A review by stacialithub
Revulsion: Thomas Bernhard in San Salvador by Horacio Castellanos Moya
4.0
As I was reading, I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. I'm not familiar with Thomas Bernhard's works so I wasn't familiar with the style that Moya was imitating in his riff & rip of life, people, politics, & about everything else in El Salvador. The entire novella is one long paragraph, often punctuated by commas, & reads as a breathless stream-of-consciousness rant.
But, now that I've spent a little time reading more about this book, learning about Thomas Bernhard's writing style, & mulling over the book (as well as the fact that the author received death threats after publishing it), I am finding it quite a brilliant piece.
When I first read that Moya received death threats, I thought it seemed kind of silly based on the rant-y content -- not something to take so seriously, surely? But the more I think about it, I can see how this book & the threats issuing therewith being *exactly* the point. And if an American writer were to do the same type of book for here in a similar style? I'm guessing that (sadly) some reactions (toward violence) might be the same.
But, now that I've spent a little time reading more about this book, learning about Thomas Bernhard's writing style, & mulling over the book (as well as the fact that the author received death threats after publishing it), I am finding it quite a brilliant piece.
When I first read that Moya received death threats, I thought it seemed kind of silly based on the rant-y content -- not something to take so seriously, surely? But the more I think about it, I can see how this book & the threats issuing therewith being *exactly* the point. And if an American writer were to do the same type of book for here in a similar style? I'm guessing that (sadly) some reactions (toward violence) might be the same.