A review by whizbangdebris
The Other Name: Septology I-II by Jon Fosse
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The hypnotic prose felt like when you can't remember long parts of a drive - I was aware the whole time I was reading but couldn't remember how I came to be at many scenes.
The writing is intentionally repetitive which I thought would be a drag to read, instead, it reads like a meditation. The slowness and stillness relaxes so that you feel like a witness instead of a reader. Fosse's writing is sparse in description but the slow and repetitive nature made me form very visual scenes in my mind.
The book centers around themes of identity, meaning and religion. How do the body and soul go together, the writer asks and in fact, the book shifts between the narrator and others and their physical and spiritual sense during different "lives".
Complicated to explain but surprisingly fast to read once you settle in with the cadence.
Unlike anything I've ever read, reading this felt like a long, dark, still, snowy night in Norway.
Still and slow. Meditative and ruminating. Best described by the repetitive variations in the book of ..."I think ...".
The writing is intentionally repetitive which I thought would be a drag to read, instead, it reads like a meditation. The slowness and stillness relaxes so that you feel like a witness instead of a reader. Fosse's writing is sparse in description but the slow and repetitive nature made me form very visual scenes in my mind.
The book centers around themes of identity, meaning and religion. How do the body and soul go together, the writer asks and in fact, the book shifts between the narrator and others and their physical and spiritual sense during different "lives".
Complicated to explain but surprisingly fast to read once you settle in with the cadence.
Unlike anything I've ever read, reading this felt like a long, dark, still, snowy night in Norway.
Still and slow. Meditative and ruminating. Best described by the repetitive variations in the book of ..."I think ...".