Reviews

La Septième Fonction du langage, by Laurent Binet

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frenchsapphic's review against another edition

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adventurous funny informative lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

vicinalgwen69's review against another edition

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5.0

I cannot recommend this to you. It was excruciating. It's a satire of French philosophers that makes most of its cast philosophers, and the author has taken the time to know how to write like each one. Entire chapters are lectures on topics like citationism and "classical and baroque" and they're all plot relevant. It's so post modern that I wailed

But it's very creative, very well written, and well researched, and is unlike anything else you or I have ever seen. So if you're looking for that, here it is

tobsi's review against another edition

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challenging funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

pixe1's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5

This book was dense and exhausting. I certainly don't have the background in French Theory necessary to appreciate all of the digressions in this story, and I doubt many people do.

That said, it was still a good mystery with some solid action scenes, and I can't quite recall reading anything remotely like it.

klaos's review against another edition

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4.25

La settima funzione del linguaggio è una sorpresa. Un romanzo poliziesco che gira intorno al concetto di linguaggio basandosi tutto sulla (reale) morte di Roland Barthes investito da un furgoncino. Roland Barthes custode, a sua volta, di una fantomatica settima funzione del linguaggio affidatagli da Roman Jakobson: funzione ricercata sia da Julia Kristeva e Philippe Sollers, sia dal presidente di allora Giscard. Allora, i nostri eroi, un detective brontolone che si appasiona di linguistica, Jacques Bayard e un professorucolo di semiotica molto riservato, Simon Herzog, andranno in giro per il mondo, tra Bologna, Parigi, Ithaca e Venezia per rintracciare le coordinate di un biglietto che potrebbe cambiare tutto. Ciò si intreccia, a sua volta, con la consapevolezza di Simon di essere un personaggio di finzione e ruotare intorno, linguisticamente, a quel concetto rompendo non solo il dialogo con il lettore ma con sé stesso e i suoi dubbi. Indubbiamente una lettura interessante e una ventata d'aria fresca nel panorama contemporaneo.

elisala's review

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4.0

Une enquête policière comme on en voit peu, avec: du langage, des théories, des détails, de l'humour, beaucoup d'humour.
Et aussi un jeu avec la réalité historique, très intéressant - qu'est-ce qui a eu lieu? Qu'est-ce qui est pure fiction? À quel moment l'auteur prend des libertés ou n'en prend pas? Je n'ai pas de réponse, je me suis laissée porter, comme j'aime le faire, laissant l'histoire me mener par le bout du nez.
Et cette narration! Ah cette narration, j'adore, jouer presque cinématographiquement avec le décor, les personnages en présence, les dialogues se croisant, les réflexions tellement vraies - comme ces pensées qui nous passent par la tête sans qu'on sache bien pourquoi, en une fraction de seconde.
Et les personnages! Tous différents, chacun avec son portrait cinglant, qui les suit tout au long du livre, s'étoffant, s'affinant.
C'est chouette, c'est drôle, et ça tient bien plus en haleine que je ne l'aurais cru de prime abord.

Après [b: HHhH|7992363|HHhH|Laurent Binet|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1490084601s/7992363.jpg|12476227] que j'avais encore plus adoré, décidément, je peux le dire, Laurent Binet: à suivre.