metabolean: booklover: Elias Canetti is a master of language, culture and fiction. As I read some reviews about him, his style is mostly similar to Kafka, Joyce and Dostoevsky. Doris Lessing may also be added to these writers for consideration of the similarity of some characters. I haven’t read any books by James Joyce except Dubliners but it was a long time ago and doesn’t count at this point. There is a man who is greatly absorbed into his books at this novel. This man, Kien, thinks books are more important than people but he is not actually an admirable character. Although I agree with him at some points like “books are more important than people” and “everyday life is such a hypocrisy” (some of his observations about culture, people and life are really thought-provoking) and the fact that he is a bibliophile and one of the greatest book carers in the world, doesn’t change the fact that he is a total fascist, misogynist, cold, brutal as cold and there is no goodness in him. His logic is so distorted and he is so obsessed, he is used desperately by all the “small people” in the book. Whenever he gets married to his housekeeper Therese, he gets into the hell, hell of others and hell of the consequences of his own distorted logic. Therese, on the other hand, is the most malicious and bitchy woman that you may ever see. She is the symbol of hypocrite, importunate and mundane people while Kien is the symbol of distorted genius and fascist intellecualism. Kien’s hospitality against people and women increases after everything he has been through with Therese and his world turns completely upside down at the first part of the book. The second part of the book mostly depicts the masses just before the World War II. The books was written before the World War II and you can feel that atmosphere at the cruel pages of this book. Kien carries on being abused and humiliated by other people, by another fascist character caretaker Pfaff, the police and greedy Fischerle. Paranoia and tension gets higher and higher and there is no escape from anything. Kien is “partially” saved by his psychiatrist brother at the last part of the book but can we say it is a real salvation? Canetti depicts his hatred for women with the mythological and historical elements. May these elements be considered for the criticism of all the fascist people in this book and in our world or are they representing the writer’s own persona? I can’t answer these at this point before I read more Canetti but I don’t really want to read Canetti for a long time. I can’t call the books that are full of the most disturbing personalities as masterpieces and I need to feel related to some elements in a book but this book doesn’t give me any chance. It is exhausting to read the most hateable characters for more than 500 pages.

metabolean:

booklover:

Elias Canetti is a master of language, culture and fiction. As I read some reviews about him, his style is mostly similar to Kafka, Joyce and Dostoevsky. Doris Lessing may also be added to these writers for consideration of the similarity of some characters. I haven’t read any books by James Joyce except Dubliners but it was a long time ago and doesn’t count at this point.

There is a man who is greatly absorbed into his books at this novel. This man, Kien, thinks books are more important than people but he is not actually an admirable character. Although I agree with him at some points like “books are more important than people” and “everyday life is such a hypocrisy” (some of his observations about culture, people and life are really thought-provoking) and the fact that he is a bibliophile and one of the greatest book carers in the world, doesn’t change the fact that he is a total fascist, misogynist, cold, brutal as cold and there is no goodness in him. His logic is so distorted and he is so obsessed, he is used desperately by all the “small people” in the book. Whenever he gets married to his housekeeper Therese, he gets into the hell, hell of others and hell of the consequences of his own distorted logic. Therese, on the other hand, is the most malicious and bitchy woman that you may ever see. She is the symbol of hypocrite, importunate and mundane people while Kien is the symbol of distorted genius and fascist intellecualism. Kien’s hospitality against people and women increases after everything he has been through with Therese and his world turns completely upside down at the first part of the book.

The second part of the book mostly depicts the masses just before the World War II. The books was written before the World War II and you can feel that atmosphere at the cruel pages of this book. Kien carries on being abused and humiliated by other people, by another fascist character caretaker Pfaff, the police and greedy Fischerle. Paranoia and tension gets higher and higher and there is no escape from anything.

Kien is “partially” saved by his psychiatrist brother at the last part of the book but can we say it is a real salvation? Canetti depicts his hatred for women with the mythological and historical elements. May these elements be considered for the criticism of all the fascist people in this book and in our world or are they representing the writer’s own persona? I can’t answer these at this point before I read more Canetti but I don’t really want to read Canetti for a long time. I can’t call the books that are full of the most disturbing personalities as masterpieces and I need to feel related to some elements in a book but this book doesn’t give me any chance. It is exhausting to read the most hateable characters for more than 500 pages.