J: A Novel by Howard Jacobson is a novel about a future dystopian Britain. It was a short list for the 2014 Man Booker Prize. It is a complicated book that, for a fiction novel, takes a lot of work to get through some background research and some research while reading. It does have some profound statements of philosophy, but overall is quite a difficult story to follow.
Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2014/11/j-novel.html
Reviewed based on a publishers galley received through Edelweiss
Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2014/11/j-novel.html
Reviewed based on a publishers galley received through Edelweiss
The writing flows well, and the protagonists are nicely fleshed out. The hinted background story is actually more interesting then the main event. In the form of letters a daughter writes to her parents, first of her being political involved in "Jewish" state, then of her conversion, and marriage, her parents write back to her of another holocoust against the Jews, and then of the senseless carnage of men against men, of which they became victims as well. The main story is based on the asumption that humans have an inherient lean towards violence and self destruction. Though this is not a revolutionary idea, Jackobson takes it and devalopes it well by creating society where any sort of strong emotion is (gently but firmly) eradicated. Strong colors, loud music, disharmonic paintings, disturbig events such as history... are all destroyed and only soft gentle sounds, pastel colors and harmonic luluby music is available in hopes to curbe mans' violent tendecnies. Only select few, meant to police the masses are aware of the true peoples history. Unfortunately what is achieved by the stamping out of emotions drive, is a heartles uncaring society, with hidden vilence surfacing every where, though only on small scale, such as violent murders, drive by assults/killins, home violence, verbal assults, sexual violence. People are seething but not understanding that they are, or they just loose in in a fit of total destructiveness. There are also a handful of people with true understanding the dying/dead society. Refusing to participate they either choose a suicide as a form of rebelion or rebel in a quiet way by teaching their children the truth.