Monday, October 10, 2016

Perlmann's Silence, Pascal Mercier

Perlmann's Silence by Pascal Mercier (pseudonym for Pete Bieri) is an audio book read by Mel Foster. This is a book originally published in German and is a study in character by a modern philosopher disguised as a novel.

Started:  9/11/2016
Completed: 10/10/2016
Recommendation: Not Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Words and Phrases for which I needed help:

mendacity -- untruthfulness

Review:

In order for a novelization of philosophical principals to be meaningful, the characters in the novel need to be compelling.  These characters are not.  At no point does one feel inclined toward the protagonist and his bizarre series of behaviors are not terribly understandable.  One might be inclined to say the same of Kafka and I think that is a fair critique, but the guise is much thinner with Kafka and mercifully shorter.  I did not get a lot from the book.  The characters left me cold.  The tendency to leave dialog half undone (while stylistic) is maddening--particularly in the audio version.  I just cannot recommend this book to anyone.

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