Reading notes and giveaway winner
De Niro's Game should come with a parental advisory warning. Certainly not for the faint of heart. Brash. Bold. Aggressive. Shocking. Vulgar. Vivid. It was like watching a really graphic, uncensored film.
And yet, the fluid and lyrical prose strikes such a contrast. How do you describe a writer who elevates the ravages of war into something so poetic, without losing its rawness, its edge?
A sampling of what I mean (and the whole book is like this, all throughout, yet it remains fresh and never gets tedious):
My accomplice was the dirty moon. He shone, and I watched. [p. 32]
I stood in the middle of the street and rolled a cigarette. I inhaled, exhaled, and the fumes from my mouth grew like a shield. The bombs that came my way ricocheted off it, and bounded and skipped along the sky to faraway planets. [p. 37]
I took his motorcycle and drove fast up to the mountains and into the empty hills. I parked at the top of a cliff. I looked down at the green, and watched and cursed the brown valleys that were covered with listless patches of soil. I pulled out my gun and shot at the hills, and at the birds, and the echoes of my shots bounced on stones, and lamented and boomeranged treacherous syllables back to me. [p. 134]
This has to be the most haunting book I've read this year, and one of the best. Coming out of it I felt like a different person. Like I aged a few years. It's different, and it's not for everyone, but if you are anything like me you will love it.
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Thanks so much to everyone who entered my BAFAB giveaway. And I mean it: I appreciate all the wonderful best friend stories you shared. I loved reading them. You put so much heart into sharing, it was wonderful.
As for me, my best friends were my sisters. We did everything together. And they still are. And my brother now, too (who used to be just a nuisance, lol). My brother and sisters and I are all physically apart, but we're close and tight as ever. :D
Now on to the winner..
Congratulations, Lena of Save Ophelia! De Niro's Game is on the way to your mailbox. I hope you enjoy!
10 comments:
I think I should read this.
Thank you Claire! I'm excited to dig into this book :)
Now I have to go finish Proust, so I don't feel guilty when I started reading this one :P
Sounds interesting - I'll have to check it out. I was struck by how direct the language is, with so many of the sentences starting the same way - 'I stood', 'I inhaled', 'I took', 'I parked', 'I looked', 'I pulled'. The writing textbooks would tell you to avoid doing things like that, but I guess it's the sign of a good writer to be able to ignore conventional wisdom and still pull it off. I guess the repetitions could have quite a hypnotic effect.
I love the description of how you felt, by the way - "a different person. Like I aged a few years." I know exactly what you mean, and it's happened to me a few times - I've got so involved in a book that when I emerge blinking into the real world again, things look different and I feel older. Not sure where the aging feeling comes from or how to explain it, but you're absolutely right, that's how it feels! It's quite rare but great when it happens. The Road by Cormac McCarthy was the last one that did that for me.
Yea! I was just going to ask if you've read any Cormac McCarthy, too!
I'm glad you reviewed this! Since it won the IMPAC I've been looking for a thoughtful review to know whether it is worthwhile. Sounds like I might have to get my stomach ready but otherwise like it's a goodie.
Thanks!
Andrew.. You could say Hage's writing was a bit amateurish, but the way he did it was like moving the reader through scenes in a movie that I had no time to think about how he wrote as much as how I reacted to what he wrote. The rawness of his writing is what gives it its power, I think.
I don't know if it's right to use the word "enjoyable" to describe this, because the content is so harrowing, but I couldn't put it down. And I hate to sound like a wimp but I cried at the very end, lol.
Andrew (again) and Care.. I super loved The Road. That one was unputdownable as well, and moved me to no end. The difference between the two books was that McCarthy was gentle while Hage was just brutal. It's the only McCarthy I've tried, though.
Trevor.. I would be very interested in what you think of this. I know it's essentially a "masculine" book (like what you said about McCarthy's other books), mostly because of its brutality and the violence. But I don't know how you would like (or not like) its being so raw and bold. It is pretty intense.
I'm not able to articulate my thoughts well, but if you read this, then negative or positive, it would be worthwhile even just for all the thoughtfulness you put into your reviews. And also, it's a pretty short book, so it wouldn't take much of your time. :D
Claire, This sounds so interesting. I am putting this on my TBR list.
Congratulations, Lena! I'm definitely putting this on my list.The quotes are so beautiful. I bet you probably marked up the book! ;)
ha! we reviewed this on the same day and picked the same quote too. I think we felt the same about it.
I don't know if depressed is the right word. More angry at the situation? that these young boys had such few choices they could make, and they lived such a violent life.
But it really is Hage's writing that makes the story.
thanks for stopping by.
I think I dismissed this the first time I read your review for it's violence, but after a second reading, and your recommendtaion on my blog I think it is one I should attempt. I love powerful books, and if it can move me then it has to be worth a try - I'll let you know what I think one day soonish!
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