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A review by justinm
G. by John Berger
2.0
This book begins with a short history of his parents affair and her eventual pregnancy with a character who is only ever referred to as 'the boy' or, when he grows up, 'G.'. His childhood is spent living with his mother at a farm with his mother's siblings. When the boy grows up he becomes a Casanova-like character and extramarital affairs abound. This all occurs with the backdrop of England and Italy towardsthe end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth.
After the first hundred or so pages I was giving this book the benefit of the doubt, thinking maybe all of the backstory would lead up to something more interesting. When I saw that wasn't going to happen I quickly lost what little interest I had. I did not care for the protagonist G., nor most of the other characters. This book is listed as philosophical and experimental, and I understand that it would have probably been more bold and controversial when it was released in 1972. However, it doesn't seem like it has aged well. Even a Booker prize couldn't save it from being forgotten. I advise not even trying to remember.
After the first hundred or so pages I was giving this book the benefit of the doubt, thinking maybe all of the backstory would lead up to something more interesting. When I saw that wasn't going to happen I quickly lost what little interest I had. I did not care for the protagonist G., nor most of the other characters. This book is listed as philosophical and experimental, and I understand that it would have probably been more bold and controversial when it was released in 1972. However, it doesn't seem like it has aged well. Even a Booker prize couldn't save it from being forgotten. I advise not even trying to remember.