false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173545886m/301828.jpg 301828 7 <I>Women as Lovers</I> is a compelling early novel from the 2004 Nobel Prize winner, Elfriede Jelinek. Originally published in 1975, the story of two women, Paula and Brigitte, as they grow up and start families in a small Austrian town, is anything but picture postcard pretty. But if you relish innovative, adventurous writing, you will be stunned by what Jelinek achieves with a very simple plot.<p> The characterisation contrasts Paula, who follows her dreams rather than conforming, with Brigitte, who puts up with the pig Heinz, because he is on his way to owning his own small business. This surprisingly dualistic scheme recalls a novel like Hermann Hesse's <I>Narcissus and Goldmund</I>. Jelinek's clear dissection and comparison of lives, and of a grim society we can only hope is disappearing, has a mathematical beauty to it. She plays with this mirroring of lives, and satire is never far away. At times the narrative voice sounds like that of a staid government film on life in the provinces; at times it seems we are privy to platitudes and local folk sayings. Yet what we hear would never be heard in a proverb or official documentary, it is far too bleakly true. There are also passages of hilarious cartoon exaggeration, where Jelinek's theatrical skills liven up normally mundane activities like nappy-changing and tea-serving.<p> Without wishing to reveal too much of the slight plot, this book has to be recommended for its strong, beautiful writing and its brutal honesty. It packs a punch. For romanticisers in particular, this is vital reading. <I>--Stefan Tobler</I> 292892 1995 Women As Lovers total:161|5:48|4:49|3:41|2:19|1:4| 161 601 244 18 4 1 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Nov 03 11:23:30 -0700 2007 Sat Nov 03 11:33:00 -0700 2007 brigitte is also repelled by heinz

brigitte also is repelled by heinz and his plump white electrician's body, which is also called heinz. despite that she is also happy again, so happy, dead happy, that she has him, because he is her future.

...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun May 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun May 17 20:50:14 -0700 2009 Sun May 17 21:06:07 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jul 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 05 07:00:20 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 05 07:11:35 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Feb 07 19:54:37 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 07 20:02:28 -0800 2008
Warning: Exposure to this work of art may alter (or reinforce) your position on heterosexual relations generally, and monogamy specif...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Oct 21 11:04:49 -0700 2008 Thu Feb 19 16:06:19 -0800 2009 The Piano Teacher and because Xiu Xiu used the title of this book ("Women As Lovers") as the title of their most recent album (and drew a fair number of quotes from it for lyrics as well.) The first thing that mos...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 07 11:29:03 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 07 11:38:09 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Wed Aug 27 04:02:54 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 27 04:02:54 -0700 2008 The other woman must get married because she expects a ...more...]]> 0 0 false false Sat Jan 31 19:36:01 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 31 22:55:04 -0800 2009
"if erich could choose between paula and a motor cycle, he would take the motor cycle."]]> 0 0 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 12 08:49:43 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 12 08:50:55 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 23 18:49:46 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 23 18:50:20 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jan 04 09:58:19 -0800 2009 Wed Oct 28 06:26:39 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Feb 19 21:00:49 -0800 2008 Sat Apr 26 06:57:05 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Fri Nov 14 11:06:10 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 14 11:07:49 -0800 2008 1 0 false false Sun May 11 05:24:29 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 16 02:57:33 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Sep 08 14:04:08 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 08 14:04:53 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Mon Jun 02 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 23 10:33:32 -0700 2007 Mon Jun 02 08:07:43 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Wed Apr 02 16:17:22 -0700 2008 Mon Jan 19 22:50:46 -0800 2009 2 0 false false Wed Feb 11 14:51:21 -0800 2009 Fri Aug 29 13:15:07 -0700 2008 Wed Feb 11 14:51:21 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Mon Nov 23 14:20:14 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 23 14:20:14 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Mon Nov 23 09:05:44 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 23 09:05:44 -0800 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=301828