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Калки
Who is Kalki, and why is he planning to destroy the world -- and everything in it? And if Kalki is a mystical legend, then why does his ultimate world include only a select few chosen to breed a new human race?
308 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1976
29 people are currently reading
1631 people want to read
About the author
Gore Vidal
423 books1,866 followersWorks of American writer Eugene Luther Gore Vidal, noted for his cynical humor and his numerous accounts of society in decline, include the play
The Best Man
(1960) and the novel
Myra Breckinridge
(1968) .
People know his essays, screenplays, and Broadway.
They also knew his patrician manner, transatlantic accent, and witty aphorisms. Vidal came from a distinguished political lineage; his grandfather was the senator Thomas Gore, and he later became a relation (through marriage) to Jacqueline Kennedy.
Vidal, a longtime political critic, ran twice for political office. He was a lifelong isolationist Democrat. The Nation, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, The New York Review of Books, and Esquire published his essays.
Essays and media appearances long criticized foreign policy. In addition, he from the 1980s onwards characterized the United States as a decaying empire. Additionally, he was known for his well publicized spats with such figures as Norman Mailer, William F. Buckley, Jr., and Truman Capote.
They fell into distinct social and historical camps. Alongside his social, his best known historical include Julian, Burr, and Lincoln. His third novel, The City and the Pillar (1948), outraged conservative critics as the first major feature of unambiguous homosexuality.
At the time of his death he was the last of a generation of American writers who had served during World War II, including J.D. Salinger, Kurt Vonnegut, Norman Mailer and Joseph Heller. Perhaps best remembered for his caustic wit, he referred to himself as a "gentleman bitch" and has been described as the 20th century's answer to Oscar Wilde
Also used the pseudonym Edgar Box.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Gore Vidal é um dos nomes centrais na história da literatura americana pós-Segunda Guerra Mundial.
Nascido em 1925, em Nova Iorque, estudou na Academia de Phillips Exeter (Estado de New Hampshire). O seu primeiro romance, Williwaw (1946), era uma história da guerra claramente influenciada pelo estilo de Hemingway. Embora grande parte da sua obra tenha a ver com o século XX americano, Vidal debruçou-se várias vezes sobre épocas recuadas, como, por exemplo, em A Search for the King (1950), Juliano (1964) e Creation (1981).
Entre os seus temas de eleição está o mundo do cinema e, mais concretamente, os bastidores de Hollywood, que ele desmonta de forma satírica e implacável em títulos como Myra Breckinridge (1968), Myron (1975) e Duluth (1983).
Senhor de um estilo exuberante, multifacetado e sempre surpreendente, publicou, em 1995, a autobiografia Palimpsest: A Memoir. As obras 'O Instituto Smithsonian' e 'A Idade do Ouro' encontram-se traduzidas em português.
Neto do senador Thomas Gore, enteado do padrasto de Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, primo distante de Al Gore, Gore Vidal sempre se revelou um espelho crítico das grandezas e misérias dos EUA.
Faleceu a 31 de julho de 2012, aos 86 anos, na sua casa em Hollywood, vítima de pneumonia.
People know his essays, screenplays, and Broadway.
They also knew his patrician manner, transatlantic accent, and witty aphorisms. Vidal came from a distinguished political lineage; his grandfather was the senator Thomas Gore, and he later became a relation (through marriage) to Jacqueline Kennedy.
Vidal, a longtime political critic, ran twice for political office. He was a lifelong isolationist Democrat. The Nation, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, The New York Review of Books, and Esquire published his essays.
Essays and media appearances long criticized foreign policy. In addition, he from the 1980s onwards characterized the United States as a decaying empire. Additionally, he was known for his well publicized spats with such figures as Norman Mailer, William F. Buckley, Jr., and Truman Capote.
They fell into distinct social and historical camps. Alongside his social, his best known historical include Julian, Burr, and Lincoln. His third novel, The City and the Pillar (1948), outraged conservative critics as the first major feature of unambiguous homosexuality.
At the time of his death he was the last of a generation of American writers who had served during World War II, including J.D. Salinger, Kurt Vonnegut, Norman Mailer and Joseph Heller. Perhaps best remembered for his caustic wit, he referred to himself as a "gentleman bitch" and has been described as the 20th century's answer to Oscar Wilde
Also used the pseudonym Edgar Box.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Gore Vidal é um dos nomes centrais na história da literatura americana pós-Segunda Guerra Mundial.
Nascido em 1925, em Nova Iorque, estudou na Academia de Phillips Exeter (Estado de New Hampshire). O seu primeiro romance, Williwaw (1946), era uma história da guerra claramente influenciada pelo estilo de Hemingway. Embora grande parte da sua obra tenha a ver com o século XX americano, Vidal debruçou-se várias vezes sobre épocas recuadas, como, por exemplo, em A Search for the King (1950), Juliano (1964) e Creation (1981).
Entre os seus temas de eleição está o mundo do cinema e, mais concretamente, os bastidores de Hollywood, que ele desmonta de forma satírica e implacável em títulos como Myra Breckinridge (1968), Myron (1975) e Duluth (1983).
Senhor de um estilo exuberante, multifacetado e sempre surpreendente, publicou, em 1995, a autobiografia Palimpsest: A Memoir. As obras 'O Instituto Smithsonian' e 'A Idade do Ouro' encontram-se traduzidas em português.
Neto do senador Thomas Gore, enteado do padrasto de Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, primo distante de Al Gore, Gore Vidal sempre se revelou um espelho crítico das grandezas e misérias dos EUA.
Faleceu a 31 de julho de 2012, aos 86 anos, na sua casa em Hollywood, vítima de pneumonia.
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December 6, 2022
There are many ways to put an end to the throes of this crazy world of ours. The most preposterous ones I enjoy most. And in this my taste seems to coincide with Gore Vidal’s perfectly…
The narrator is one Teddy Hecht Ottinger, aviatrix and feminist, who is very glad to shoot her mouth off on the way about anything: literature, religion, music, politics and life in general.
As it turns out to establish the end of the world is quite easy, you just need a self-styled messiah and a handful of faithful disciples…
Don’t believe the news, reporters are lying as usual and messiahs know their rudiments of survival.
And don’t be afraid, for while pop culture and mediocrity rule the world will end not with a bang but in an uproarious laughter.
I have been asked to give my version of what happened. I have also been required to avoid the historian’s best and closest friend hindsight. This is not going to be easy.
The narrator is one Teddy Hecht Ottinger, aviatrix and feminist, who is very glad to shoot her mouth off on the way about anything: literature, religion, music, politics and life in general.
As it turns out to establish the end of the world is quite easy, you just need a self-styled messiah and a handful of faithful disciples…
I turned on the television in my room. In time to watch Arlene do the Jedda Coffee commercial. I never tire of her. After being soothed by Arlene, I was promptly disturbed by a special news report on the murder of the Hindu messiah from New Orleans at Madison Square Garden…
Don’t believe the news, reporters are lying as usual and messiahs know their rudiments of survival.
