upquark on Nostr: #bookstr I finished reading “A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to ...

#bookstr I finished reading “A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East” by László Krasznahorkai.

I really enjoyed it, but I caveat this by saying that the book is really challenging to read. The sentence structure, vocabulary and extreme detail really force the reader to pay close attention to the text. This reading style is very different from a typical novel and I can see how it can turn people off. I think this is an intentional choice by the author and lends to the overall vibe of the book. With all that being said, I would highly recommend.

The book is really hard to describe and summarize. It’s like if someone was trying to describe a landscape painting of a temple. But they didn’t want to just say what’s there, they also wanted to tell you in great detail what it would feel like to be there. Through painting this picture the author touches on tradition, humanity, and the incomprehensible vastness and complexity of nature. All the while there’s a small character-driven plot going on but it’s not really the point. If this sounds weird and crazy to you, it’s because it is!