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The Man I Became
Huxley’s Brave New World meets Orwell’s Animal Farm.
The impressively entertaining tale about the frailty of human civilisation by the leading Flemish writer Peter Verhelst, now for the first time in English.
Warning: This story is narrated by a gorilla. He is plucked from the jungle. He learns to chat and passes the ultimate test: a cocktail party. Eventually he is moved to an amusement park, where he acts in a play about the history of civilisation. But as the gorilla becomes increasingly aware of human frailties, he must choose between his instincts and his training, between principles and self-preservation.
Why Peirene chose to publish this book:
'This is Peirene’s first book narrated by an ape. Animal fables are usually not my thing. It needed Belgian deadpan humour to convince me otherwise. Mixing Huxley’s Brave New World with Orwell’s Animal Farm, the fast-paced plot leaves behind images that play in your mind long after you have closed the book.' Meike Ziervogel
‘Simple, but wonderful and impassioned.’ De Standaard
‘A heart-warming novella in bleak times.’ Humo
The impressively entertaining tale about the frailty of human civilisation by the leading Flemish writer Peter Verhelst, now for the first time in English.
Warning: This story is narrated by a gorilla. He is plucked from the jungle. He learns to chat and passes the ultimate test: a cocktail party. Eventually he is moved to an amusement park, where he acts in a play about the history of civilisation. But as the gorilla becomes increasingly aware of human frailties, he must choose between his instincts and his training, between principles and self-preservation.
Why Peirene chose to publish this book:
'This is Peirene’s first book narrated by an ape. Animal fables are usually not my thing. It needed Belgian deadpan humour to convince me otherwise. Mixing Huxley’s Brave New World with Orwell’s Animal Farm, the fast-paced plot leaves behind images that play in your mind long after you have closed the book.' Meike Ziervogel
‘Simple, but wonderful and impassioned.’ De Standaard
‘A heart-warming novella in bleak times.’ Humo
120 pages, Paperback
First published April 29, 2013
6 people are currently reading
333 people want to read
About the author
Peter Verhelst
61 books167 followersPeter Verhelst is een Vlaamse dichter en schrijver.
Peter Verhelst in de Nederlandstalige Wikipedia
Peter Verhelst in de Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren
Peter Verhelst bij "Schrijversgewijs"
Peter Verhelst is a Flemish poet and writer.
Peter Verhelst in the English Wikipedia
Peter Verhelst in de Nederlandstalige Wikipedia
Peter Verhelst in de Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren
Peter Verhelst bij "Schrijversgewijs"
Peter Verhelst is a Flemish poet and writer.
Peter Verhelst in the English Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
May 4, 2016
The latest book from Peirene Press is narrated by a gorilla. That’s no secret: it’s an explicit warning given in the blurb. Yet the narrator doesn’t remain a gorilla. The clue is in the title: in The Man I Became, the eleventh novel by Belgian Flemish author Peter Verhelst (translated from the Dutch by David Colmer), various species are captured and forcibly humanized. Our narrator – whose name we never know – remembers his happy life in Africa:
But soon his fellows start disappearing, and eventually the riders come for him too. He’s captured and marched across the desert to the sea to be shipped to the New World. The gorillas’ training begins soon after they arrive.
At this point I started to get a bit nervous about the book’s racial connotations. Especially as the gorillas-in-transition become sexual objects, I wondered what Verhelst could be attempting to say about the notions of the noble savage and the purification of the race.
The creatures’ progress is carefully documented. They carry phones that function as identification as well as an external memory. The art of conversation is something they practice at cocktail parties, where the narrator learns that he and his kind are not the only ones; giraffes, buffalo, leopards, parrots, lions and bonobos have all been subjected to the same experiment. With all of them together in the same room, the animals have to suppress their natural fear reactions.
The narrator becomes an animal trainer for the evolution-in-action show at Dreamland, an amusement park with roller coasters and fast food. There are different classes of animals, you see; some remain animals and do menial duties, while a chosen few are transformed into humans. He halfheartedly looks for his brother and has a brief affair with Emily. When a violent incident leaves several dead and the narrator’s human is caught acquiring animals through the black market, Dreamland’s very existence is threatened. (If you know the history of the real Dreamland, a longtime Coney Island attraction, you may have an inkling.)
