finally finished book 63 . . . it's been ages since i posted a book.
john banville's shroud
one of the reasons it took me so long to finish this was its extremely dull story and equally dull prose. honestly, i nodded off twice today alone while reading it. it's all about some academic-type who assumed someone else's identity after wwII and the young girl who has uncovered his secret. it mostly takes place in turin, hence the title. but unfortunately, since it's narrated by the aforementioned academic, it's a pretty dry read for a novel--esp. weird considering there's a fair amount of sex and madness involved. it's gotten a lot of great reviews but sometimes i don't see the point of these novels that exist solely to illuminate some decrepit old man's mental state.
4 comments:
I tried reading another of his books not to long ago and encountered the same problem---zzzzzzz. I can't even remember what it was called. It is a shame, because I did read a good review of "Shroud" and it sounded like it had a really great plot.
D
yeah, i was so disappointed! it sounded like a good story, full of intrigue and stuff, but it was totally just an old guy meditating on identity . . . which i guess some people like, but it really wasn't what i was expecting or looking for.
I've found this to be the case with a lot of books that are Booker award winner types. They sound really good but the actual book is not my type at all. So much ruminating.
I loved "Waterland" though--and keep looking for books that will be like it, but haven't found one.
i will admit that one of the most off-putting things about the book (besides its stultifying language) was the affair b/w the aforementioned decrepit old man and the young, lush girl. i'm automatically predisposed to dislike the old man-young girl romances, especially the ones where they describe the old man's sagging, wrinkled, liver-spotted skin in great detail. ugh.
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