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Nuova Grammatica Finlandese (2002)

by Diego Marani(Favorite Author)

3.38 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

8845251705 (ISBN13: 9788845251702)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Bompiani

review 1: This is an extraordinary novel. It’s a novel of language, memory, and identity but, most of all, it seems, of nationalism and how arbitrary, and yet important, it is. The novel also goes into religion and myth, guilt and redemption, and the national differences regarding these.However, what most characterizes this rather dry novel as one reads it — with its flat prose and attention to uninteresting details — are its odd, lovely imagery and its many moments of wonder, especially concerning the Finnish language (amazingly, in an Italian novel translated into English).With a creaky frame, an unbelievable narrator, odd language issues, and a lack of plot and character and humor, it’s hard to imagine the novel working without these. And yet work it does, although not en... moreough to make it an enjoyable (albeit a fascinating) read.
review 2: I enjoyed this book, although it made my brain hurt. The awkwardness of the protagonist's engagement with the Finnish Grammar of the title creates an atmosphere of confusion that leaves you in no doubt that his narrative is unreliable, indeed his whole story is unreliable, a life built on tenuous evidence. There is a sense throughout that the author has important things to say about what constitutes a life well lived, that this is hidden within the teachings of the mythology of Finland shared by an increasingly maddening priest, and a story of unrequited love. The word for 'Grammar' in Finnish, is the same as the word for 'Bible' we are told, suggesting the learning of the complex language is fundamental to a life well lived, that within the rules of correct use of the language moral direction and sustenance can be found, clearly this is demonstrated not only in the building of a life through the search for language described here, but also in the teachers he encounters. Interesting. less

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