Scan barcode
helgamharb's review against another edition
3.0
This was extremely bleak! Do not read if you are depressed or remotely bored with your life.
-Things ***
Jérôme and Sylvie were the "new generation" and they loved wealth before they loved life. But after owning everything and surrounding themselves with belongings, they became paralyzed by the immensity of their desires. They thought they were suffocating.
The enemy was unseen. Or, rather, the enemy was within them, it had rotted them, infected them, eaten them away. They were the hollow men, the turkey round the stuffing. Tame pets, faithfully reflecting a world which taunted them. They were up to their necks in a cream cake from which they would only ever be able to nibble crumbs.
And so, they decide to leave everything and travel… but then, guess what? They get bored with their newly found freedom and come back and try to copy their previous style of living.
I can summarize this book in a sentence and excuse my French: C'est la vie!
-A Man Asleep ***
Man sitting on a narrow bed… a book open on his knees, eyes vacant…
He has no desire to carry on, no desire to defend himself, no desire to attack…he is waiting for nothing.
He is a young student who has become indifferent towards everything; towards life, and in a sense is asleep.
The story is told in second person narrative.
-Things ***
Jérôme and Sylvie were the "new generation" and they loved wealth before they loved life. But after owning everything and surrounding themselves with belongings, they became paralyzed by the immensity of their desires. They thought they were suffocating.
The enemy was unseen. Or, rather, the enemy was within them, it had rotted them, infected them, eaten them away. They were the hollow men, the turkey round the stuffing. Tame pets, faithfully reflecting a world which taunted them. They were up to their necks in a cream cake from which they would only ever be able to nibble crumbs.
And so, they decide to leave everything and travel… but then, guess what? They get bored with their newly found freedom and come back and try to copy their previous style of living.
I can summarize this book in a sentence and excuse my French: C'est la vie!
-A Man Asleep ***
Man sitting on a narrow bed… a book open on his knees, eyes vacant…
He has no desire to carry on, no desire to defend himself, no desire to attack…he is waiting for nothing.
He is a young student who has become indifferent towards everything; towards life, and in a sense is asleep.
The story is told in second person narrative.
sulabooknerd's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
5.0
charliemandar'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
catherinebergeron34's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
nicovivi's review
dark
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
deborah9830's review against another edition
2.0
Mah, bella idea ma troppe descrizioni... I punti di forza sono la parte seconda e l'epilogo che danno un po' il senso del tutto
fatma_ahli's review against another edition
1.0
الكتاب ممل ممل ممل.. ما قدرت أكمله من كثر ما هو ممل ..
أنصح بالكتاب فقط إذا الواحد يعاني من الأرق!
أنصح بالكتاب فقط إذا الواحد يعاني من الأرق!
hcube3's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
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
3.0
ariadne42's review against another edition
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
cbendixe's review against another edition
2.0
The first novel in this book, Things: A Story of the Sixties, outlines a 20-something couple in 1960s Paris. They are incredibly materialistic, and the only interesting thing that they really do in the whole book is decide to temporarily move to Tunisia. Which of course they hate. I wish something else of note had happened, because these two characters were pretty crazy (in an interesting way).
I did not finish the second novel, A Man Asleep. The first half describes a college (or maybe grad school?) student's descent into depression. But there is apparently no reason for how the depression comes about, and chemical assistance is never discussed (not that it's always effective, but it might have made this guy more...I don't know, interesting? I know I've used that word too much already in this review, but I'm at a loss--I was really uninterested in this book).
I know there is a lot more to these philosophical novels, and I'm sure that I missed a lot. But for now I'm going to lay off of French novels.
I did not finish the second novel, A Man Asleep. The first half describes a college (or maybe grad school?) student's descent into depression. But there is apparently no reason for how the depression comes about, and chemical assistance is never discussed (not that it's always effective, but it might have made this guy more...I don't know, interesting? I know I've used that word too much already in this review, but I'm at a loss--I was really uninterested in this book).
I know there is a lot more to these philosophical novels, and I'm sure that I missed a lot. But for now I'm going to lay off of French novels.