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A review by dunnadam
Our Lady of the Flowers by Jean Genet
2.0
So many pages of glowing reviews for this book, but I just can't get on the train.
I found this quote that I liked:
“My heart to my mother, my cock to the whores, my head to the hangman.”
It was hard to find other quotes. They're just not relatable outside of the context of this book. The book is very well written but at the same time so personal it's like a journey inside Genet's head and it's so easy to get lost on the trip.
There is a very loose narrative accompanying the story that darts and weaves between poetry by Genet, the story is more a poem than a novel. I wanted to like it, I get that it changed the definition of writing structure, I get that it was subversive, I get that the way he writes flows beautifully and while reading the book I wished I understood French better to appreciate more the puns and plays on words. But, but, but... So often I wouldn't even be able to finish a sentence without Genet getting so far side-tracked on his own mental voyage that I lost the plot. The book is masturbatory but in that same way it's also very personal to Genet and very difficult for outsiders to appreciate. Also too much poop and farting.
The book reminds me of an abstract painting and while you can appreciate the talent in the artist, it just doesn't speak to me.
I found this quote that I liked:
“My heart to my mother, my cock to the whores, my head to the hangman.”
It was hard to find other quotes. They're just not relatable outside of the context of this book. The book is very well written but at the same time so personal it's like a journey inside Genet's head and it's so easy to get lost on the trip.
There is a very loose narrative accompanying the story that darts and weaves between poetry by Genet, the story is more a poem than a novel. I wanted to like it, I get that it changed the definition of writing structure, I get that it was subversive, I get that the way he writes flows beautifully and while reading the book I wished I understood French better to appreciate more the puns and plays on words. But, but, but... So often I wouldn't even be able to finish a sentence without Genet getting so far side-tracked on his own mental voyage that I lost the plot. The book is masturbatory but in that same way it's also very personal to Genet and very difficult for outsiders to appreciate. Also too much poop and farting.
The book reminds me of an abstract painting and while you can appreciate the talent in the artist, it just doesn't speak to me.