Reviews

Adım Gantenbein Olsun by Max Frisch

flelix's review against another edition

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challenging 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? It's complicated

3.5

nbsoliv's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

yarnmaus's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

hopedihop's review against another edition

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1.0

Eher 1.5 Sterne als einer.

Was soll ich sagen, die ersten 100 Seiten habe ich mich über das chauvinistische Bild in diesem Buch geägert und aufgeregt. So sehr, dass ich es zur Seite gelegt habe und erstmal etwas anderes gelesen habe.

"Manchmal tut Lila mir leid. Und dann mogle ich, indem ich hinter ihrem Rücken bereits bezahlt habe; Lila merkt es nie, sie ist eine Frau, wenn auch eine selbstständige."

Die nächsten 100 Seiten bin ich vor langeweile beinahe eingeschlafen und habe das Buch wieder für ein anderes weggelegt.

Die letzten 200 Seiten waren okay, weswegen es auch 1.5 Sterne gibt. Trotzdem gefällt mir der Schreibstil nicht und auch die Geschichte ist belanglos. Man kann mir vorwerfen, dass ich das Buch einfach nicht verstanden habe - wer weiß. Aber bei einer Lektüre die mich so wenig interessiert, werde ich mich auch nicht weiter mit Interpretationen beschäftigen.

tfj's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

0.25

So viel Misogynie aus so wenig Seiten… Keine Empfehlung! 

dameguillotine's review against another edition

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5.0

Hacía bastante que no leía un libro que me fascinara tanto como éste. Meses que esperaba llegar a una novela que me diera ganas de no soltarla, que me hiciera abrirla desde el segundo en el que encontraba un asiento en el colectivo, que me enojara tener que cerrar cuando llegara a mi destino. Y finalmente llegué, en una experiencia nueva, siendo que es un libro del que no había escuchado nunca por un autor que jamás sentí nombrar y que compré por impulso pensando en regalarlo en base a "autores similares" según Goodreads.
Bien, es quizás curioso que sea ésta, y no otra, la novela que me apasionó de esta manera. Y es que, a pesar de que la describiría fácilmente como una novela sobre historias... no tiene historia alguna. Es una colección de imaginaciones. Hay algunos personajes que aparecen con constancia —Gantenbein, por supuesto, pero también Enderlin, Lila, Burri, Camilla y Svoboda— pero ¿importa acaso esa constancia cuando nuestro narrador los imagina y reimagina por lo menos cada cincuenta páginas? ¿y quién es, al fin y al cabo, nuestro narrador, que a veces nos habla en primera persona, a veces en tercera, a veces es Gantenbein, a veces es Enderlin, a veces es Svoboda y a veces no le gustaría serlo?

Más que tener una trama tiene una temática. Es una exploración de la identidad, del engaño, el invento y las relaciones. Con sus partes cómicas, sus partes trágicas y sus cosas curiosas, invita a ser releído apenas es acabado para encontrar nuevas conexiones entre las historias que nuestro narrador inventa —hay un cierto instinto, como lector, a conectar las cosas. Cuando llegás a leer la historia de Enderlin volviendo a la mañana siguiente en traje de noche te sonreís al identificarlo con el hombre del principio que sigue a otro porque se recuerda a sí mismo de mañana con traje de noche. Sin embargo es menester que, más allá de disfrutar esos pequeños momentos, los dejemos ir: ese no era Enderlin, era Gantenbein, o era Svoboda, o eran los tres o no era ninguno. Al fin y al cabo no tiene ninguna importancia—.

En fin. Me resultó fascinante. Lo recomiendo muchísimo, aunque entiendo perfectamente a las personas que le dieron una estrella y dijeron que les pareció incomprensible y carente de sentido. Yo personalmente le encontré muchos sentidos, todos muy estimulantes.

iamcurie's review against another edition

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4.0

I dont know what to think. I hated it. I loved it. At times i was so bored i didnt want to pick it up again. At times i was so caught up in the story that i couldnt put it down.

I didnt understand for very long what was going on, at some point i gave in to it and just exacpted my confusion. It times i felt like this is one of the most important books i have ever read, that had so much to say.

In the end i think its a story about love. Not the hollywood-lovestory-cliché kind of love, but the real one. The one that happens every day - or not.

sallyysimpson's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

giulii's review against another edition

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challenging reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

nihidea's review against another edition

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5.0

Okay, now that I have finished the book for the second time, I feel up to writing a review about it. Now I feel I have halfway captured what is even going on. Or not going on. Because, let’s face it, 95% of what is happening in this book is not even happening. Okay?

Wait, first things first. This book is amazing. I shit you not. It fascinated me every time over when I opened it withing a few sentences I was just baffled. Frisch’s writing style is incredible, and he manages to convey so many emotions, so deep and unimaginable feelings in such an everyday language. None of the words he uses is overly sophisticated, but together they form an exquisite example of highly poetic literature. I can not stress enough how good this book is.
And that is even though virtually nothing happens.
It’s an amazing tale of fantasy and escapism, of searching for identity, of exploring life in only your mind, of sonder. Oh, so much sonder.

There are so many layers. Honestly guys. Forget all about Inception. There is a fuckload of layers in this book and you might need a few times, just as I needed a few times and will probably need a few more to really grasp this book in its entirety, but guys, it’s SO worth it.

I can not thank my Literature teacher from high school enough for recommending this to me. She, too, was as completely captivated by this book as I am now, and with this enthusiasm she got me to read it although I didn’t like Max Frisch. It completely changed my mind.

This is a book that will occasionally make you laugh, occasionally bring you to the verge of tears, quite a few times present you with emotions you can relate to so much that it hurts, and always, always will it suck you completely into its world of absurdity, or confusion, of fantasy.