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A review by evafc
De zevende functie van taal by Liesbeth van Nes, Laurent Binet
2.0
This is a really difficult book to review for me. Mainly because i believe the book is better when you are French. I wonder if this should have been translated.
The story begins with Roland Barthes, a French linguïst and philosopher, who is run over by a car after having lunch with François Mitterand, one of the candidates for the presidency. Barthes dies in hospital later on. He was murdered and a policeman starts an investigation.
Within the book are numerous sidelines: the elections, the French intellectual scene, semiotic philosophy, the dispute between continental and American philosophers, the secret Logos Club, and ofcourse the murdermystery itself. Enormous ammounts of characters come by: mostly French philosophers, politicians and intellectuals. For me, it's hard to follow.
Also, the reader is bombarded with quotes by all of the philosophers and intellectuals appearing in the book. It irritates me and makes me wonder if the writer is showing off.
Some of the events in the book have taken place in reality. Barthes really did die in 1980. Other things are fake: he wasn't murdered. That confuses me. At first i looked it all up, but that makes the book hard to read. I stopped and concentrated on the main storyline. It helped, but left me feeling stupid because i dont understand parts of the book and i feel i am missing out on something.
Concentrating on the murdermystery i noticed the main characters dont stick to their character. They change immensly, which makes me wonder if that is on purpose or not. And the book gets more and more violent while progressing. It's a bit over the top.
I did not much enjoy the book. I wonder how some of the characters in the book, who exist in real life, like the image the writer painted of them. The image isn't pretty. Michel Foucault for instance is in the book a drinking homosexual drugabuser who enjoys kinky sex with justabout anyone.
Anyway, like i said, i can imagine the book being more interesting if you have more knowledge of semiotics, french politics and french intellectuals.
The story begins with Roland Barthes, a French linguïst and philosopher, who is run over by a car after having lunch with François Mitterand, one of the candidates for the presidency. Barthes dies in hospital later on. He was murdered and a policeman starts an investigation.
Within the book are numerous sidelines: the elections, the French intellectual scene, semiotic philosophy, the dispute between continental and American philosophers, the secret Logos Club, and ofcourse the murdermystery itself. Enormous ammounts of characters come by: mostly French philosophers, politicians and intellectuals. For me, it's hard to follow.
Also, the reader is bombarded with quotes by all of the philosophers and intellectuals appearing in the book. It irritates me and makes me wonder if the writer is showing off.
Some of the events in the book have taken place in reality. Barthes really did die in 1980. Other things are fake: he wasn't murdered. That confuses me. At first i looked it all up, but that makes the book hard to read. I stopped and concentrated on the main storyline. It helped, but left me feeling stupid because i dont understand parts of the book and i feel i am missing out on something.
Concentrating on the murdermystery i noticed the main characters dont stick to their character. They change immensly, which makes me wonder if that is on purpose or not. And the book gets more and more violent while progressing. It's a bit over the top.
I did not much enjoy the book. I wonder how some of the characters in the book, who exist in real life, like the image the writer painted of them. The image isn't pretty. Michel Foucault for instance is in the book a drinking homosexual drugabuser who enjoys kinky sex with justabout anyone.
Anyway, like i said, i can imagine the book being more interesting if you have more knowledge of semiotics, french politics and french intellectuals.