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Roman unserer Kindheit

By Georg Klein

(1)

| Mass Market Paperback | 9783499244872

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1 Review

This has been the most frustrating reading experience I've had in a long time. Admittedly, the fact that I find a large part of this book curiously dry, confusing and pointless must be attributed to my inadequate grasp of the German language. In that sense, this is not a fair rating/review since it' ... (continue)

This has been the most frustrating reading experience I've had in a long time. Admittedly, the fact that I find a large part of this book curiously dry, confusing and pointless must be attributed to my inadequate grasp of the German language. In that sense, this is not a fair rating/review since it's given to something the evaluator doesn't fully comprehend.
That said, few literary works, both in English and in the German language, have confounded/tortured me in the recent past as this one. I think a major reason for that is the intentional vagueness with which the author leaves deals with many of his plot points. We know the story takes place sometime after the second world war, in a rural area in Germany. Other that that, nothing much is clear. Elements of fantasy and gothic horror intersperse freely with the main narrative, which is more or less based in the realistic portrait of a group of kids growing up in this village. No indications were ever given as to when the perspective might shift or when the surreal might be taking over. Literally from one paragraph to another, the time, place, tone and narrator might be different without a beat, and out-of-the-blue interludes of circumstances from another era cut in at will. While I'm sure it gives the book a much more free-flowing and fantastical feel, this writing style deeply pains me.
To its credit, in some prolonged segments with a consequently lucid tone, the author does depict the childhood life, the dreams, fears and fun of these seven kids beautifully. With plain but insightful anecdotes of day-to-day mischief and struggles, he manages to paint an endearing picture of life before the loss of innocence. These parts of the book I've enjoyed thoroughly. (but then comes the part with the parrot, the man with no face, the disfigured veterans, the walking sofa, the monster in a bear suit...)

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Tony Su said on Oct 17, 2011 | Add your feedback