The Melancholy of Resistance (utgåvan 2002)

I'm starting to think that when people say a book is 'in the tradition of Gogol,' they really mean 'it's set somewhere East of Paris but West of Tokyo.' I guess this is in the tradition of Gogol, inasmuch as it's satirical, and not from Western Europe. But the point of Krasznahorkai's novel is not slight mockery-of-the-rurals. It is the sentences, the paragraphs rather, which pile up and leave you nowhere to go--and thank all that is holy for George Szirtes, who has made this masterpiece accessible to the linguistically impoverished! A distant second to the squat blocks of language that are thrust at us is the presence of the demonic and humankind's attempts, often enough successful, to outdo Satan's cruelty to ourselves. Otherwise, this is the kind of book you really want to give people like me, who grow ever more tired of and bored with twentieth century 'realism.' There's nothing particularly novel here in terms of structure, or point of view, or meta-literariness. There's just that language piling up and the depth of insights into human life. When Eszter finally broke and decides to "abjure thought," I nearly fainted with joy at Krasznahorkai's skill, while also fainting in fear of what that skill might have revealed.

Easily the best book I've read in the last six months.

( )

Finito il romanzo, percepisco una sensazione strana. È uno stile molto strano quello dello scrittore ma ha un pregio, che forse riassume anche il romanzo stesso e le sensazioni che si hanno alla sua conclusione: è avvolgente, nel senso più fisico del termine, ti avvolge ai personaggi e alle loro motivazioni, che sono anche un po' le tue (o forse lo diventano nel momento in cui entri nei pensieri di ciascuno di loro?). Ma il punto più alto è forse il finale, in cui la morte del libro si sovrappone a alla descrizione della morte di un personaggio, che però senti che diventa anche un po' la tua morte. Parole confuse, ma forse è normale anche così. ( )

This is an amazing book, the best I have read in a couple of years. ( )

This book is rare in that it has as its basic theme or the core idea growing from the the inevitable fact that everything in 'the real world' over time will succumb to the entropic decay; a physical baseline none of us can escape: Everything including ourselves will eventually break down, vanish and be forgotten. The sinister forces in the story promotes the idea of 'chaos' (a circus with a dead whale arrives and with it comes uprest and a rising chaos in the city) and along the unfolding of the narrative people are estranged and alienated, not really understanding the forces at work. Only few persons has a grasp of these forces and uses that knowledge in a power play that leaves no room for being human - you either play or are being played. The composition of the story is itself exemplifying the entropic decay because in the end the story 'dies' and leaves the reader in a - yes - melancholy mood. The tale is cynical and unrelenting in showing there is no hope, but I guess you could draw the positive conclusion that decay and chaos only benefits those (in the short run) who strive for power and thus we should all fight the decay and chaos around us and seek to understand the world as it is, even when that's not possible. ( )

Μετα το συγκλονιστικο Πολεμος και πολεμος οι προσδοκιες ηταν πολυ μεγαλες οι οποιες ομως επαληθευτηκαν στο επακρο. Αλλο ενα μεγιστο επιτευγμα απο τον Ουγγρο συγγραφεα η γραφη του οποιου σε σφυροκοπαει με ανελεητο τροπο προκαλωντας σφιξιμο στο στομαχι, τεντωμα των νευρων και υπερδιεγερση του εγκεφαλου. Νοητικοι λαβυρινθοι και παραληρηματικοι συλλογισμοι διατρεχουν ολο το κειμενο μεσα σε ενα σκοτεινο, μιζερο και ζοφερο περιβαλλον γεματο απο γκροτεσκες ανθρωπινες φιγουρες που παλευουν αναμεσα στην επιβολη και στην αντισταση, στην παραιτηση και στην διατηρηση. Βαθυτατα πολιτικο, φιλοσοφικο και υπαρξιακο εργο, με μεγαλες δοσεις κοινωνικης σατιρας. Ο εγκλωβισμος στη σφαιρα του παραλογου, της παρανοιας, του φοβου και της υποταγης, δεν ειναι τιποτα περισσοτερο απο το αποτελεσμα του συνολικου αθροισματος ολων των μικροσυμφεροντων τα οποια κινουν αυτο που ονομαζεται "ζωη", αγνοωντας ομως αυτο που τελικα κυριαρχει και καταβροχθιζει τα παντα. ( )