false 4 1 1 true 6538187 read 0 true 3750496 currently-reading 0 true 3750495 to-read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59987662 to: Dead Europe by Christos Tsiolkas
I read this because I am writing an essay on religion in Australian fiction, 2001 to now. It was really a mixed bag - I liked a lot of it, especially the gothic horror tale section, but I found the central character to be so self obsessed as to be uninteresting. He was amoral, and, much worse, I could find no way of sympathising with him. The characters that he met in Europe weren't much better - okay, so they hate each other and everyone, now show me their complexity. On the reason I read the book, religion, the book offers a rather schismatic and largely medieval understanding of religious belief. In all this, there was some great writing and the overall ghost story/possession is fascinating. With about 100+ fewer pages, I could have rated this a star higher. ]]>