I'll be there, in the sun and in the shadow - review

Ja bit ću tu, na suncu i u sjeni by Christian Kracht
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

One word - flatland.

Very well written (although, I read translation), nice descriptions (sometimes like a good canvas) but I couldn't connect with characters and story didn't suck me in. There is no thrill, there is no suspense, there is no even some deep insights or genuine suffer or pain to connect with. It's just listing of episodes. There are a few good scenes like the one with German partisans but also there are some completely inconclusive and already seen like standing on the mine.

To me, this is just another postmodern smart and "provocative" flatland novel. Shallow. No depth in characters, no evolutionary perspective. Whole thing stands on a "shock": Swiss Soviet Republic, Africans that wage war in Alps, Germans and Brits are Nazis but that's, unfortunately, all. Pitty. Because idea is really provocative and opens a great space for exploring possibilities of alternative history and human development.

Luckily, novel is short enough to be read in a few hours. Thanks for that! ;-)

Or, you can forget what you just read about the book and conclude that I'm just stupid or to old fashioned for this postmodern prose.

View all my reviews