And don’t be afraid, for while pop culture and mediocrity rule the world will end not with a bang but in an uproarious laughter.
February 7, 2017
My Post-Apocalyptic Book Club selection for January.
I'd never read anything by Gore Vidal, so was interested to explore this.
"Kalki" is a tale told by Teddy Ottinger, a celebrity aviatrix who idolizes Amelia Earhart, is overweeningly proud of being the best female pilot in the world, and has become notorious for her ghostwritten bestselling memoir, "Beyond Motherhood." But now, she is putting pen to paper herself to tell the reader how she ended up getting roped into being involved with the cult leader known as Kalki. In Hinduism, Kalki is an avatar of the god Vishnu. And that's exactly who this Kalki claims to be. Except, to journalists who've done a bit of research, it seems that Kalki is actually James Kelly, an ex-soldier who's now apparently suspected by the CIA of being an international drug runner, operating out of an exotic pet shop run by his ex-wife as a 'front' while he cavorts in robes with his new girlfriend, Lakshmi, formerly known as Doris.
The first half of the book, I found to be very slow. It's soooooo 70's, in so many ways. The Freudian-style psychology was annoying and a lot of the social satire (of which there is much) felt very dated. If I hadn't been reading for book club, I might not have persevered. However, I was ultimately glad that I did. I felt that the last part of the book redeemed it. Vidal does a great job of leading the reader, along with Teddy (a very unreliable narrator), in unexpected directions, and the wry and witty tone contrasts beautifully with the utter bleakness of where everything is headed.
I'd never read anything by Gore Vidal, so was interested to explore this.
"Kalki" is a tale told by Teddy Ottinger, a celebrity aviatrix who idolizes Amelia Earhart, is overweeningly proud of being the best female pilot in the world, and has become notorious for her ghostwritten bestselling memoir, "Beyond Motherhood." But now, she is putting pen to paper herself to tell the reader how she ended up getting roped into being involved with the cult leader known as Kalki. In Hinduism, Kalki is an avatar of the god Vishnu. And that's exactly who this Kalki claims to be. Except, to journalists who've done a bit of research, it seems that Kalki is actually James Kelly, an ex-soldier who's now apparently suspected by the CIA of being an international drug runner, operating out of an exotic pet shop run by his ex-wife as a 'front' while he cavorts in robes with his new girlfriend, Lakshmi, formerly known as Doris.
The first half of the book, I found to be very slow. It's soooooo 70's, in so many ways. The Freudian-style psychology was annoying and a lot of the social satire (of which there is much) felt very dated. If I hadn't been reading for book club, I might not have persevered. However, I was ultimately glad that I did. I felt that the last part of the book redeemed it. Vidal does a great job of leading the reader, along with Teddy (a very unreliable narrator), in unexpected directions, and the wry and witty tone contrasts beautifully with the utter bleakness of where everything is headed.
April 19, 2012
I write this review on a cordless laptop at my girlfriend’s cabin the Highlands, the rain lashing against my cheek (I’m half indoors half out), the wind howling against my thigh (my other thigh is howl-proof). I lie. I write this in a cosy bed on a cordless laptop, the only danger being a rampaging bull butting the double-glazed windows with his horns of evil, then gouging my pretty face with said horns. All this is padding. I apologise. Sometimes I have so little so say about all these wonderful books I read, I despair about my tenure on this site. Anyway. Another Gore Vidal novel. This one is about the re-embodiment of Vishnu in a Southern US drugpusher, who summarily brings about a lotus-based global apocalypse. That’s all I need to say: sells the book pretty well, don’t you think? Vidal’s prose is sumptuously readable, classily satirical and ineffably wry. Read something by Gore Vidal. He deserves new readers. This review is pants. Sorry.
March 12, 2020
This book became sort of a fetish among the underground movements of the seventies: from the environmentalists to the feminists, the scattered remnants of the hippie wave, the anti-racist groups and numberless 'rebels without a cause' stuck between the Summer of Love and the Energetic Crisis, everybody welcomed Vidal's novel as the ultimate utopia of our age.
And it is indeed: more precisely, the most radical utopia one could ever conceive.
Theodora ('Teddy') Ottinger is the embodiment of the New Woman: a divorced, bisexual, half Jewish female pilot and mother of two who voluntarily underwent surgical sterilisation and then wrote a best-seller against maternity. Basically, a monument to female emancipation and a dreadful threat to the modern male's self-esteem.
Teddy accepts to interview an even more controversial figure, John Kelly, an ex army doctor converted to Hinduism and declaring himself to be Kalki - Visnhu's avatar, come to announce the End of the World. According to Kalki, a new cycle is bound to begin, a brand new start in which Earth and - obviously - mankind will perish and be born again.
Teddy is not exactly keen on religious matters; she's not in the least involved in the political debate of her time, either. Nevertheless, she's introduced to the small group of hipster scientists and technicians engaged in forwarding Kalki's message all over the world: she's recruited as a private pilot, thus becoming a prominent member of Kelly's inner circle of devotees. Predictably enough, his charismatic aura makes money flow. The thing is, what they're actually up to is much more than preaching Doomsday. In fact their aim is its accomplishment.
This book was published in 1978, at the end of a decade of radical disillusion on all fronts. The disastrous war in Vietnam had left an open wound in the USA; a bloodbath was taking place in Cambodia while Africa was falling apart; South America was living in a state of siege under the Juntas and, to top it all, the energetic crisis had been ravaging the economical assets of the so-called civilised world.
Vidal has often been considered a prophet and a seer. He wrote about overpopulation and transsexuality thirty years before most people even heard talking about such matters, and this novel is no exception: here his vision is indeed particularly lucid and sharp. What Vidal depicts is a world in which ideology has prevailed over ideas. Slogans, manifestations, protests and civil movements became utterly meaningless once the American Dream was shattered and the psychedelic search for a new dimension of peace, love and music ended up with the Manson Family exploits. The dream had turned into a nightmare of violence and social disquiet, aptly exploited by the market and cunningly tolerated (and eventually tamed) by the authorities. What Vidal wants the reader to do is take a look and decide whether this world is really worth surviving; whether mankind is really worth a second chance.
"Of course", we all would reply. None of us would deliberately start a 'new cycle' by getting rid of mankind, playing God and staging a total cleansing, a handmade second Genesis.
This is a novel, though.
It's pure imagination.
Imagine having a stroll along a river bank, lying in the grass and listening to a thousand birds chirping, wild animals grazing unafraid all around - vaguely remembering this was once the centre of New York or Paris or Berlin.
Imagine smelling the scent of flowers and pine trees in what was once a foundry or a nuclear plant; or feeding a deer on what used to be a highway.
