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paul_viaf's review against another edition
4.0
Berger, an art critic, produces an in-depth psychological painting through which each strokes strongly defines the mind of his characters. Each wrinkle their very own. Each flaw. Each crevice carved by unmitigated moments of humanity. Each unique characteristic is articulated through their acute mannerisms & salted anatomy. The flavor of each character is pungently real. The main character is a miscreant. A man I much envy. What virtues constrain our coarse desires these days. I wonder about his depravity & the basis for its origins. So much is explained but this, his untainted nihilism. Hedonism spills from him in the most romantic dressings. I empathize with the cad. He is brave enough to be this licentious fool. A miscreant whose actions are justified by the sincerity with which he acts upon them. He reads as a man composed of a particularly honed lustful instinct which separates him from the bourgeoisie he casually fraternizes with & above the peasants he lures with his quasi-gentlemen-like facade. He is a spider. A master at ensnaring. Though this is through no special education or tedious work ethic. No, he was born to ensnare. He only becomes what his instincts allow & instincts have no need for mores. Highly detailed almost to its detriment. The author’s conviction to detailing minutiae causes the book to lag in certain instances. Perhaps this is more of a testament to generational differences in attention spans. The author speaks with a psychological verve which projects in certain instances & in others provides plausible insight. He seems to understand human relationships at certain points and boast about insights he might not have about the opposite sex in others. Truly Freudian in every sense of the word. The book has some archaic sexist views on women. These are never more apparent than in our paradigm-shifting present. Let it be said that if the book is nothing else, the reading is a fine thought exercise. It is not coherent for the most part and certain parts seem like a compilation of aphorisms. The narrative jumps between different realizations of the boy’s consciousness and the gathered experiences of his adulthood, though this is not a stream of consciousness book. Also the reader would be hard pressed to say that the main character ever learns any meaningful lesson from the wounds he incurs at all. The realizations he refers to merely shade in both mental stages with highlights heavy in metaphor and sensorial amusement. Nonlinear story lines aren't usually a problem for me; in fact I find them more entertaining, but because the novel proposes the reader engage in an exercise of such historical detail, the technique does not seem to meld well thematically. I'd like to give this a 3.5 but the site does not provide the option, so I will round up for the quality of metaphor & psychological complexity the author brings to this odd mix of erotic historical fiction.
moviebuffkt's review against another edition
3.0
Six books in and I've just discovered this series from The Guardian on looking back at the Booker Prize winners.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2008/jan/09/lookingbackatthebookerjoh
Of G., they say that "[it] is worth reading just for its vertiginous description of the first crossing of the Alps by plane, its crushing examples of the first world war's futile slaughter and a barnstorming rendition of the Milan riots of 1898. The latter scene culminates in a suave refusal to finish describing the slaughter because stopping where he does is "to admit more of the truth".
I have to say, I partially agree. Where the novel most speaks to me is in these moments of description. How did a town mourn the death of a pilot? What were street riots like in Italy? How does scandal play out in the upper classes?
Berger makes some incredibly frustrating statements about women, and their identity as individual. Often it is discussed that a woman takes on the mantel of wife/mother/lover, and has to act in these roles. And these roles define who she is. With observations such as these, I found myself constantly amazed that this novel was published in the 1970s. So then, is Berger writing women as they were treated in the time of this book... Or commenting on modern women?
The narrative style got confusing for me, but eventually it made more sense. I kept asking myself who was narrating the story though. At times omniscient, at times commenting on the thoughts, feelings and futures of his characters, at times discussing how critics describe his (Berger's?) writing, I was just never quite sure who was telling this story. And so many, which had an impact on G.'s life, were glossed over. Oh yeah, his cousins were sleeping together, and she seduced him at age 14, but let's talk about that British Empire for awhile!
So. A novel about sex. A novel about revolution. But NOT a novel about sexual revolution....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2008/jan/09/lookingbackatthebookerjoh
Of G., they say that "[it] is worth reading just for its vertiginous description of the first crossing of the Alps by plane, its crushing examples of the first world war's futile slaughter and a barnstorming rendition of the Milan riots of 1898. The latter scene culminates in a suave refusal to finish describing the slaughter because stopping where he does is "to admit more of the truth".
I have to say, I partially agree. Where the novel most speaks to me is in these moments of description. How did a town mourn the death of a pilot? What were street riots like in Italy? How does scandal play out in the upper classes?
Berger makes some incredibly frustrating statements about women, and their identity as individual. Often it is discussed that a woman takes on the mantel of wife/mother/lover, and has to act in these roles. And these roles define who she is. With observations such as these, I found myself constantly amazed that this novel was published in the 1970s. So then, is Berger writing women as they were treated in the time of this book... Or commenting on modern women?
The narrative style got confusing for me, but eventually it made more sense. I kept asking myself who was narrating the story though. At times omniscient, at times commenting on the thoughts, feelings and futures of his characters, at times discussing how critics describe his (Berger's?) writing, I was just never quite sure who was telling this story. And so many, which had an impact on G.'s life, were glossed over. Oh yeah, his cousins were sleeping together, and she seduced him at age 14, but let's talk about that British Empire for awhile!
So. A novel about sex. A novel about revolution. But NOT a novel about sexual revolution....
gnatroberts's review against another edition
I'll need to read it again before I have anything intelligent to say about it.
wojoy's review against another edition
3.0
OK, this was a tough reading. It took me two months to finish it. Why? Because it tries to express the reality of the character not in a timewise progression, but as one can experience the reality dictated by the biases of human consciousness. The processing of the senses, the recalled memories, it is like an instant, a section in which the brain works its magics for a moment. It is like computational sampling methods which move the object forward in space rather than in time. Maybe he tries to mock our general reading experience or perception as if time moves forward in the fiction we read, although all the plot is timeless and spread out in front of us.
