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Maxwell's Reviews > Kairos
Kairos
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I don't think I've given a 1 star out in nearly 5 years because these days I just stop reading if it feels like I'm going to hate it that much. But because this year I did challenge myself to read the entire International Booker Prize longlist (and I'm nearly finished!) I did force myself to finish this book against my better judgment.
Sorry to say, I truly found nothing enjoyable about this book. I thought this was SO pretentious and exactly what people who hate literary fiction claim it is: full of references that make the reader, unless 'properly educated' feel like an outsider; insufferable characters who stand as a metaphor for some larger discussion, in this case a historical narrative; and dense, convoluted prose that is not enjoyable to read much of the time.
Obviously, this is just MY opinion since many have read and loved this book. Do I wish I saw what they see in it? Of course. But sadly, I didn't. Objectively, it's clearly a very intentional novel with artistic choices that just did not resonate with me.
Shoutout to the translator though because if anything is to be praised about this book it would be his work.
Sorry to say, I truly found nothing enjoyable about this book. I thought this was SO pretentious and exactly what people who hate literary fiction claim it is: full of references that make the reader, unless 'properly educated' feel like an outsider; insufferable characters who stand as a metaphor for some larger discussion, in this case a historical narrative; and dense, convoluted prose that is not enjoyable to read much of the time.
Obviously, this is just MY opinion since many have read and loved this book. Do I wish I saw what they see in it? Of course. But sadly, I didn't. Objectively, it's clearly a very intentional novel with artistic choices that just did not resonate with me.
Shoutout to the translator though because if anything is to be praised about this book it would be his work.
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Reading Progress
April 20, 2024
–
Started Reading
April 20, 2024
– Shelved
April 20, 2024
– Shelved as:
translated
April 20, 2024
–
21.43%
"I don’t have very strong feelings about this so far. It’s well written but not that interesting to me subject-wise"
page
63
April 22, 2024
–
Finished Reading
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Candace
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Apr 24, 2024 07:37PM
Reading your review makes me not as surprised I found a hard cover of this book in a free library when it was still a new release!
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I'm so happy you wrote this review, so I didn't have to. I'm in total agreement with everything you said.
So glad I’m not the only one feeling this. Insufferable characters exactly
Such a good review. Pretentious is a perfect description and helps me understand why I disliked it so much!!
most accurate review ive seen on this book!
I was really looking forward to reading this book; persisted until halfway through and thought OK life is too short.. pretentious was exactly what had been going through my mind, along with sentimental.. and that annoying narrative style.
Totally agree about the translation. Hofmann is always good, keeps the original voice of the author but he did exceptionally well here with difficult material.
Thank you for echoing my thoughts exactly!
EXACTLY Maxwell! The characters were impossible to understand - after almost 300 pages I felt I didn’t know them at all. Only finished this because I hate wasting money & I was desperate to move on to something more satisfying.
Couldn’t get through it - made just under 40%. Prose was great in spots, pretentious in others. Characters became insufferable with the whining.
I really wouldn‘t say the book is full of references that try to make the reader feel like an outsider: to German readers or readers interested in the GDR‘s and Berlin‘s history, the information is not niche at all. I think it should be kept in mind when reading translated fiction that authors did not write the book with an American audience in mind, and that’s ok. Joan Didion and her namedropping and California-centred writing could be seen as trying to alienate anyone who doesn’t „get it�, yet readers worldwide appreciate the locality of her references and the environment she depicts in writing. What’s the difference? American culture expects to be understood or of interest to non-Americans.
While the translation by Hofmann is good on the whole, he makes some bizarre choices like using American English and has mistranslated some words, such as ‘Schlüpfer� in German, which he renders as slip, but it’s not a slip, it’s a pair of women’s underwear, so should be ‘knickers� or ‘panties� in AmEn.
That kind of thing is a detail I can easily overlook. More central is an amazing poetic translation that reads almost like you can process the novel in the original language.
I'm with you on this maxwell! I very rarely not finish a book but I only got to page 30 . Life's too short
a complete disappointment.