Tempting, isn't it? Fuck yes, at the very least.
In fact the protagonists of "Kalki" don't resist the temptation.
Would we?
And it is indeed: more precisely, the most radical utopia one could ever conceive.
Theodora ('Teddy') Ottinger is the embodiment of the New Woman: a divorced, bisexual, half Jewish female pilot and mother of two who voluntarily underwent surgical sterilisation and then wrote a best-seller against maternity. Basically, a monument to female emancipation and a dreadful threat to the modern male's self-esteem.
Teddy accepts to interview an even more controversial figure, John Kelly, an ex army doctor converted to Hinduism and declaring himself to be Kalki - Visnhu's avatar, come to announce the End of the World. According to Kalki, a new cycle is bound to begin, a brand new start in which Earth and - obviously - mankind will perish and be born again.
Teddy is not exactly keen on religious matters; she's not in the least involved in the political debate of her time, either. Nevertheless, she's introduced to the small group of hipster scientists and technicians engaged in forwarding Kalki's message all over the world: she's recruited as a private pilot, thus becoming a prominent member of Kelly's inner circle of devotees. Predictably enough, his charismatic aura makes money flow. The thing is, what they're actually up to is much more than preaching Doomsday. In fact their aim is its accomplishment.
This book was published in 1978, at the end of a decade of radical disillusion on all fronts. The disastrous war in Vietnam had left an open wound in the USA; a bloodbath was taking place in Cambodia while Africa was falling apart; South America was living in a state of siege under the Juntas and, to top it all, the energetic crisis had been ravaging the economical assets of the so-called civilised world.
Vidal has often been considered a prophet and a seer. He wrote about overpopulation and transsexuality thirty years before most people even heard talking about such matters, and this novel is no exception: here his vision is indeed particularly lucid and sharp. What Vidal depicts is a world in which ideology has prevailed over ideas. Slogans, manifestations, protests and civil movements became utterly meaningless once the American Dream was shattered and the psychedelic search for a new dimension of peace, love and music ended up with the Manson Family exploits. The dream had turned into a nightmare of violence and social disquiet, aptly exploited by the market and cunningly tolerated (and eventually tamed) by the authorities. What Vidal wants the reader to do is take a look and decide whether this world is really worth surviving; whether mankind is really worth a second chance.
"Of course", we all would reply. None of us would deliberately start a 'new cycle' by getting rid of mankind, playing God and staging a total cleansing, a handmade second Genesis.
This is a novel, though.
It's pure imagination.
Imagine having a stroll along a river bank, lying in the grass and listening to a thousand birds chirping, wild animals grazing unafraid all around - vaguely remembering this was once the centre of New York or Paris or Berlin.
Imagine smelling the scent of flowers and pine trees in what was once a foundry or a nuclear plant; or feeding a deer on what used to be a highway.
Tempting, isn't it? Fuck yes, at the very least.
In fact the protagonists of "Kalki" don't resist the temptation.
Would we?
January 7, 2013
http://lammothsblog.blogspot.com/2013...
Според индуизма, преди много време е имало върховен бог, наречен Праджапати. Той има три страни. Брама - създателят, Вишну - закрилникът и Шива, унищожителят. Когато Вишну е легнал върху водите, от които са дошли всички хора, от пъпа му израснал лотос. От този лотос се родил Брама. А Брама създал света.
До днес Вишну е идвал на земята девет пъти. Осмото превъплъщение или аватар на Вишну е бил Кришна. Последното превъплъщение на върховния бог Вишну е било преди 9 хиляди години, когато се появил като непалския принц Гаутама, или както е по-известен - Буда, т.е. Просветения. Десетото превъплъщение на Вишну ще се нарича Калки и трябва да се появи в края на сегашната епохата, наречена епоха на Кали, яхнал бял кон.
----
От книгите на Гор Видал винаги може да научиш много, затова е удоволствие да го чета. Ако четенето на книга е разходка в гора, то от всяко дръвче в гората на Видал може да набереш нещо полезно.
Много малко писатели успяват да изплетат сполучлив роман с толкова много различни нишки. На пръв поглед историята е семпла - бивш американски военен, химик и участник във войната с Виетнам, заминава за Катманду, Непал, където се обявява за Калки - десетото преображение на бог Вишну. Събирайки хиляди последователи, той обявява дата за край на света. В същото време върти търговия с наркотици, като харизматичната му личност привлича както интереса на медиите, така и този на тайните служби и престъпни групировки.
Калки пожелава да говори в медиите само с Теди Отинджър - нашумяла авиаторка, чийто идол е самата Амелия Еърхарт (Иърхарт в романа), авторка и на скандален роман. Теди със сигурност е един от най-интересните и колоритни образи, които съм срещал в литературата. Изключително интелигентна, с откровено рационален начин на мислене, атеистка, с бисексуална ориентация, но предпочита ласките на интелигентни жени пред това да е в ръцете на мъжe. А след като ражда 2 деца, тя се подлага на салпингектомия, т.е. операция, с която се премахва маточната тръба. В наратива й се забелязва саркастичния й поглед върху лудостите и неравновесието в света, както и част от философията на скептици като Дидро. Поглед, в който прозират идеите на Гор Видал.
В крайна сметка Теди попада под магнетичното поле на Калки и дали от любопитство, дали от възвърналото й се либидо или от чист прагматизъм, тя се съгласява да се присъедини към неговия план. Изненадващо краят на света наистина идва и Теди, Калки, заедно с неговата любима Лакшми и още двама учени остават единствените оцелели на планетата, чиято мисията е да започнат ново начало на човечеството. Но дали наистина ще успеят или ще се проявят отново гибелните човешки страсти и слабости?
Писана през вече не особено близката 1978 г., в "Калки" Гор Видал е разгледал редица проблеми, които са актуални и до днес - лицемерието с търговията на наркотици, както и участието на всички в този процес, еманципация на жената и половото равенство, бисексуалността, разработването на оръжия за масово унищожение (които водят и до края на света в книгата), суеверието, главоломния прираст на населението и проблемите, свързани с това, и т.н. Бих разделил романа на две части. Първата част ми бе по-интересна, по-саркастична, а втората - далеч по-мрачна.
За край, ето един цитат:
"Преди няколко хиляди години Индия страдала (както винаги) от свръхнаселеност. Въпрос в главите на управниците: да се изядат кравите или да се използват в земеделието? Земеделието спечелило. Обявили кравата за свещена. Никой нямал право да закача кравата - още по-малко да я яде. Крават�� била първият трактор. Резултатът? Твърде много хора и твърде много крави."
Според индуизма, преди много време е имало върховен бог, наречен Праджапати. Той има три страни. Брама - създателят, Вишну - закрилникът и Шива, унищожителят. Когато Вишну е легнал върху водите, от които са дошли всички хора, от пъпа му израснал лотос. От този лотос се родил Брама. А Брама създал света.
