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Metropole (1970)

by Ferenc Karinthy(Favorite Author)

3.61 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1846590344 (ISBN13: 9781846590344)

languge

English

genre

Science Fiction

publisher

Telegram Books

review 1: I had previously read a synopsis of this book and it appealed to me as a book worth reading for a couple of reasons. It reminded me of unpleasant dreams where I've tried to accomplish a task or arrive at a destination, but I've encountered obstacles at very turn. Also, I'm reminded of those times when I've got lost in a large foreign city, traveled in the wrong direction while on public transportation or been diverted to a different airport from the one at which I intended to land. Budai, the protagonist of this novel, has these frustrations amplified to the nth degree: on the way to a linguistics conference in Helsinki he ends up in a huge and congested city whose inhabitants speak and write in an unknown language. Budai, who is multilingual, tries to make himself underst... moreood but to no avail and he can locate no written text in a known language to provide some clues. The only familiar symbols are the Arabic numerals used on the currency, on forms and signage. I tried to figure out the cause of his predicament. Did he have a stroke sufficient to impair his ability to recognize any written and spoken words ? Is this a bad dream from which he will eventually awake like Alice from her Wonderland dream ? Is Budai in Purgatory and if so why is he the only one who feels alienated and confused ? The first words of this novel are " Looking back on this later ..." which suggests to me that he may successfully escape this nightmare. While my attention was engaged throughout and Budai's attempts to systematically decode the language are fascinating, I did feel that too much in this novel is unresolved and hence the ending did not satisfy me.
review 2: Metropole is the story of Budai, who finds himself in a city alien to him, it is a sea of constant traffic and people, the citizens busy, rude and all speaking an indecipherable language.The writing succeeded in making me feel as trapped as Budai from the first chapter. All avenues of hope are seemingly blocked for him, the way he is hustled from one queue to another by the constant mass of people in the city, only to be waved away and left confused when finally reaching the front, is one of Budai's early, frustrating experiences in Karinthy's dystopian vision that filled me with dread and claustrophobia. I put the book down briefly, but I found myself picking it back up within 5 minutes because the feelings carried on when I wasn't reading. I couldn't rest until I knew the outcome of the helplessly lost Budai. I can understand how it might seem a little heavy and depressing for a lot of readers, for whom the continual feeling of uneasiness generated by the book isn't a pleasant experience. Indeed, the first chunk of the book is dead end after dead end, briefly showing glimmers of hope which are quickly snuffed out by the cold grey city, which may prove a bit of a slog for some.I did find that the book dragged slightly in the middle when delving into the particulars of linguism, but fortunately it is only a short section, which I admittedly skimmed over, hungry for the impending conclusion.Budai's growing relationship with the lift operator is a bit of brightness and relief in the dark subject matter and was well done. Bebe (one of her many names, the language barrier stops us knowing her true identity), being a shining blonde beacon in a world of black and greys. Metropole isn't the most well written book I've ever read, but I'll give Karinthy the benefit of the doubt and put that down to it being translated. If anything, the fairly simple writing adds to the atmosphere of the book perfectly. I don't think it would be half as appealing with a syrupy, overly descriptive style.I would recommend picking up this book, but make sure you have a few hours free to read it, you may feel yourself as connected to Budai and his version of hell as I was.4.5/5 less

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