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Laddar... Kalki (1978)av Gore Vidal
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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. my first taste of Vidal and it's certainly not what i expected. the wit and sophisticated ideas, i did expect. what came as a surprise was the dark humor and satire- but also the science fiction. yes, science fiction. i said it. i expected it to be a satirical indictment of cultish religiosity and several other things including heterosexuality, paternalism, the entertainment industry, pop culture, et al. and so it was. but then, like some "magic eye" image or masterful optical illusion, it became a work of science fiction. i won't say why because i want you to find out as i did and be as shocked as i was. in less than 300 pages, Kalki sprawls out over all of these subjects and more all the while delivering a rich story with complex and interesting characters. granted, most of them suffer little to no development, acting mostly as stock obstacles that challenge the protagonist and her cohort, but they are, nevertheless, distinct individuals that breathe. in addition to its biting criticism, it taps into the deeper waters of mythology and unconscious, human archetypes a la Jung and Campbell. the central religion is Hinduism and the main character makes no bones about being atheist- this creates a kind of distance from which Christianity can be viewed and critiqued. and, it's funny. i mentioned that briefly near the top but i want to emphasize how much it delighted me to find some really, effing funny parts in the story and prose. the story itself is not full of irony or extremely ironic but really is a kind of avatar of irony; just as Kalki is the 10th and last avatar of Vishnu/Siva. i'm going to see about reading some more of Vidal's books. i truly do not expect to find one that tickles me as much as this one did. but, then, i didn't expect this one to do that either. Not just your plain everyday end of the world tale! This novel, written in the 1970s, is more of a sociopolitical statement than a novel. Using the Hindu concepts of Vishnu come again as avatar Kalki, to end the current era of human life on earth, the protagonist manages to manipulate the masses in order to achieve his own ends. Not only does he manipulate the common person on the street, but he is able to successfully manipulate Congress, the Chinese Mafia, and the CIA to his own ends. Charisma and intellect combined create a dangerous entity! Yet, without spoiling the book for anyone, I would have to say that if the reader is not enjoying the author's sociopolitical commentary in the first two thirds of the book, the final third is just a great ending to the entire novel, satisfying in many ways!
Unlike Myra, Teddy is no movie buff. She is an aviation buff instead. It quickly becomes obvious that Vidal has less interest in aeroplanes than in the movies. Teddy's enthusiasm is consequently a bit abstract. She worships the memory of Amelia Earhart. (Significantly, this particular idea comes most intensely to life when Teddy speculates about the possibility of ousting Shirley MacLaine from the title role in the projected bio-pic: Myra rides again.) There is a fleeting obeisance to Jacqueline Cochrane. Mention of these lady fliers sorts well enough with Teddy's feminism, but it is not enough in itself to convince the reader that she finds liberation in the wild blue yonder. The only thing that would do that would be a vividly transmitted sense of what it feels like to be mad about flying. But the author doesn't possess, and can't convincingly simulate, any real feeling for the nuts and bolts of the matter. As a consequence, the promising theme of a ballsy woman who can outfly any man in the house ends up going for nearly nothing. Teddy hardly begins to embody the real spirit of American aviation, which has usually been based on a practicality so self-sufficient that even the most beautiful machines are given numbers instead of names. When Teddy waxes poetical about flying, she invokes the ghost of St-Exupéry. Wind, sand, and stars. The Frenchified reference fits the author (who made favourable mention of St- Exupéry in an essay on Richard Hillary in 1951) better than it fits the character. PriserPrestigefyllda urval
Investigative journalist and aviatrix Teddy, who narrates Gore Vidal's metaphysical thriller, has moulded herself on flying ace Amelia Earhart. Although she's aware that's a bit anachronistic, it qualifies her to pilot Kalki, Vietnam vet and incarnate of Vishnu, round Kathmandu in a story that soars from New Orleans to Washington, Paris to New Delhi - ever above and outside of this world ... Inga biblioteksbeskrivningar kunde hittas. |
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Google Books — Laddar... GenrerMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999Klassifikation enligt LCBetygMedelbetyg:
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> Avec ce livre ce qui fait mouche tout de suite, c'est le cocasse de situation, l'humour acide des dialogues et commentaires et l'originalité de la vision du monde. Là, vraiment, on a toute la fantaisie de Vidal et le brillant de son esprit qui conçoit et manie avec une parfaite aisance, des concepts compliqués assez étranges au départ mais qui... Bref, vous verrez, car cela vaut le coup d'oeil.
—Danieljean (Babelio) ( )