До днес Вишну е идвал на земята девет пъти. Осмото превъплъщение или аватар на Вишну е бил Кришна. Последното превъплъщение на върховния бог Вишну е било преди 9 хиляди години, когато се появил като непалския принц Гаутама, или както е по-известен - Буда, т.е. Просветения. Десетото превъплъщение на Вишну ще се нарича Калки и трябва да се появи в края на сегашната епохата, наречена епоха на Кали, яхнал бял кон.
----
От книгите на Гор Видал винаги може да научиш много, затова е удоволствие да го чета. Ако четенето на книга е разходка в гора, то от всяко дръвче в гората на Видал може да набереш нещо полезно.
Много малко писатели успяват да изплетат сполучлив роман с толкова много различни нишки. На пръв поглед историята е семпла - бивш американски военен, химик и участник във войната с Виетнам, заминава за Катманду, Непал, където се обявява за Калки - десетото преображение на бог Вишну. Събирайки хиляди последователи, той обявява дата за край на света. В същото време върти търговия с наркотици, като харизматичната му личност привлича както интереса на медиите, така и този на тайните служби и престъпни групировки.
Калки пожелава да говори в медиите само с Теди Отинджър - нашумяла авиаторка, чийто идол е самата Амелия Еърхарт (Иърхарт в романа), авторка и на скандален роман. Теди със сигурност е един от най-интересните и колоритни образи, които съм срещал в литературата. Изключително интелигентна, с откровено рационален начин на мислене, атеистка, с бисексуална ориентация, но предпочита ласките на интелигентни жени пред това да е в ръцете на мъжe. А след като ражда 2 деца, тя се подлага на салпингектомия, т.е. операция, с която се премахва маточната тръба. В наратива й се забелязва саркастичния й поглед върху лудостите и неравновесието в света, както и част от философията на скептици като Дидро. Поглед, в който прозират идеите на Гор Видал.
В крайна сметка Теди попада под магнетичното поле на Калки и дали от любопитство, дали от възвърналото й се либидо или от чист прагматизъм, тя се съгласява да се присъедини към неговия план. Изненадващо краят на света наистина идва и Теди, Калки, заедно с неговата любима Лакшми и още двама учени остават единствените оцелели на планетата, чиято мисията е да започнат ново начало на човечеството. Но дали наистина ще успеят или ще се проявят отново гибелните човешки страсти и слабости?
Писана през вече не особено близката 1978 г., в "Калки" Гор Видал е разгледал редица проблеми, които са актуални и до днес - лицемерието с търговията на наркотици, както и участието на всички в този процес, еманципация на жената и половото равенство, бисексуалността, разработването на оръжия за масово унищожение (които водят и до края на света в книгата), суеверието, главоломния прираст на населението и проблемите, свързани с това, и т.н. Бих разделил романа на две части. Първата част ми бе по-интересна, по-саркастична, а втората - далеч по-мрачна.
За край, ето един цитат:
"Преди няколко хиляди години Индия страдала (както винаги) от свръхнаселеност. Въпрос в главите на управниците: да се изядат кравите или да се използват в земеделието? Земеделието спечелило. Обявили кравата за свещена. Никой нямал право да закача кравата - още по-малко да я яде. Крават�� била първият трактор. Резултатът? Твърде много хора и твърде много крави."
April 6, 2021
Krenuh iznova da čitam Kalki Gora Vidala sa ciljem da roman završim 3. aprila, ali, kao i za većinu stvari u poslednje vreme, promaših rok. Pošast pohara svet, i eto...
Kalki je jedna od knjiga objavljena u ediciji Džepna knjiga izdavačkog preduzeća August Cesarec iz Zagreba negde baš u vreme kada sam u tom istom Zagrebu okončavao služenje obaveze prema domovini. Pre nje u toj ediciji objavljeno je još nekoliko važnih romana, na ovaj ili onaj način vezanih za distopijsku naučnu fantastiku (Divni novi svijet, Otok i Majmun i bit Oldosa Hakslija), ali i jedan kineski raritet iz ranih tridesetih - Mačji grad Lao Šea.
Mada sam pre toga bezuspešno pokušao da dočitam jedini Vidalov do tada prevedeni roman - Burr, Kalki je bio nešto sasvim drugačije.
Kao relativno mlad i nadobudan ljubitelj naučne fantastike, ostvarenja glavnog toga koja su zadirala u žanr uglavnom sam prezirao. Ne umem do kraja da racionalizujem zašto, ali mislim da je to uglavnom počivalo na nebrizi dotičnih pisaca za unutrašnju logiku žanra i odsustvo svesti da se žanrovska ostvarenja nekako kaleme jedna na drugo, da pisci nemaju preveliku potrebu da objašnjavaju detalje, jer su njihovi prethodnici već to učinili i oni se samo naslanjaju na leđa divova. A onda dođe Gor Vidal i pokaže mi da je moguće napisati glavnotokovski SF roman koji ima više nego solidnu unutrašnju logiku, uz hrabro zadiranje u srž problema savremene civilizacije. Imajući u vidu da je besmisleno ne spojlovati roman iz 1978. sasvim vam mirno mogu reći da je to roman kod koga, kad zatvorite poslednju stranicu, prosto vam bude drago da je čovečanstvo uništeno. I da je to čovek to napisao pre 40+ godina. Nekako vam lakša padnu kola oko Nemanje i ono đubre u Studenjaku.
Matoriji ja ima dosta primedaba na Vidalov stil, tako da, ako ste književni puritanac, biće vam sporne one moje zvezdice, ali baš me briga. Ovo je jedna od knjiga koje volim i koja je promenila moj odnos prema svetu. Pet zvezdica...
Kalki je jedna od knjiga objavljena u ediciji Džepna knjiga izdavačkog preduzeća August Cesarec iz Zagreba negde baš u vreme kada sam u tom istom Zagrebu okončavao služenje obaveze prema domovini. Pre nje u toj ediciji objavljeno je još nekoliko važnih romana, na ovaj ili onaj način vezanih za distopijsku naučnu fantastiku (Divni novi svijet, Otok i Majmun i bit Oldosa Hakslija), ali i jedan kineski raritet iz ranih tridesetih - Mačji grad Lao Šea.
Mada sam pre toga bezuspešno pokušao da dočitam jedini Vidalov do tada prevedeni roman - Burr, Kalki je bio nešto sasvim drugačije.
