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Laddar... A Country Road, A Tree (2016)av Jo Baker
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Gå med i LibraryThing för att få reda på om du skulle tycka om den här boken. Det finns inga diskussioner på LibraryThing om den här boken. An unnamed Irish writer leaves Ireland for Paris during the German occupation in WWII. A bit of light research reveals that the protagonist is Samuel Beckett. It recounts the arrests of several of his friends and his time helping the French Resistance. He and his partner, Suzanne, must flee Paris to avoid the Gestapo. The story is told in present tense. I have mixed feelings about portraying the conversations, thoughts, and feelings of a real person. There are references to other writers, particularly James Joyce, and allusions to Beckett’s works (especially Waiting for Godot) scattered throughout the narrative. It is nicely written. I had trouble remaining engaged and set it aside for a while, but I am glad I picked it back up and finished it. 3.5 He stares now at the three words he has written. They are ridiculous. Writing is ridiculous. A sentence, any sentence, is absurd. Just the idea of it: jam one word up against another, shoulder-to-shoulder, jaw-to-jaw; hem them in with punctuation so they can't move an inch. And then hand that over to someone else to peer at, and expect something to communicated, something understood. It's not just pointless. It is ethically suspect. Samuel Beckett lived in France through the Second World War and this is Jo Baker's novel about that time, as Beckett struggles with his writing, finds a way to contribute to the Resistance and manages to survive the war. He starts out as an eager acolyte to James Joyce, but his wartime experiences pare him down and change him and his writing. This isn't a war-as-adventure-story, but one filled with the real deprivation, fear and insecurity that he and the people of Paris faced. Baker is one of my favorite authors; every single book she writes is entirely different from the next, but each is superbly written and worthwhile. I thoroughly enjoyed this fictional book about Samuel Beckett. I wondered if the fictional Suzanne was anything like his wife Suzanne as they didn't seem fit for each other. I loved the prose of this story, the working in of James Joyce as Beckett's mentor and the struggle to write during the war. It was endearing and great to read so much of Beckett's life in the story. What I didn't enjoy was the unknown name of Beckett in the first few chapters as I didn't read a review or synopsis of the book ahead of time. I had to do that after reading and going backward trying to find out the little boys name. I might have enjoyed the first few chapters better if I didn't feel like I had to sleuth out his name. Over all this was a great page turner. I wanted to see where Samuel and Suzanne would end up next and if they would ever find peace and a feeling of protection. inga recensioner | lägg till en recension
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"From the best-selling author of Longbourn, a stunning new novel that follows an unnamed writer--Samuel Beckett--whose life and extraordinary literary gift are permanently shaped in the forge of war. When war breaks out in Europe in 1939, a young, unknown writer journeys from his home in neutral Ireland to conflict-ridden Paris and is drawn into the maelstrom. With him we experience the hardships yet stubborn vibrancy at the heart of Europe during the Nazis' rise to power; his friendships with James Joyce and other luminaries; his quietly passionate devotion to the Frenchwoman who will become his lifelong companion; his secret work for the French Resistance and narrow escapes from the Gestapo; his flight from occupied Paris to the countryside; and the rubble of his life after liberation. And through it all we are witness to workings of a uniquely brilliant mind struggling to create a language that will express his experience of this shattered world. Here is a remarkable story of survival and determination, and a portrait of the extremes of human experience alchemized into timeless art"-- Inga biblioteksbeskrivningar kunde hittas. |
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Google Books — Laddar... GenrerMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.92Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 2000-Klassifikation enligt LCBetygMedelbetyg:
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I liked this novel, but I didn't love it as much as I was expecting. I became quickly immersed, but as the novel went on, I tired of the plot. Maybe I've read too many WWII novels . . .
I felt this was well written but the subject simply didn't grab me. ( )