Community Reviews
Re-read this on a whim. I had forgotten how amazing it is. Just staggeringly beautiful and haunting allegory of the way the powerful try to force nature into shapes that serve them, to perform their control and banish their insecurities via the medium of human flesh and pain. I felt this time around a deep analogy with current events, even if we aren't quite at the torture stage yet. I think this one might be more relevant than 1984. My only complaint is the amount of time devoted to the main character's sex life. I think that could have been a point made more efficiently. But the book is already rather short, so it's really not a huge problem. I just get tired of middle aged men writing about affairs with younger women - philip roth comes to mind. feels a little transparent, though here the relationship was much more relevant to the themes.
Absolutely must read.
Absolutely must read.