Kao relativno mlad i nadobudan ljubitelj naučne fantastike, ostvarenja glavnog toga koja su zadirala u žanr uglavnom sam prezirao. Ne umem do kraja da racionalizujem zašto, ali mislim da je to uglavnom počivalo na nebrizi dotičnih pisaca za unutrašnju logiku žanra i odsustvo svesti da se žanrovska ostvarenja nekako kaleme jedna na drugo, da pisci nemaju preveliku potrebu da objašnjavaju detalje, jer su njihovi prethodnici već to učinili i oni se samo naslanjaju na leđa divova. A onda dođe Gor Vidal i pokaže mi da je moguće napisati glavnotokovski SF roman koji ima više nego solidnu unutrašnju logiku, uz hrabro zadiranje u srž problema savremene civilizacije. Imajući u vidu da je besmisleno ne spojlovati roman iz 1978. sasvim vam mirno mogu reći da je to roman kod koga, kad zatvorite poslednju stranicu, prosto vam bude drago da je čovečanstvo uništeno. I da je to čovek to napisao pre 40+ godina. Nekako vam lakša padnu kola oko Nemanje i ono đubre u Studenjaku.
Matoriji ja ima dosta primedaba na Vidalov stil, tako da, ako ste književni puritanac, biće vam sporne one moje zvezdice, ali baš me briga. Ovo je jedna od knjiga koje volim i koja je promenila moj odnos prema svetu. Pet zvezdica...
August 9, 2014
The only reason I can imagine for Vidal receiving a Nebula nomination for this mediocre near-future novel is because of his standing in the literary world.
September 7, 2009
Every book subtly portrays the very nature of the author who has penned it. Gore Vidal does this with each of his work.
Kalki – The Novel is Vidal’s way of sharing his view on topics such as global politics, overpopulation, birth control, and feminism and above all, Hindu Wisdom.
Vidal weaves a story in a very unconventional pattern. His narration is satirical on purpose, to make you feel at ease while you are reading a book that speaks about the Dooms Day.
Vidal has a knack to say everything without making a statement. That’s the beauty of this novel. Whatever one's point of view, the novel won’t entirely contradict it. If one believes in the Hindu Religion, one would find this novel full of wisdom from the Vedas. If not, yet the novel gives justifiable confirmation to one's point of view.
Vidal is not promoting anything to a non-believer. For such a person this is just a work of fiction, a very ingenious one. For a believer, though, this work of fiction can very well compete with the best non-fiction self realization books one can get.
Pros: Absolute delight for a bibliophile
Cons: Narration is harsh and candid; may not be liked by some
Kalki – The Novel is Vidal’s way of sharing his view on topics such as global politics, overpopulation, birth control, and feminism and above all, Hindu Wisdom.
Vidal weaves a story in a very unconventional pattern. His narration is satirical on purpose, to make you feel at ease while you are reading a book that speaks about the Dooms Day.
Vidal has a knack to say everything without making a statement. That’s the beauty of this novel. Whatever one's point of view, the novel won’t entirely contradict it. If one believes in the Hindu Religion, one would find this novel full of wisdom from the Vedas. If not, yet the novel gives justifiable confirmation to one's point of view.
Vidal is not promoting anything to a non-believer. For such a person this is just a work of fiction, a very ingenious one. For a believer, though, this work of fiction can very well compete with the best non-fiction self realization books one can get.
Pros: Absolute delight for a bibliophile
Cons: Narration is harsh and candid; may not be liked by some
December 7, 2018
Una novela magnífica. Gore Vidal era un escritor impresionante y no justamente valorado hoy en día. Sus dos obras de ciencia ficción que también podrían englobarse en otros géneros y atrapar a otro tipo de lectores, son impecables. Ambas atraerán a aquellos que busquen una historia inteligente, bien escrita y con un punto de partida en una sociedad totalmente reconocible a la que critica todo lo que puede (no atrapara tanto a los amantes del pulp o las aventuras de ritmo frenético).
Kalki en concreto me ha gustado aun más que Mesías. Una historia que engancha y divierte a la vez que consigue sumergirnos en una religión como la hinduista (de una manera mucho mas simple y menos pretenciosa que otras obras como la de Zelazny) y nos conduce a un final apocalíptico de manera brillante y original. Literatura de la buena.
Kalki en concreto me ha gustado aun más que Mesías. Una historia que engancha y divierte a la vez que consigue sumergirnos en una religión como la hinduista (de una manera mucho mas simple y menos pretenciosa que otras obras como la de Zelazny) y nos conduce a un final apocalíptico de manera brillante y original. Literatura de la buena.
March 8, 2015
I don't even wanna talk about it.
September 19, 2011
"Калки" на Гор Видал рисува апокалиптична религиозна лудост: http://www.knigolandia.info/2009/10/b...
Това е третата книга на Видал, която чета това лято след "Вечна война за вечен мир" и "Вашингтон, окръг Колумбия" и считам, че е най-добрата между споменатите.
Книгата е написана през 1978 г. и описва апокалиптичен сюжет, пред който купищата холивудски суперпродукции бледнеят. Бивш военен от Виетнам се самообявява за Калки - десетото, последно превъплъщение на бог Вишну, дошъл да прогласи края на поредната човешка ера.
Около него се завърта култ, който бързо придобива популярност не само в Индия, а и в западния свят. Богато финансиран с търговия с наркотици, подкрепян от подкупи за властите, поклонниците на Калки разпространяват учението чрез лотария, в която се печелят пари, без да се купува нищо. Логично американците лудват от тези възможности.
Това е третата книга на Видал, която чета това лято след "Вечна война за вечен мир" и "Вашингтон, окръг Колумбия" и считам, че е най-добрата между споменатите.
Книгата е написана през 1978 г. и описва апокалиптичен сюжет, пред който купищата холивудски суперпродукции бледнеят. Бивш военен от Виетнам се самообявява за Калки - десетото, последно превъплъщение на бог Вишну, дошъл да прогласи края на поредната човешка ера.
Около него се завърта култ, който бързо придобива популярност не само в Индия, а и в западния свят. Богато финансиран с търговия с наркотици, подкрепян от подкупи за властите, поклонниците на Калки разпространяват учението чрез лотария, в която се печелят пари, без да се купува нищо. Логично американците лудват от тези възможности.
October 9, 2008
The protaganist is a bisexual feminist aviator and THE BOOK STILL SUCKS.
November 27, 2024
I need to reread. Seems like a plot for the present situation.
