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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Nominally the story of one English lady's life, this is a bit of mess. It reads like a patchwork of so-so short stories, occasionally diverting anecdotes and mostly banal discussions of religion and suicide. It wasn't terrible but I couldn't really get into it, and despite the excellence of Flaubert's Parrot I'm in no rush to buy another Barnes novel.
Written in the late 80s this book addresses questions of life, courage and death and, in the section set in the 21st century, features a conversation with a chat bot.
It's the story of an ordinary woman across her 100 years of life, and was interesting to me as a depiction of a rather unintelligent woman who grows into a sort of clueless wisdom. Not an easy thing to do while retaining a strong literary style, but Barnes manages it. The third act delves into some strange science-fiction (she lives to the year 2021), but by then, you're well engrossed.
reflective
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
Hmmmmm. I really enjoyed the first third. Worked my way through the second third. I forced myself to finish the third third.
This probably tells you something about how I found this book.
This probably tells you something about how I found this book.
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
in the year 2020, this is a total must read!
loved the futuristic computer brains
loved so much seeing how much barnes' style has grown since the 80s and yet how polished and beautiful this early gem is.
and i want to know .... Why IS the mink excessively tenacious of life??!?
loved the futuristic computer brains
loved so much seeing how much barnes' style has grown since the 80s and yet how polished and beautiful this early gem is.
and i want to know .... Why IS the mink excessively tenacious of life??!?
The earliest Barnes I have read so far and you can definitely see how his writing has changed over the past decades. The plot is very confusing and opens up more questions Thanner answers. Nevertheless, it is beautiful prose and does have a Barnes feeling to it, keeps you lingering and pondering after reading.