There are many aspects of this book, one can comment on. I like the historical background. The atmosphere of 19th and 20th centuries... I like that it is similar to a bildungsroman as we observe the flourishing of the main character. However I think, as a reader I’m still lacking a grasp on the main character G. He is told to be Don Juan, but I couldn’t see his motives clearly. Nihilism, hedonism, loneliness, rage?? I couldn’t connect the child G with the adult G in my mind.
In conclusion, it’s definitely an experimental novel which requires a playful approach towards reading.
There are many aspects of this book, one can comment on. I like the historical background. The atmosphere of 19th and 20th centuries... I like that it is similar to a bildungsroman as we observe the flourishing of the main character. However I think, as a reader I’m still lacking a grasp on the main character G. He is told to be Don Juan, but I couldn’t see his motives clearly. Nihilism, hedonism, loneliness, rage?? I couldn’t connect the child G with the adult G in my mind.
In conclusion, it’s definitely an experimental novel which requires a playful approach towards reading.
soaptedecarte's review against another edition
3.0
3.5⭐️
G, roman castigator al Premiului Booker in 1972, urmareste viata protagonistului cu acelasi nume, in timp ce isi consolideaza imaginea de Don Juan modern in mai multe tari europene la inceput de secol XX, o perioada neagra a continentului, marcata de conflicte atroce si razmerite ale caror ecouri mai radiaza inca si in ziua de azi.
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Romanul poarta clar amprenta postmodernismului, Berger folosindu-si personajul pentru a explora scena timpurilor printr-o paleta larga de considerente, indeosebi arta, istorie, iubire, sexualitate, politica si conditia femeii pe final de secol XIX, inceput de XX. Linia temporala este intrerupta de lungi fragmente moralizatoare si introspective, naratorul incercand sa intre in dialog cu cititorul, linia de demarcatie dintre cele doua voci - narator si protagonist - estompandu-se pe masura ce lectura inainteaza. Totusi, scriitura este rece si intransigenta, mai degraba o analiza sociala pe planuri multiple, in care protagonistul este controlat si disecat prin lentila naratorului omniscient.
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In prima jumatate a romanului se pregateste scena pentru aparitia lui G pe lume (rezultata din relatia extraconjugala a tatalui, italian respectat din Livorno care se invarte prin cele mai importante cercuri ale vremii, cu mama, americanca stabilita recent la Paris) si urmarim parcursul lui G prin copilaria si adolescenta tumultoasa si marcata de un vid emotional extrem.
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Stilul incisiv, indraznet si cu siguranta extravagant in care Berger alege sa construiasca acest roman, se accentueaza pe masura ce G trece de perioada adolescentei, capatand o maniera din ce in ce mai transanta in timp ce aventurile amoroase se intetesc, iar Europa se apropie de punctul maxim de fierbere.
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Nu este un roman usor, pe alocuri poate fi chiar apasator, frustrant si pretentios, insa poate fi o alegere potrivita pentru cititorii care doresc o mai buna vedere de ansamblu asupra istoriei relativ recente, cu tot ce implica ea.
Multumiri, editura Vellant, pentru exemplarul oferit
G, roman castigator al Premiului Booker in 1972, urmareste viata protagonistului cu acelasi nume, in timp ce isi consolideaza imaginea de Don Juan modern in mai multe tari europene la inceput de secol XX, o perioada neagra a continentului, marcata de conflicte atroce si razmerite ale caror ecouri mai radiaza inca si in ziua de azi.
•
Romanul poarta clar amprenta postmodernismului, Berger folosindu-si personajul pentru a explora scena timpurilor printr-o paleta larga de considerente, indeosebi arta, istorie, iubire, sexualitate, politica si conditia femeii pe final de secol XIX, inceput de XX. Linia temporala este intrerupta de lungi fragmente moralizatoare si introspective, naratorul incercand sa intre in dialog cu cititorul, linia de demarcatie dintre cele doua voci - narator si protagonist - estompandu-se pe masura ce lectura inainteaza. Totusi, scriitura este rece si intransigenta, mai degraba o analiza sociala pe planuri multiple, in care protagonistul este controlat si disecat prin lentila naratorului omniscient.
•
In prima jumatate a romanului se pregateste scena pentru aparitia lui G pe lume (rezultata din relatia extraconjugala a tatalui, italian respectat din Livorno care se invarte prin cele mai importante cercuri ale vremii, cu mama, americanca stabilita recent la Paris) si urmarim parcursul lui G prin copilaria si adolescenta tumultoasa si marcata de un vid emotional extrem.
•
Stilul incisiv, indraznet si cu siguranta extravagant in care Berger alege sa construiasca acest roman, se accentueaza pe masura ce G trece de perioada adolescentei, capatand o maniera din ce in ce mai transanta in timp ce aventurile amoroase se intetesc, iar Europa se apropie de punctul maxim de fierbere.
•
Nu este un roman usor, pe alocuri poate fi chiar apasator, frustrant si pretentios, insa poate fi o alegere potrivita pentru cititorii care doresc o mai buna vedere de ansamblu asupra istoriei relativ recente, cu tot ce implica ea.
Multumiri, editura Vellant, pentru exemplarul oferit
bibliobethreads's review against another edition
2.0
Its a bit hard to describe what this book is about except by saying it is a search for intimacy by our central character G. I can see why it might appeal to Booker judges as the descriptive language is quite lovely at times but I'm afraid to say I found it a bit of a yawn.