September 25, 2025
I’m not convinced Gore was using his powers for good here
April 9, 2011
I used to see Gore Vidal occasionally on "Laugh-In," and I knew he was a controversial author and public figure, with what seemed to be anti-feminist views. I have had his novel "Burr" for some time but can't seem to find the d*** thing. Came across "Kalki" at a book sale a couple years ago and thought, well, it IS by Mr. Vidal after all...So OK, this is the essence of quirky, with the "main " character being Kalki, which is an avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu, the Hindu version of God. Well, there's a lot of Hindu theology in this book, which I did find interesting. The plot revolves around Kalki, and his alter-ego Siva, the Destroyer, who will basically annihilate humankind, starting a new age of re-creation, or something like that. See, the avatar is in the personage of an ex-GI named Kelly, who has had some mysterious ties to chemical warfare and other hush-hush clandestine operations back there in the Vietnam era. So he says he's a-gonna destroy civilization on, well, let's say April Third. Our friend has amassed quite a following and has gotten a lot of media coverage and is giving away stuff (OK, lotuses) all over the world, so how's this gonna happen? IS it gonna happen? What's the ulterior motive? Is this guy just a drug-runner with a gimmick or is he the genuine article? Well, I'M not gonna tell you, that's part of the fun of the book.
However, I must say that MY favorite character is not this here Kalki guy but the narrator, one Theodora (Terry) Ottinger, bisexual, engineer, mother (she never was into motherhood, lets the kids' dad have 'em, gets behind on alimony payments), author ("Beyond Motherhood," about - well, just that.) It is this book that gets Kalki's attention and he hires her to be his personal pilot (she describes herself as an "aviatrix" - a term she allows might be frowned upon by the feminists, but she doesn't particularly care because her hero is Amelia Earhart, with whom her father had an affair (I went and looked up Mr. Vidal's bio, and lo and behold, he was born at West Point, where his father was an instructor of - yup, aviation - and who also had an affair with Amelia Earhart, with whom he formed Northwest Airlines - VERY interesting parallel). Her role is, and becomes, very central in Kalki's plan but I won't tell ya how.
There are also a number of other interesting characters, such as Lakshmi (yeah, it took me a long time to get the pronunciation right too), Kalki's second wife; Geraldine, a biologist; Morgan Davis, Teddy's editor, who encourages her to take this here job with Kalki, because of the potential for a Really Big Story; Dr. Ashok, mysterious fellow, who is more than he seems; Dr. Giles Lowell, another mysterious figure who is also more than he seems; and Senator Jonathan White, who is investigating this here Kalki-drug connection. Bunch of other folks figure in, all making for a very interesting ensemble, leading to the climax and beyond...but that's also for you to read.
I wished I liked this book better than I did; I think that, like "The Electric Kook-Aid Acid Test," I would have enjoyed it more if I had read it closer to the time it came out (1978, for this book), as the political issues were more prepotent then. Nonetheless, I'd say give it a read, but maybe between the books on your Top Ten shelf.
However, I must say that MY favorite character is not this here Kalki guy but the narrator, one Theodora (Terry) Ottinger, bisexual, engineer, mother (she never was into motherhood, lets the kids' dad have 'em, gets behind on alimony payments), author ("Beyond Motherhood," about - well, just that.) It is this book that gets Kalki's attention and he hires her to be his personal pilot (she describes herself as an "aviatrix" - a term she allows might be frowned upon by the feminists, but she doesn't particularly care because her hero is Amelia Earhart, with whom her father had an affair (I went and looked up Mr. Vidal's bio, and lo and behold, he was born at West Point, where his father was an instructor of - yup, aviation - and who also had an affair with Amelia Earhart, with whom he formed Northwest Airlines - VERY interesting parallel). Her role is, and becomes, very central in Kalki's plan but I won't tell ya how.
There are also a number of other interesting characters, such as Lakshmi (yeah, it took me a long time to get the pronunciation right too), Kalki's second wife; Geraldine, a biologist; Morgan Davis, Teddy's editor, who encourages her to take this here job with Kalki, because of the potential for a Really Big Story; Dr. Ashok, mysterious fellow, who is more than he seems; Dr. Giles Lowell, another mysterious figure who is also more than he seems; and Senator Jonathan White, who is investigating this here Kalki-drug connection. Bunch of other folks figure in, all making for a very interesting ensemble, leading to the climax and beyond...but that's also for you to read.
I wished I liked this book better than I did; I think that, like "The Electric Kook-Aid Acid Test," I would have enjoyed it more if I had read it closer to the time it came out (1978, for this book), as the political issues were more prepotent then. Nonetheless, I'd say give it a read, but maybe between the books on your Top Ten shelf.
August 30, 2013
my first taste of Vidal and it's certainly not what i expected. the wit and sophisticated ideas, i did expect. what came as a surprise was the dark humor and satire- but also the science fiction. yes, science fiction. i said it.
i expected it to be a satirical indictment of cultish religiosity and several other things including heterosexuality, paternalism, the entertainment industry, pop culture, et al. and so it was. but then, like some "magic eye" image or masterful optical illusion, it became a work of science fiction. i won't say why because i want you to find out as i did and be as shocked as i was. in less than 300 pages, Kalki sprawls out over all of these subjects and more all the while delivering a rich story with complex and interesting characters. granted, most of them suffer little to no development, acting mostly as stock obstacles that challenge the protagonist and her cohort, but they are, nevertheless, distinct individuals that breathe.
in addition to its biting criticism, it taps into the deeper waters of mythology and unconscious, human archetypes a la Jung and Campbell. the central religion is Hinduism and the main character makes no bones about being atheist- this creates a kind of distance from which Christianity can be viewed and critiqued.
and, it's funny. i mentioned that briefly near the top but i want to emphasize how much it delighted me to find some really, effing funny parts in the story and prose. the story itself is not full of irony or extremely ironic but really is a kind of avatar of irony; just as Kalki is the 10th and last avatar of Vishnu/Siva.
i'm going to see about reading some more of Vidal's books. i truly do not expect to find one that tickles me as much as this one did. but, then, i didn't expect this one to do that either.
i expected it to be a satirical indictment of cultish religiosity and several other things including heterosexuality, paternalism, the entertainment industry, pop culture, et al. and so it was. but then, like some "magic eye" image or masterful optical illusion, it became a work of science fiction. i won't say why because i want you to find out as i did and be as shocked as i was. in less than 300 pages, Kalki sprawls out over all of these subjects and more all the while delivering a rich story with complex and interesting characters. granted, most of them suffer little to no development, acting mostly as stock obstacles that challenge the protagonist and her cohort, but they are, nevertheless, distinct individuals that breathe.
in addition to its biting criticism, it taps into the deeper waters of mythology and unconscious, human archetypes a la Jung and Campbell. the central religion is Hinduism and the main character makes no bones about being atheist- this creates a kind of distance from which Christianity can be viewed and critiqued.
and, it's funny. i mentioned that briefly near the top but i want to emphasize how much it delighted me to find some really, effing funny parts in the story and prose. the story itself is not full of irony or extremely ironic but really is a kind of avatar of irony; just as Kalki is the 10th and last avatar of Vishnu/Siva.
i'm going to see about reading some more of Vidal's books. i truly do not expect to find one that tickles me as much as this one did. but, then, i didn't expect this one to do that either.
