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barbette's review against another edition
4.0
4.5.
Ouch. This book alternates between being nearly unbearably painful to read to being tender and moving to being just grotesquely fascinating. Three floors in an Israeli apartment building are inhabited by car wrecks of human psyches from which you can't avert your eyes.
Broken human hearts are rendered more complicated by the varied psychological coping mechanisms employed to shore them up. Stories overlap. And each main character shares his or her tale with another in a different way, to ease the burden.
The first story was almost too much for me to take, but I held on and was rewarded with Devora's messages to her late husband on an answering machine. Nevo, writing from the perspective of a widow with an estranged child, was convincing. As a woman who relates to many things that unfold here, this story felt right on.
Ouch. This book alternates between being nearly unbearably painful to read to being tender and moving to being just grotesquely fascinating. Three floors in an Israeli apartment building are inhabited by car wrecks of human psyches from which you can't avert your eyes.
Broken human hearts are rendered more complicated by the varied psychological coping mechanisms employed to shore them up. Stories overlap. And each main character shares his or her tale with another in a different way, to ease the burden.
The first story was almost too much for me to take, but I held on and was rewarded with Devora's messages to her late husband on an answering machine. Nevo, writing from the perspective of a widow with an estranged child, was convincing. As a woman who relates to many things that unfold here, this story felt right on.
levishak's review against another edition
2.0
Though an easy read, I did not quite understand the point of the book, other than the obvious. There are three different stories, in three floors of an apartment building outside of Tel Aviv. We find out that Freud’s three parts of the psyche correspond to the three different protagonists. Or maybe each character displays these aspects—id, ego, superego—in unique ways.
Irregardless, I felt something lacking in the three personas. In my opinion, they were caricatures of actual people.
Since this book is popular in Israel and gets high reviews on this site, maybe something is lost in the translation.
Irregardless, I felt something lacking in the three personas. In my opinion, they were caricatures of actual people.
Since this book is popular in Israel and gets high reviews on this site, maybe something is lost in the translation.
msbaboo's review against another edition
2.0
I felt like the book was really amateurish, like a project for a college writing class. I don’t think it helped that most if the people were really unlikeable.
amit8's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
staggandie's review against another edition
3.0
I am maybe rounding up a bit. The last story was my favorite.
wellreadfem's review against another edition
4.0
Just read it! It’s a good read….3 interesting stories…
donatella_zuccaro's review
4.0
Un libro veramente interessante, che segue le vicende in un condominio, piano per piano e personalità dopo personalità. Tutte le storie, con diversi espedienti, sono narrate dai protagonisti che si confessano, che parlano senza remore e per questo riusciamo chiaramente a vedere come i narratori/protagonisti siano rappresentativi dell'Es, Io e Super-io freudiani. La prima storia segue i pensieri di Arnon mentre si confida ad un amico scrittore, è chiaramente uomo portato avanti dalle emozioni e dalle pulsioni; poi c'è Hani che cerca di mediare tra razionalità e la sua ipotetica e temuta follia mentre fa una serie di azioni che la ragione le dice di non fare; e per ultima Dovra, l'ex giudice, razionale che ci fa sapere anche i finali delle altre due storie mentre racconta gli eventi che la portano a cambiare la sua vita. Queste categorie però non sono così distinte nelle singole persone, tutti possono essere tutto (Arnon, l'Es, cerca comunque di trovare delle ragioni in quello che fa; Dovra, il Super-io, razionale si, ma dopo la pensione fa cose che non avrebbe fatto prima, non proprio irrazionali ma inusuali per una persona misurata come lei). Consiglio, godersi la lettura senza stare troppo a pensare a queste suddivisioni, che comunque sono interessanti. Il libro è scritto bene e scorre che nà bellezza, non avevo mai letto nulla di questo autore ma mi ha convinto