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Met Stomheid Geslagen (2014)

by Edward St. Aubyn(Favorite Author)

3.29 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

Humor

publisher

Uitgeverij Prometheus en Nicolette Hoekmeijer

review 1: The "battlefield" is the competition for the Man Booker Prize (here called aptly enough the Elysian Prize), centering on the fierce fights to be short-listed for the prize-- as the author himself was for the Mann-Booker -- and of course the short-listers and the judges. It is often quite hilarious, albeit in the English manner; i.e. hardly slapstick but more in the form of the pompous way the short-listers have of talking, using words that form sentences that defy decoding. It is a terrific read, infused with nastiness among the competitors, serial bedding, and perhaps one device (no spoiler alert) that to me is just a bit forced but offers a fine ending to the novel. Would I ever read a book or the like about the Mann-Booker or indeed any literary prize? Of course ... morenot. It is St Aubyn's triumph for me that he keeps me fascinated by his splendid writing by a topic I otherwise wouldn't care a jot for.
review 2: Not the most subtle, as far as satire goes, but who cares? The literary establishment both low and high deserves a good rhetorical thrashing every now and then -- even the Booker. St. Aubyn is a mean wit and writes a lashing, hilarious prose; his characters unreal in their absurdity and all too believable in their type. Complaints of the book's deficiencies are, at closer scrutiny, praises. To which I can only say, Bravo, Encore, Dear Sir (But please next time write a longer book). less

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