This novella is scarcely 120 pages. Short books can be wonderful, but that’s not the case if there’s no space to craft a believable plot. The pace is so quick here that there’s no chance to bed into scenes and settings, and the narrator is never entirely convincing – whether as a gorilla, a man or something in between. Too much of the book feels dreamlike and fragmentary.
Meanwhile, the ideology bothered me. Is this simply a social satire à la Animal Farm, to which it’s compared in the prefatory material? A sort of ‘some animals are more equal than others’ message? If so, then, well, that’s been done before. Nor is there any shortage of books mocking caste systems and eugenic experimentation. Apart from a handful of memorable lines, the prose is quite simplistic, and the overall storyline doesn’t feel original.
Verhelst has written that he was inspired by three things: a troop of cheeky baboons encountered in South Africa, the history of the early-twentieth-century Dreamland, and news of the completed human genome project. “What is a human? Is it a creature that can smile while walking on two legs? A creature with a signature and a mobile phone?” he asks. These are interesting questions, certainly, but I felt they were not explored with particular depth or panache here.
This was my third Peirene book, after The Looking-Glass Sisters. This one was a disappointment, but I will not let that deter me from trying more, including the other two in the “Fairy Tale series: End of Innocence”: Marie Sizun’s Her Father’s Daughter and Linda Stift’s The Empress and the Cake.
With thanks to Peirene Press for the free copy.
(Originally published with images at my blog, Bookish Beck.)
We caught termites by pushing long twigs, as flexible as blades of grass, into their mounds and then licking the twigs clean. … We hung from branches one-handed to show off our muscles. We felt like princes and princesses. We were young and beautiful and our bliss was never going to end.
But soon his fellows start disappearing, and eventually the riders come for him too. He’s captured and marched across the desert to the sea to be shipped to the New World. The gorillas’ training begins soon after they arrive.
We learned to walk upright. ‘Faster! Taller!’ said the human. … Then we learned how to shave. … We learned a new language word by word. We learned to eat from a bowl and then with knife and fork. … We learned to powder our skin to make it lighter.
At this point I started to get a bit nervous about the book’s racial connotations. Especially as the gorillas-in-transition become sexual objects, I wondered what Verhelst could be attempting to say about the notions of the noble savage and the purification of the race.
The creatures’ progress is carefully documented. They carry phones that function as identification as well as an external memory. The art of conversation is something they practice at cocktail parties, where the narrator learns that he and his kind are not the only ones; giraffes, buffalo, leopards, parrots, lions and bonobos have all been subjected to the same experiment. With all of them together in the same room, the animals have to suppress their natural fear reactions.
The narrator becomes an animal trainer for the evolution-in-action show at Dreamland, an amusement park with roller coasters and fast food. There are different classes of animals, you see; some remain animals and do menial duties, while a chosen few are transformed into humans. He halfheartedly looks for his brother and has a brief affair with Emily. When a violent incident leaves several dead and the narrator’s human is caught acquiring animals through the black market, Dreamland’s very existence is threatened. (If you know the history of the real Dreamland, a longtime Coney Island attraction, you may have an inkling.)
This novella is scarcely 120 pages. Short books can be wonderful, but that’s not the case if there’s no space to craft a believable plot. The pace is so quick here that there’s no chance to bed into scenes and settings, and the narrator is never entirely convincing – whether as a gorilla, a man or something in between. Too much of the book feels dreamlike and fragmentary.
Meanwhile, the ideology bothered me. Is this simply a social satire à la Animal Farm, to which it’s compared in the prefatory material? A sort of ‘some animals are more equal than others’ message? If so, then, well, that’s been done before. Nor is there any shortage of books mocking caste systems and eugenic experimentation. Apart from a handful of memorable lines, the prose is quite simplistic, and the overall storyline doesn’t feel original.
Verhelst has written that he was inspired by three things: a troop of cheeky baboons encountered in South Africa, the history of the early-twentieth-century Dreamland, and news of the completed human genome project. “What is a human? Is it a creature that can smile while walking on two legs? A creature with a signature and a mobile phone?” he asks. These are interesting questions, certainly, but I felt they were not explored with particular depth or panache here.
This was my third Peirene book, after The Looking-Glass Sisters. This one was a disappointment, but I will not let that deter me from trying more, including the other two in the “Fairy Tale series: End of Innocence”: Marie Sizun’s Her Father’s Daughter and Linda Stift’s The Empress and the Cake.
