18)
Overall an excellent collection to get a sense of Muller's style, and many of these stories resemble nightmares from a child's point of view. Unfortunately, the short story from which the collection's name is taken was the least engaging and overly surreal. With "Nadirs" being the longest story in the collection, it was tough to get through and ultimately some readers (including me) may give up and skip to other stories in the collection.
pavel_nedelcu's review against another edition
5.0
Întregul volum este înțesat de metafore și imagini, fantasticul se va îmbina cu realul până la punctul în care nu se vor mai distinge, la fel cum se întâmplă, spre exemplu, în operele lui Marquez, Saramago sau Cărtărescu. Totuși, ceea ce o deosebește pe Herta Müller, sau ceea ce deosebește această operă de cele scrise de autorii mai sus menționați, este o anumită cadență a frazei, o anumită specificitate a fluenței narative, alineatele dese, neanunțarea replicilor de dialog prin semnele convenționale, ci inserarea lor directă și întrucâtva neașteptată în fluxul scrierii.
frankkasell's review against another edition
4.0
Some of the stories were a full five stars (especially the title story); some were three. When it was good, it was amazing. When it wasn't, it was enjoyable but forgettable.
raehink's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced