I found the third person writing style of this book a bit confusing at the start and was lost as to which charcter was talking or being referred to when the protagonist and the German first meet. The lack of speech marks probably also added to this but it's something you get used to and is all part of Damon's unusual style. I soon got into the book and the actual story was easy to follow and interesting. Damon comes across as someone quite confident in travelling but conversely unwilling to take risks in love. He has such an aura of sadness and loneliness but in the end I started wondering if actually that might be his general persona. The German of the first story, on the otherhand, provoked quite a strong sense of dislike and I wonder if he was really that stereotypically German (and male)?! The three stories/chapters were quite different. The second was my favourite and has definitely added Lake Malawi to my list of places I want to visit! The third story was probably my least favourite and that's down to the personal preference of reading about different cultures; I felt there wasn't enough about India to satisfy me. But I did find myself morbidly wanting to know more about the tragic demise in Morocco. I tried to think of how to sum up the book in a typically modern way by comparing to other stories. The result; Almost Brokeback Mountain meets The Beach. 7/10.
Initially I was confused as to who was telling the story until,P48, I realised that "I "and "he" are the same person. Reiner is the most complex character.He seems to want to form a relationship but only on his terms.He is in personal competition with the elements and he sees Damon as being part of the elements.He is, for me, a sound persona until his final account relating to "the parting on the mountain".this is so feeble that he loses plausibility. In the following two books the incidents whilst traveling through Africa and India are of far more interest than the characters. For anyone interested in reading about India,"The Age of Kali" by William Dalrymple is worth a read. 6/10
I found this book interesting, not one I would normally have picked up to read, so more of a challenge from that point of view. The narrators voice is a little difficult to accept initially, but I feel it does work on the whole, adding more levels to the meaning of the text. I think it helps to pitch the book between a memoir and a fictional account. I am guessing that this novel has a strong autobiograhical nature, I felt quite drawn into the story and accepted the events as all quite possible and very real - especially the third section based in Goa. All I know is I definitely never want to be ill in a country like that!! That part of the story was particularly gripping and I felt really involved with the characters. Unfortunately the book did lack some 'action' I felt, some of the travelling sections I found a bit boring. All in all I found Damon Galgut's writing style very persuasive and I would really like to read some more of his work 7/10
I found the third person writing style of this book a bit confusing at the start and was lost as to which charcter was talking or being referred to when the protagonist and the German first meet. The lack of speech marks probably also added to this but it's something you get used to and is all part of Damon's unusual style. I soon got into the book and the actual story was easy to follow and interesting. Damon comes across as someone quite confident in travelling but conversely unwilling to take risks in love. He has such an aura of sadness and loneliness but in the end I started wondering if actually that might be his general persona. The German of the first story, on the otherhand, provoked quite a strong sense of dislike and I wonder if he was really that stereotypically German (and male)?! The three stories/chapters were quite different. The second was my favourite and has definitely added Lake Malawi to my list of places I want to visit! The third story was probably my least favourite and that's down to the personal preference of reading about different cultures; I felt there wasn't enough about India to satisfy me. But I did find myself morbidly wanting to know more about the tragic demise in Morocco. I tried to think of how to sum up the book in a typically modern way by comparing to other stories. The result; Almost Brokeback Mountain meets The Beach. 7/10.
ReplyDeletePosted on behalf of Pat
ReplyDeleteInitially I was confused as to who was telling the story until,P48, I realised that "I "and "he" are the same person.
Reiner is the most complex character.He seems to want to form a relationship but only on his terms.He is in personal competition with the elements and he sees Damon as being part of the elements.He is, for me, a sound persona until his final account relating to "the parting on the mountain".this is so feeble that he loses plausibility.
In the following two books the incidents whilst traveling through Africa and India are of far more interest than the characters.
For anyone interested in reading about India,"The Age of Kali" by William Dalrymple is worth a read.
6/10
I found this book interesting, not one I would normally have picked up to read, so more of a challenge from that point of view. The narrators voice is a little difficult to accept initially, but I feel it does work on the whole, adding more levels to the meaning of the text. I think it helps to pitch the book between a memoir and a fictional account.
ReplyDeleteI am guessing that this novel has a strong autobiograhical nature, I felt quite drawn into the story and accepted the events as all quite possible and very real - especially the third section based in Goa. All I know is I definitely never want to be ill in a country like that!! That part of the story was particularly gripping and I felt really involved with the characters. Unfortunately the book did lack some 'action' I felt, some of the travelling sections I found a bit boring. All in all I found Damon Galgut's writing style very persuasive and I would really like to read some more of his work 7/10