353 pages minus 104 read, so 249 pages and 5 days. Yep.
Day 2 (DDRD 2,996) January 15, 2026
Read to page 188. Starting to wonder what all of the fuss (Booker Prize, paeans from the pantheon) is about. This is a series of snapshots (with blackness between them) of pretty ordinary stuff...with the exception of the first chapter's sexual molestation of a minor by a middle-aged woman. And this dude has used the word "okay" at least 100 times. (Not hyperbole.) I'm going to finish this thing, but unless there's something astonishing up ahead, I don't think I'm going to enjoy it.
I mean...shit, get a room.
Day 3 (DDRD 2,997) January 16, 2026
Read to page 294. Well...shit. Only 59 pages to go. Which means I'm probably going to finish it today...which means I'll have three days to finish something else if I want to come out even. Hmmm.
And the dialogue. It's probably the worst I've ever read outside of a Learning To Read book. Slow-moving and so inconsequential that you could edit it out and the story wouldn't suffer at all. (It might even give a little sigh of relief.)
And the plot. It's like DS wrote out the whole story, then edited out all of the most interesting parts. Like when Helen's husband dies. Or when Helen and Istváne get married. Didn't Jean-Paul Sartre already do this whole elevation of the banal thing?
Addendum: Read to page 353, The End. Unfortunately, the speed with which I read this book is indicative of the intensity of my back pain and the consequent immobility it necessitated, not the quality of the writing. This was not a good book. I cannot imagine why it was even nominated for the Booker Prize, much less won it. The only thing to be gained from reading it for me is the satisfaction of knowing that I can tell you not to waste your time on it. It is banal, superficial, and unfulfilling. In fact, the best use Igot out of it was when I used it as a coaster for my bowl of hot vegetables.
No comments:
Post a Comment