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Atemschaukel (2009)

by Herta Müller(Favorite Author)

3.87 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

3446233911 (ISBN13: 9783446233911)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Hanser Verlag

review 1: Este é um livro escrito sobre um homem jovem, pertencente à minoria alemã da Transilvânia (Roménia), que é forçado a ir trabalhar para um campo de trabalho (também ele forçado) russo em 1945 e aí permanece nessa difícil condição já depois da II Guerra Mundial ter terminado. Numa experiência que o moldará a ele e a todos aqueles que estiveram na mesma situação e que, entre outras coisas, passaram fome, muita fome! E que chegaram a pensar que não teriam mais nenhuma morada, para além daquela, até que à sua morte...Herta Müller explora neste livro a vivência sofrida dos prisioneiros destes campos de trabalho russos, fazendo-o até ao limite através das palavras. Escolhidas e pensadas meticulosamente. Se o sofrimento destes é intenso e saturado, a for... morema como a escritora o faz corresponder (e transparecer) com as frases e as palavras também o é. E dá que pensar no horror que é a Guerra em si mesma e no peso das suas consequências muito depois desta ter terminado..."Há 60 anos que sei que o meu regresso a casa não conseguiu domesticar a felicidade do campo. Ainda hoje continua a morder com a sua fome o âmago de qualquer outro sentimento. No âmago de mim reina o vazio."
review 2: Around the World: RomaniaI really wanted to like this. It had some impressive moments, some images that caused my stomach to lurch in surprise and I have to give Muller credit for the unique style of this novel. But I just didn't like it. Frankly, I was bored. I couldn't connect to the protagonist, and the level of detail provided about every speck of dust and every scrap of food became wearing and frustrating. There isn't really a moving plot here--just poetic descriptions, images, and microscopic examinations of the minutiae of life in a forced labour camp. I eventually started skipping over huge sections, sometimes entire chapters just to get to the end. I realize that the structure and focus of the book was purposeful. I can appreciate Muller's project--an attempt to capture the bizarre contrast between the mundane and the horrific in the labour camp setting. Starvation takes away humanity, leaving empty husks of people in its wake, so its no surprise that there is no energy in the text, nothing moving. But I could only deal with so many descriptions of lice and potato peels. It was all too depressing. There were very few moments of joy, nothing to give the reader hope, nothing to temper the despair. So, unfortunately, I didn't like this book, and only pressed on because it won the Nobel Prize, otherwise I would have stopped after the first few chapters. I want to stress that I don't think this was bad writing. It may even have been a deeply important book, but I personally wasn't provoked by it. less

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