From the Bookshelf of Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die…
Find A Copy At
Group Discussions About This Book
No group discussions for this book yet.
What Members Thought

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

My favorite excerpt: "He offered something to that repulsive woman, but she didn't accept it. Now he has to live with the charge that he did not discharge. The load isn't all that heavy, but its consequences will prove devastating to animal life" (251). And then he tries to rip the heads off of exotic birds. This one is painful, folks; it reads like a heart attack. Prepare yourselves for over-bearing mothers, annihilated dreams, awkward conversations, and abuse galore! Read it! Or don't! I still
...more

Uhh...Nyastra banget, mpe baca dua kali. T_T
Hihihi..lucu ajah mendapati Herr Klemer ternyata mahasiswa tehnik elektro (XD). Masih agak bingung juga menangkap perasaan sesungguhnya Walter Klemer terhadap guru pianonya, Erika Kohut. Penulis menggambarkan kalo Klemer jatuh cinta dan tergila-gila sama Miss Kohut, tapi disisi lain ada ungkapan kalau Klemer hanya ingin mendapatkan kesenangan dari pengalaman.
Jadi agak penasaran juga sebenarnya sama Herr Klemer. Gimana perasaan dia terhadap Erika yang u ...more
Hihihi..lucu ajah mendapati Herr Klemer ternyata mahasiswa tehnik elektro (XD). Masih agak bingung juga menangkap perasaan sesungguhnya Walter Klemer terhadap guru pianonya, Erika Kohut. Penulis menggambarkan kalo Klemer jatuh cinta dan tergila-gila sama Miss Kohut, tapi disisi lain ada ungkapan kalau Klemer hanya ingin mendapatkan kesenangan dari pengalaman.
Jadi agak penasaran juga sebenarnya sama Herr Klemer. Gimana perasaan dia terhadap Erika yang u ...more

This is seriously disturbing, extreme, violent stuff. All three characters are really messed up people. Mother is a controling stage mother with NPD. Erika deals with Mother by debasing and mutilating herself. Walter puts on a front of being a womanizer because he harbors a violent hatred of women.
The violence in this book is extreme. Stay away from it if you have any doubts about reading this kind of stuff.
The violence in this book is extreme. Stay away from it if you have any doubts about reading this kind of stuff.

Can I really "enjoy" a book with this type of subject matter? I certainly wanted to keep reading and find out what happened....I'll say it's compelling, how about that? If your stomach is turned by almost-American Psycho-level descriptions of brutality, then don't even crack the cover.
Setting aside the graphic, violent subject matter, the book is beautifully written and flows at a concerto pace. It contains what I consider to be the best explanation for self-harm, magnified for fiction's sake. I ...more
Setting aside the graphic, violent subject matter, the book is beautifully written and flows at a concerto pace. It contains what I consider to be the best explanation for self-harm, magnified for fiction's sake. I ...more

I read it two years ago (I can*t remember exactly) but I know that I had a very strange feeling finishing it...It is absolutely shocking, strange, creepy (in somehow...)..I can*t even find the words. That woman lives between two terrifying forces (her mother - to whome she has a wired connection - pathologic even - and her young student - whose love dominates her). She must clarify her mind...in order not to go crazy...but...You should follow her through this tragic (after all!) story...

This was very weird and I didn't like it. I don't know why Elfriede Jelinek got Nobel Prize. Can someone explain it to me?
...more

Jan 20, 2008
Virginia
marked it as 1001-books-to-go

Jan 24, 2009
K.
marked it as to-read

Apr 25, 2009
SarahC
marked it as to-read

Jul 27, 2011
Judith
marked it as to-read

Aug 28, 2011
Chas
marked it as to-read

Feb 11, 2015
Rachel
marked it as hiatus

Dec 04, 2016
Nadine in NY Jones
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
translation,
1001-books

Sep 21, 2020
Jamie
marked it as to-read

Jan 01, 2024
Cheryl
marked it as to-read