With thanks to Peirene Press for the free copy.
(Originally published with images at my blog, Bookish Beck.)
December 30, 2021
After reading in the synopsis "Warning: This story is narrated by a gorilla." I had the impression this was a satire or farcical fairy tale. I had this in mind as I read the first half which I found to be a humorous story taking place in an amusement park: three shows a day, step right up folks, get your tickets here! Animals and the human trainees—there was a role for everyone from ticket takers and grounds keepers to "actors"—depicted the story of evolution from the beginning of life on Earth right up to man's quest to inhabit another planet!
That first night, in a status update, I wrote:
Another from the highly original, novella-length, books in translation publishing house, Peirene Press. Highly recommended.
4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
That first night, in a status update, I wrote:
What a crazy, ridiculous, fascinating story!! Animals of every species are kidnapped and taken to "Dreamland", where each is given clothes, taught to shave, stand upright, converse, then paired with the opposite sex (although some Bonobos chose same-sex partners), and given cell phones, encouraged to take photos to create memory. Utterly outlandish but... possible?😳But, the next night as I began the second half, I quickly realized I was wrong. This was no satire. Animals and human trainees were disappearing, dying, and being mauled to death. Strange things were happening as described by the gorilla narrator (who was now a fully-fledged human, as evidenced by the two gold "D"s pinned to his suit). The story was playing out like a fast-paced thriller, and it was GOOD! Whatever it was (an allegory or animal fable I'd say), I was really into it! An awful lot happens in this very short book that ends on a serene, tranquil note. It was like nothing I've read before, but I hope to read again.
Another from the highly original, novella-length, books in translation publishing house, Peirene Press. Highly recommended.
4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
March 4, 2017
A fascinating quick read about a gorilla plucked from the jungle and taught to be a man. I am little perplexed because it was a quick read, yet I feel that I haven't quite processed the book yet. What is the distinction between a human being and an animal, really? Can millions of years of evolution simply be erased? Is it even relevant?
February 22, 2016
I received a review copy of this title from the publisher.
I don't normally read Dystopian, Orwellian type novels with talking Gorillas. But since this book is published by Peirene Press I decided to give it a try anyway and I am glad I did. The narrator tells us that he was living a happy life in the wild until one day members of his family start disappearing from their idyllic home. He then finds himself drugged and dragged out of his natural habitat against his will. He, along with his family, are chained together and forced on an arduous journey during which they are given just enough food and water to survive. Some of them die along the way and the living are forced to march on and leave their loved ones behind.. I found this to be the most heart wrenching and sad part of the book. Their fear was palpable and it was difficult to read about these innocent animals as they are taken out of their natural surroundings, and forced on a journey towards the unknown.
After a long ride on a ship in cramped quarters, the animals reach what they call The New World. They are given clothes, taught how to clean and groom themselves and are given speech lessons. They practice walking upright, which is very uncomfortable to them and they practice carrying on polite conversations. It is clear that their captors are trying to turn them into something as close to human as possible. After a period of time the animals are given a test to see how far their human training has come; they are dressed up and attend a coctail where they meet other animals that have also been trained. This part of the book is an interesting commentary on what it means to truly be human. If one can look the right way, and speak the right way and have manners, is that person truly human? Are a bath, the ability to walk upright and to carry on a conversation really the only things that separate us from animals?
There is one other important social criticism that comes through in the narrative and that is our reliance on technology, especially the cell phone. When the gorillas reach a certain point in their training they receive a phone and are told that it is their identification and they must carry it wherever they go. At first they can only receive calls on their phone and it is another way that their captors keep track of them. As the narrator becomes more human, he gains more privileges for his phone, such as the ability to dial out to other numbers. The humans who are in charge of the animals possess multiple phones and are always seen answering their phones, looking at their phones and talking on their phones. Is this electronic contraption really another thing that separates us from the animals or does it separate us from other humans and our sense of humanity?
The ending is very interesting and I don't want to give it away. But I will say that the gorilla's life does appear to have a happy ending. He no longer remembers his previous life and he has found some peace with his human existence. He is a bit smarter than the rest of his family and he gradually begins to realize that conformity isn't always the best decision; he questions and investigates his surroundings and those who have positions of authority. I am sure that there are additional layers of meaning in the story that I did not understand. I can't wait to see what other readers make of this story.
