Book Review
Orhan Pamuk’s recent novel, Snow, will cradle you along on a snowy journey of unbearable annoyance. In fact, reading the book should put most people to sleep faster than Lunesta.
The story takes place in modern time. A Turkish poet living in Frankfurt travels back to his home village of Kars with the intention of (i) writing poems, (ii) finding god, (iii) solving the mystery of why the veiled girls are all committing suicide and (iv) getting laid. It snows while he’s in Kars. He drinks Raiki in tea houses. He writes poems. He dies.
I’m sure some readers might be intrigued reading a novel about political/religious/social conflict and clashes between the secularist and fundamentalist. Some people need the particular stimulus offered by this type of material. Then again, some people don’t.
The book has a pretty gold seal on the cover announcing it as a New York Times Book Review Best Book of The Year. I’m now convinced that graft and corruption is as prevalent in publishing as it is in American politics. I’m also pretty sure the only reason this lump made it onto the list is because of the timely Moslem extremist characters and subject matter.
I gave it my best shot. I read almost three quarters of the book before realizing it wasn’t going anywhere. In spite of my curse of having to finish what I start, I retired the book to the shelf unfinished. I can no longer punish myself by reading awful books to the end, watching banal movies until the credits roll and attending tortuous plays until the final curtain. I know when to jump and I’m not going to waste quality time with bad writing when there are so many good authors out there.
This is truly an abusive book.
posted by Champurrado at 8:34 AM
6 Comments:
Thanks for warning me off this one! I usually go by those pretty seals or other tokens of bestsellerdom when I read something past 1900. I might have been snookered in.
My best bet for 20th -21st century reads is England's Booker Prize list, usually.
Innanabanana: Yes, Booker is a pretty good pedegree. By the way they have the short list posted for 2005 in case you're keeping score. Snow really was awful though. I stayed with it almost until my eyes bled.
A truly helpful book review: Champurrado, I'm afraid we must exclude you from the ranks of useless men. You may, however, qualify as Useless: that denomination requires humor, which you most definitely possess.
Thank you for saving me from at least one bad read.
My beloved was able to escape work for a half day . We drove to the beach where we indullged our appetite for mochas and barbeque before we landed at the art center for a giant reception. My work was in an accompanying gallery so I was there unoffic ially. It was a chance for us to look at my work together and to just hang out,
It was a lovely evening in general and even more so because the lovely gallery assisitant had just become engaged to be married. It was a very celebratory atmosphere. The best part though, was listening to my beloved read his novel to me as we made the two hour drive home. He has been working on this book for three years and we've talked about it but I've tried to be supportive without reading early drafts.
The chapter he read to me was truly delicious and it proved to be one of the best trips we've had all summer. A laptop is a worthless device in the daytime in a car. When the screen is impossible to read all day it becomes a magic window at night.
I hope you all will get a chance to read it. We'll add 'Snow' to our list of over rated best sellers.
Amie:
Yes, having someone read to you is certainly a rare pleasure. We bring New Yorker in the car with us during long trips. If G falls asleep, we can read to each other. Usually the person who is not at the wheel goes first - kidding. Be sure to let us know publishing dates.
Foil:
Now, if Salman Rushdie wrote about secular/fundamentalist conflict I'd read it even if he drafted it in the form of a phone directory.
Rushdie is such a pleasure after that knob of a paper-wad.
Haroun and the Sea of Stories. That is all I will say. Mmmmm.
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