April 6, 2011
My early New Year's Resolution is to read all of Gore Vidal's books in 2011. I've started early with Kalki, which I'd put in the minor novels category. Although I thought it was a little weak in places, Vidal is incapable of writing anything bad, I loved it anyway.
Only Gore Vidal can make the end of the world a anticipated event, and with such engaging characters, to boot. Teddy Ottinger is ahead of her time and our time, even if she's a rather idealized version of Vidal, who showed some real chutzpah in creating her. (NOTE: I especially enjoyed his/her critique of 1970s feminist novelists. I read some of the "classics" when they were published and was not impressed)) As always though the author took on any number of sacred cows: feminism, sexuality, the media, celebrity, ecology, religion--and not so sacred: the government, politicians. I loved the "spies." Amelia Earhart takes on a great off-scene importance. Lots of classic Vidalian asides. It also revived my interest in Hinduism, which I lost in the 1970s. If you think Christian legalisms are complex, try Hindu.
So, is Jim Kelley Kalki? Probaby not, but...I also like to think of God as dysfunctional and screwed up as the rest of us.
Only Gore Vidal can make the end of the world a anticipated event, and with such engaging characters, to boot. Teddy Ottinger is ahead of her time and our time, even if she's a rather idealized version of Vidal, who showed some real chutzpah in creating her. (NOTE: I especially enjoyed his/her critique of 1970s feminist novelists. I read some of the "classics" when they were published and was not impressed)) As always though the author took on any number of sacred cows: feminism, sexuality, the media, celebrity, ecology, religion--and not so sacred: the government, politicians. I loved the "spies." Amelia Earhart takes on a great off-scene importance. Lots of classic Vidalian asides. It also revived my interest in Hinduism, which I lost in the 1970s. If you think Christian legalisms are complex, try Hindu.
So, is Jim Kelley Kalki? Probaby not, but...I also like to think of God as dysfunctional and screwed up as the rest of us.
May 30, 2008
I brought "Kalki" along with me to Thailand and Cambodia because it was small and fit into my bag, but I wish I hadn't because once I began reading I wasn't able to put it down until hours later when it was nearly time for the sun to rise.
"Kalki" is yet another foray into South Asian religion for Vidal and again, much like "Creation" (although this book in no way resembles "Creation") he is able to deftly deal with difficult subjects (Vedic apocalyptic writings to be precise) while also raising insightful points regarding cross cultural and cross gender issues. I'll save a full review for later, but it is hard for me to imagine a person I would not recommend this novel to.
READ!
"Kalki" is yet another foray into South Asian religion for Vidal and again, much like "Creation" (although this book in no way resembles "Creation") he is able to deftly deal with difficult subjects (Vedic apocalyptic writings to be precise) while also raising insightful points regarding cross cultural and cross gender issues. I'll save a full review for later, but it is hard for me to imagine a person I would not recommend this novel to.
READ!
July 25, 2021
This book reminds me of several HBO/Amazon shows from the past couple of years that are just a little too absurd with not enough heart, where plot (explained through exposition) and zany minor characters reign. I would forgive Vidal if this wasn't published 24 years after Messiah - would expect more evolution from him. However I did enjoy the narrator Teddy, an aviatrix and sometimes journalist who has kids and then rejects motherhood. And I did enjoy the flagrant misanthropy even if I didn't agree. The first novel I've listened to rather than read, the narrator was good but I think non-fiction books are better for audio. My advice is just to read "Myra Breckinridge."
June 26, 2020
I thought this end-of-the-world scenario was pretty scary, because Vidal made it entirely believable. I still remember the disclaimer he added at the end: organisms do exist that are capable of accomplishing was was done in this novel, but in the interest of good citizenship he wasn't identifying them.
September 13, 2022
Kalki didn’t really do it for me. Obviously Vidal was going for the cultist satirical, but the story lagely falls flat and lacks identity. Aside from the twist at the end, it was mostly predicable.
October 8, 2024
Un veterano estadounidense de la Guerra de Vietnam se autoproclama como un nuevo dios en la India, generando adeptos y convirtiéndose rápidamente en un culto global. Sus seguidores, inspirados en los krishna, distribuyen lotos de papel para participar en sorteos, logrando que todos deseen obtenerlos. Sin restricciones, todos reciben varios lotos.
Instalado el fenómeno mundialmente, gobiernos, mafias y conglomerados corporativos intentan unirse, apropiarse y desenmascarar este nuevo fenómeno. Inicialmente hermético, el nuevo dios accede a una entrevista con la BBC, pero otro editor busca la primicia, desatando una carrera para infiltrar a alguien en su círculo íntimo.
Entra en escena Teddy Ottinger, una piloto inspirada en Amelia Earhart, quien logra su objetivo. La lucha por dominar a Kalki es despiadada, con sospechas de tráfico de drogas. Kalki, anteriormente J Kelly, anuncia el fin del viejo mundo y el inicio de una nueva era en una conferencia, con fecha precisa: 3 de abril. El mundo cambiará para siempre.
Contar más sería revelar demasiado; el giro en el último tercio del libro es inesperado, convirtiendo lo anterior en un prólogo tal vez excesivamente extenso. Los personajes coexisten en un equilibrio de filosofías y habilidades: Lakshmi, la madre benevolente; Teddy, la narradora intrépida entre desconfianza y estupor; Ashok/Gilles, especulador y representante de la avaricia política; y Geraldine, defensora de la ciencia y escéptica de la mística divina.
Kalki es un libro profundo que combina religión, filosofía, sectas, guerra y ambición humana, demostrando cómo incluso siendo bienintencionadas, pueden volverse exterminadoras.
Instalado el fenómeno mundialmente, gobiernos, mafias y conglomerados corporativos intentan unirse, apropiarse y desenmascarar este nuevo fenómeno. Inicialmente hermético, el nuevo dios accede a una entrevista con la BBC, pero otro editor busca la primicia, desatando una carrera para infiltrar a alguien en su círculo íntimo.
Entra en escena Teddy Ottinger, una piloto inspirada en Amelia Earhart, quien logra su objetivo. La lucha por dominar a Kalki es despiadada, con sospechas de tráfico de drogas. Kalki, anteriormente J Kelly, anuncia el fin del viejo mundo y el inicio de una nueva era en una conferencia, con fecha precisa: 3 de abril. El mundo cambiará para siempre.
Contar más sería revelar demasiado; el giro en el último tercio del libro es inesperado, convirtiendo lo anterior en un prólogo tal vez excesivamente extenso. Los personajes coexisten en un equilibrio de filosofías y habilidades: Lakshmi, la madre benevolente; Teddy, la narradora intrépida entre desconfianza y estupor; Ashok/Gilles, especulador y representante de la avaricia política; y Geraldine, defensora de la ciencia y escéptica de la mística divina.
Kalki es un libro profundo que combina religión, filosofía, sectas, guerra y ambición humana, demostrando cómo incluso siendo bienintencionadas, pueden volverse exterminadoras.
