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acrisalves's review
4.0
histórias muito curtas. absurdo, irónico. imaginem um master and margarita, mas ao invés de as histórias absurdas se interligarem numa história maior, aqui encontram-se isoladas.
quixotic_conundrum's review
challenging
funny
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Most the stories are absurd and amusing. There are a few bad stories in my opinion and a few really great ones. However, I feel most of them just lie in the 4-star range.
rowanada's review
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bridget1989's review
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mikolaszko's review
4.0
A quick turn-pager, very witty and humourous stories written in 1950's. I would actually give it a 4,5 stars but it's not an option. Highly recommend if you like surrealistic, sometimes crazy tales, although I have to say there is one story about black people and it's hmm, maybe not racist per say but it uses from modern perspective some outdated vocabulary. As I said, it was written in 1950s in Poland where there is no perception of racial diversity so yeah, there's that.
punkrocknreticence's review
3.0
The Elephant is a collection of short, surreal, absurdist and often Kafkaesque stories from 1950s Communist Poland. Amusing, witty and highly satirical — so much so that some stories require repeated reading and may still end in uncomprehension — this slim volume lays humourous ground for an understanding of life under totalitarianism (indeed, the humour of these stories paves way for a realisation of the horrors of lived reality). While I found myself unable to properly appreciate some of the stories, I liked many and thoroughly enjoyed "Children", "Peer Gynt" and "The Chronicle of the Besieged City".
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