Josefine
Note: I did not finish this book; I dropped it after around 80 pages.
Even though I can appreciate what it's doing, I find it difficult to recommend Herscht 07769.
I think it's the kind of book that only really works for a very specific kind of person in a very specific kind of mood. Namely, someone who wants to read a deeply exhausting (in terms of style) and depressing (in terms of themes) novel.
In addition to that, I've got two major problems, one of which is more personal, the other is not.
For one, I am currently very much disillusioned with anything relating to politics. I am especially disappointed in and anxious about the rise of facism globally. This book directly addresses this issue.
This could have been a way for me to reckon with these feelings, but instead, I just felt a deep dread.
Secondly, I did not like the prose. While it was surprisingly easy to get used to, I don't see how this Herscht being written in a single sentence actually adds anything to it.
I could have seen an argument if the book was written like a stream of consciousness of the main character, which it often is. However, we also quite frequently get PoV's from different characters, which makes the experience very jarring and exhausting.
Additionally, the author (or translator) has to resort to a few tricks in order to make the prose work. As these are repeated quite often, the writing gets pretty repetitive. I can imagine this being better in the original language or something like German, but alas, I read the book in English.
Note: I did not finish this book; I dropped it after around 80 pages.
Even though I can appreciate what it's doing, I find it difficult to recommend Herscht 07769.
I think it's the kind of book that only really works for a very specific kind of person in a very specific kind of mood. Namely, someone who wants to read a deeply exhausting (in terms of style) and depressing (in terms of themes) novel.
In addition to that, I've got two major problems, one of which is more personal, the other is not.
For one, I am currently very much disillusioned with anything relating to politics. I am especially disappointed in and anxious about the rise of facism globally. This book directly addresses this issue.
This could have been a way for me to reckon with these feelings, but instead, I just felt a deep dread.
Secondly, I did not like the prose. While it was surprisingly easy to get used to, I don't see how this Herscht being written in a single sentence actually adds anything to it.
I could have seen an argument if the book was written like a stream of consciousness of the main character, which it often is. However, we also quite frequently get PoV's from different characters, which makes the experience very jarring and exhausting.
Additionally, the author (or translator) has to resort to a few tricks in order to make the prose work. As these are repeated quite often, the writing gets pretty repetitive. I can imagine this being better in the original language or something like German, but alas, I read the book in English.