September 23, 2025
An amazing novel that mixes politics, jingoism, human psychology, warfare and the apocalyptic after effects quite well.
Deducted a couple of stars as the novel, at times, seemed extremely dragged and all the characters garnered no emotional connection.
Deducted a couple of stars as the novel, at times, seemed extremely dragged and all the characters garnered no emotional connection.
July 5, 2017
Another teenage read, which is accidently discovered today.
January 27, 2024
All of Vidal’s pet peeves are combined in this curious novel. The narrator is distant family member of Myra Breckinridge for sure, the story revolved around a messiah-figure much like Messiah and Julian and there’s a lot of hindu-styled orientalism like in Creation. Still, it was a highly entertaining read even if suffering from too big a cast for most of its run. The last chapters make up for these pitfalls, they really showcase Vidal at his best.
January 2, 2016
An American madman (or is he?) has the delusion that he’s the reincarnation of Vishnu whose final appearance according to Hindu mythology signals the end of the world. He selects a compatriot aviatrix, Teddy, a sturdily independent feminist (pretty clearly referring to Vidal Senior’s colleague and friend, Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly alone across the Atlantic). Teddy is not quite as much on the ball as she thought, she’s mysteriously abducted and anaesthetized, to wake up realising that something is missing – her womb. Dauntlessly she carries on under instruction, flying twice around the world east to west and north to south and dropping on the way, ‘hippy’-style, paper flowers unknown to herself contaminated with a lethal poison. Result: the entire human population is obliterated except for ‘Kalki’, his consort ‘Lakshmi’ (previously Doris, a telling detail), the helpful but now-superfluous messenger of death, her ‘girl-friend’ and an unintended serpent, an essential character in any Garden of Eden. The first two, with the others to do the drudgery, plan on being reincarnated Adam and Eve to re-populate the world in their own image. I won’t spoil the enjoyment, if that’s the word, of those who haven’t read this but something goes terribly wrong, as usually happens when humans imagine themselves to be gods. As much a highly-sophisticated parable as a ‘novel’, a black comedy with deadly-serious intent, this is Vidal at his most inventive, taking well-aimed swipes along the way at the doped-out India-craze of the 70’s and various other ‘burning issues’ of the time which continue to reverberate, and in a way revealing himself as something of an atheistically-religious provocateur. For all that, ‘Kalki’ didn’t go down as well as it should have when it was first published, probably because it’s enough to scare most readers half to death without the intervention of either man-made chemicals or divine judgement. In fact, it’s so imaginatively and almost- plausibly powerful that the disturbing effect is the verbal equivalent of an Escher drawing; of course, it’s only a clever story, one reassures oneself, like a bad dream, not ‘real’ because it doesn’t make sense, if there’s no-one left I couldn’t be reading it – could I?? Extinction stories have always attracted a certain type of macabre literary spirit, Anthony Burgess´s End of the World News being the nearest comparison, but although that’s hair-raising enough it’s not quite as much as this.
October 11, 2015
As I was reading Kalki I was initially hooked by Teddy, the main character and her inner monologue. It felt like listening to Gore Vidal's thoughts because they were irratic and intellectual. My main gripe was the obvious soapbox speeches dropped awkwardly into situations but I was enjoying the mystery of the living-god Kalki and was wondering how it was going to turn out... then the last fifty pages happened.
The characters began taking stupid pills and became unlikable (boring). Vidal's story also used the crutch of science to explain the plot and it worked... until the last fifty pages. Maybe I'm biased because I work in a lab but if you use science as the scaffold for how things work than I can criticize if your science is terrible (although I did appreciate his little comment on the last page). There are parts in the novel that may have been scandalous when it was first written but the book has not aged well. I know there is supposed to be satire in this book and I may have been too thick to find it or too humourless to enjoy it. I wanted to like it.
The characters began taking stupid pills and became unlikable (boring). Vidal's story also used the crutch of science to explain the plot and it worked... until the last fifty pages. Maybe I'm biased because I work in a lab but if you use science as the scaffold for how things work than I can criticize if your science is terrible (although I did appreciate his little comment on the last page). There are parts in the novel that may have been scandalous when it was first written but the book has not aged well. I know there is supposed to be satire in this book and I may have been too thick to find it or too humourless to enjoy it. I wanted to like it.
February 26, 2016
When I was a kid, one of my night time 'happy thoughts' to get to sleep is to some how 'pause' the world of all action and then go around. Since I grew up in Madurai, a small town, my fantasy never went beyond roaming the streets of the same when every other human is just frozen. I used to think of having all the food, money and books. That used to be a short happy thought that will get me to sleep with a smile on face.
Now, what if you took that and write a book around it? that essentially will be 'Kalki'. And when Vidal writes it, that little idea morphs into nuggets of philosophy, feminism, cold war and socialism along with the good old 'eastern religion' mumbo jumbo in good mix. Whether it makes for interesting read is a totally another matter.
I love Vidal for his histories. None write history as interesting as Vidal. However, this book is a disappointment.
Now, what if you took that and write a book around it? that essentially will be 'Kalki'. And when Vidal writes it, that little idea morphs into nuggets of philosophy, feminism, cold war and socialism along with the good old 'eastern religion' mumbo jumbo in good mix. Whether it makes for interesting read is a totally another matter.
I love Vidal for his histories. None write history as interesting as Vidal. However, this book is a disappointment.
February 7, 2017
Aburrida hasta la última parte, Kalki se la pasa preparando el escenario para el acto final, el cual es (a mi consideración), el único que vale la pena, y que sin duda rescata toda la novela.
Todo lo demás es paja.
Sólo puedo recomendar al lector interesado en este libro, que soporte el sufrimiento de leer páginas y páginas de introspectiva de nuestra protagonista, así como de datos inútiles que "adornan" la idea principal.
Aquel que pase la prueba de desgaste, será recompensado con un excelente cuento de ciencia ficción.
Todo lo demás es paja.
Sólo puedo recomendar al lector interesado en este libro, que soporte el sufrimiento de leer páginas y páginas de introspectiva de nuestra protagonista, así como de datos inútiles que "adornan" la idea principal.
Aquel que pase la prueba de desgaste, será recompensado con un excelente cuento de ciencia ficción.
August 14, 2011
This is one of those odd times where I'm not sure whether to give 2 stars or 4. So I'll give 3. I blasted right through, the pace was just right (being on an airplane may have helped, but some books don't grab me even when trapped in the lower stratosphere). I liked the shady nature of many of the characters and the ending, yet somehow I was also left a bit cold at the end.
This book is a pure creature of the 1970s as far as its concerns and worldview.
I may give Vidal another read.
This book is a pure creature of the 1970s as far as its concerns and worldview.
I may give Vidal another read.
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