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silverchild's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
Το βιβλίο είναι χωρισμένο σε δύο παράλληλες αφηγήσεις. Η μία ενός εβραίου που διέφυγε της σύλληψης κατά τη γερμανική κατοχή στη Γαλλία χρησιμοποιώντας ψεύτικη ταυτότητα και η δεύτερη είναι η αφήγηση των παιδικών αναμνήσεων του συγγραφέα από την επαρχιακή Γαλλία στα χρόνια του Β' Παγκόσμιου Πολέμου που κι αυτός ως εβραιόπουλο κρυβόταν. Στην αρχή αυτές οι δύο αφηγήσεις συνδέονται σε σημείο που να μπερδεύεις τον έναν ήρωα με τον άλλον γιατί η εθνικότητα κι οι εμπειρίες μοιάζουν, αλλά μετά η πρώτη αφήγηση παίρνει έναν εντελώς διαφορετικό χαρακτήρα. Μιλά για ένα εξωτικό νησί της Γης του Πυρός, το W, όπου οι άνθρωποι - βασικά, οι άντρες - ζουν με βάση τον αθλητισμό και τα ολυμπιακά ιδεώδη αντεστραμμένα σε σημείο που να μη διαφέρουν πολύ από τη ζωή σ' ένα στρατόπεδο συγκέντρωσης, αν εξαιρέσουμε τους θαλάμους αερίων, οι οποίοι στην προκειμένη προορίζονται για τις γυναίκες.
Είναι ένα περίεργο βιβλίο. 🤔🤔🤔
Είναι ένα περίεργο βιβλίο. 🤔🤔🤔
jonfaith's review against another edition
4.0
I’ll blame garlic for my perforated slumber, such a gasping affair that I abandoned such and went to finish this disquieting exercise. Having read the Bellos, I was aware of the circumstances that led to Perec being an orphan, a shadow left capricious in the rumbling of the Shoah. Those illusory elements of his childhood haunted not just the author but the reader. His imagining of his parents with gentile names; it isn’t a slip of memory but a survival imperative. Those all memory becomes a palimpsest.
I imagine this book would have been explosive if I’d read it in my twenties.
I imagine this book would have been explosive if I’d read it in my twenties.
sara_cuniberto's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Grief, Death of parent, and Deportation
lee_foust's review against another edition
5.0
Two shapes, V and V, side-by-side. Two narratives; One attempting to retrieve childhood memories so vague, contradictory, and without substance that our ability to grasp them as a former reality becomes all but impossible and the other an imaginative tale that becomes so elaborate, precise, and terrifying that it replaces reality while we are reading it. Two lines = a cross, two triangles = the star of David, two crooks = a swastika, and two s = the Gestapo. Somehow, together, the narratives construct Perec's lived and imagined relationship to the war and holocaust that devastated his family even as he, a child, was only peripherally aware of it. Lovely, lovely book.
nbsoliv's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
momolaterreur's review against another edition
4.0
Deux récits s'entrecroisent, l'un autobiographique où Perec cherche à retrouver ses souvenirs avant ses 12ans ( enfant caché pendant la guerre) et l'autre, écrit à 12ans sur une l'île W avec des longues descriptions de son fonctionnement.
Très beau texte, un peu longuet parfois mais la démarche de retrouver et d'avoir ancré à 12ans sa mémoire dans ses mots prime.
Très beau texte, un peu longuet parfois mais la démarche de retrouver et d'avoir ancré à 12ans sa mémoire dans ses mots prime.
kompostiprinssi's review against another edition
After reading Perec's Life: A User's Manual the entire fall progressing at the slow speed of a chapter per day I was masochistic enough to pick a Perec for my next book as well. After Life:.. (which was a great read, might I add) this one was tedious. I was so fed up with his writing style that at times it felt like reading the phone book. Toward the end it got better but overall I just have to say I couldn't have picked a worse timing for reading this, I don't understand why I didn't just put it down and pick it up later but that's just me. I'm afraid this review will not do justice to the book..
jwendorff's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
avollrath_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Rated on pure enjoyment.
I like the descriptions of W, and the ever increasing twistedness of its nature. His memories of childhood obviously confused me.
I like the descriptions of W, and the ever increasing twistedness of its nature. His memories of childhood obviously confused me.