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A review by lycanjamie
And the Ass Saw the Angel by Nick Cave
5.0
Not so much a novel with narrative strength but definitely an engrossing and capitulating account of the life of Euchrid Eucrow, a deeply troubled young man (with a certain amount of inbreeding) turned messiah whom we as the audience are encouraged to feel varying strengths of grief, pity, and disgust for.
Cave has a firm grip on his descriptive ability, enticing us into a world of juxtaposition - septic grime versus crisp white cotton, omniscience versus ignorance, above versus below. The richness of the text is almost overwhelming.
If you know anything about the conception of this book it is understandable that there are weaknesses in the writing, most notably to me the chronology. I was never sure at which point in Euchrid's life I was reading about, because there are often unmarked flashbacks and flashforwards scattered into the tale.
Despite its unclear nature, 'And the Ass Saw the Angel' is to me a beautiful book, and I mean that in a viciously subjective manner.
Cave has a firm grip on his descriptive ability, enticing us into a world of juxtaposition - septic grime versus crisp white cotton, omniscience versus ignorance, above versus below. The richness of the text is almost overwhelming.
If you know anything about the conception of this book it is understandable that there are weaknesses in the writing, most notably to me the chronology. I was never sure at which point in Euchrid's life I was reading about, because there are often unmarked flashbacks and flashforwards scattered into the tale.
Despite its unclear nature, 'And the Ass Saw the Angel' is to me a beautiful book, and I mean that in a viciously subjective manner.