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A review by leifq
Zone by Mathias Énard, Charlotte Mandell
5.0
Whew... Ok
I'll start where all readers of this book are contractually obligated to start which is the one-sentence structure. First of all, it isn't really a single sentence as it's really just a standard structure but with punctuation and paragraph breaks removed - a 500+ page run-on sentence is more accurate (the distinction being that Enard doesn't go through acrobatics to make sure that this is a grammatically correct single sentence) and being thus, your brain adjusts after a few pages and reads the book as if the punctuation and breaks were there. Second, it's absolutely additive to the experience, both structurally (the overriding conceit being that the main character is traveling on a high-speed train while remembering the action of the novel) and philosophically where the repetitive violence human beings commit against each other has the effect of making different areas and different times bleed into one-another. The run-on nature of the structure mirrors the "house-of-mirrors" maze humanity's war against each has always been
There is no narrative arc and very little plot to speak of but the effect this book had on me was as that of the greats that I have read (2666 and Blood Meridian come easily to mind given the content) if it ultimately fell short of most of those
This book felt important and will, I believe, stick with me longer than most - a recommendation without reservation
I'll start where all readers of this book are contractually obligated to start which is the one-sentence structure. First of all, it isn't really a single sentence as it's really just a standard structure but with punctuation and paragraph breaks removed - a 500+ page run-on sentence is more accurate (the distinction being that Enard doesn't go through acrobatics to make sure that this is a grammatically correct single sentence) and being thus, your brain adjusts after a few pages and reads the book as if the punctuation and breaks were there. Second, it's absolutely additive to the experience, both structurally (the overriding conceit being that the main character is traveling on a high-speed train while remembering the action of the novel) and philosophically where the repetitive violence human beings commit against each other has the effect of making different areas and different times bleed into one-another. The run-on nature of the structure mirrors the "house-of-mirrors" maze humanity's war against each has always been
There is no narrative arc and very little plot to speak of but the effect this book had on me was as that of the greats that I have read (2666 and Blood Meridian come easily to mind given the content) if it ultimately fell short of most of those
This book felt important and will, I believe, stick with me longer than most - a recommendation without reservation