Open City

Misschien eerder 2,5*. Op de een of andere manier sprak de hoofdpersoon me niet aan, en kreeg ik af een toe “kijk eens hoe intelligent ik ben” gevoel bij het boek en de gesprekken er in. De gesprekken in de telefoonwinkel waren eigenlijk de beste.

i tried to read this but just couldn't do it. Cole is talented, and his writing has a poetic touch and an elegant style. The problem is that it is asking altogether too much to expect the reader to follow the often mundane and meandering thoughts of the protagonist with no real narrative arc to help propel the story.

“How petty seemed to me the human condition, that we were subject to this constant struggle to modulate the internal environment, this endless being tossed about like a cloud.” p. 146

Can't help thinking that I'd have enjoyed it a lot more if I was able to picture all the NY addresses mentioned throughout the book (there's is a lot of them!).