This is the first release from Peirene Press this year in their Fairy Tale: End of Innocence series. The Man I Became is a powerful and thought-provoking first book with which to start the Fairy Tale series and I look forward to the other novellas with great anticipation.
I don't normally read Dystopian, Orwellian type novels with talking Gorillas. But since this book is published by Peirene Press I decided to give it a try anyway and I am glad I did. The narrator tells us that he was living a happy life in the wild until one day members of his family start disappearing from their idyllic home. He then finds himself drugged and dragged out of his natural habitat against his will. He, along with his family, are chained together and forced on an arduous journey during which they are given just enough food and water to survive. Some of them die along the way and the living are forced to march on and leave their loved ones behind.. I found this to be the most heart wrenching and sad part of the book. Their fear was palpable and it was difficult to read about these innocent animals as they are taken out of their natural surroundings, and forced on a journey towards the unknown.
After a long ride on a ship in cramped quarters, the animals reach what they call The New World. They are given clothes, taught how to clean and groom themselves and are given speech lessons. They practice walking upright, which is very uncomfortable to them and they practice carrying on polite conversations. It is clear that their captors are trying to turn them into something as close to human as possible. After a period of time the animals are given a test to see how far their human training has come; they are dressed up and attend a coctail where they meet other animals that have also been trained. This part of the book is an interesting commentary on what it means to truly be human. If one can look the right way, and speak the right way and have manners, is that person truly human? Are a bath, the ability to walk upright and to carry on a conversation really the only things that separate us from animals?
There is one other important social criticism that comes through in the narrative and that is our reliance on technology, especially the cell phone. When the gorillas reach a certain point in their training they receive a phone and are told that it is their identification and they must carry it wherever they go. At first they can only receive calls on their phone and it is another way that their captors keep track of them. As the narrator becomes more human, he gains more privileges for his phone, such as the ability to dial out to other numbers. The humans who are in charge of the animals possess multiple phones and are always seen answering their phones, looking at their phones and talking on their phones. Is this electronic contraption really another thing that separates us from the animals or does it separate us from other humans and our sense of humanity?
The ending is very interesting and I don't want to give it away. But I will say that the gorilla's life does appear to have a happy ending. He no longer remembers his previous life and he has found some peace with his human existence. He is a bit smarter than the rest of his family and he gradually begins to realize that conformity isn't always the best decision; he questions and investigates his surroundings and those who have positions of authority. I am sure that there are additional layers of meaning in the story that I did not understand. I can't wait to see what other readers make of this story.
This is the first release from Peirene Press this year in their Fairy Tale: End of Innocence series. The Man I Became is a powerful and thought-provoking first book with which to start the Fairy Tale series and I look forward to the other novellas with great anticipation.
January 13, 2025
Ik vond dit boek, een beetje onrealistisch. Apen die zich aanpassen aan mensen oké, maar papegaaien? Ik vond het vergezocht, origineel, maar vergezocht.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 14, 2021
Ik ben dit boek beginnen lezen doordat het vermeld werd in een essay over bojack horsman ( beiden gaan over 'beschaafde' dieren). Maar ondertussen ben ik ook 'de meeste mensen deugen' aan de het lezen. Rutger Bregman spreekt daarin uitgebreid over de 'vernistheorie'; nl. dat de mens van binnen een onbeschaafd, wild beest is dat enkel in toom gehouden wordt door een laagje beschaving. (een theorie die Bergman zelf volledig ontkracht.) Dit boek ontkracht die theorie ook. In het boek worden dieren gedwongen tot beschaving en ze belanden in een wereld vol regels, straffen, overvolle werkweken, geheimen, 'rassen'hiërarchie etc. sounds familiar? De dieren waren vele beter af voordat de mensen ‘beschaving’ aan hen probeerden op te dringen. Dat doet mij denken, waren wij zelf ook niet beter af geweest zonder onze beschaving? Hoeveel goede dingen heeft onze beschaving echt voor ons gedaan? Bregman schrijft dat alles de mist is in gegaan toen wij onze nomadische levensstijl inwisselden voor nederzettingen, landbouw en privébezit. Verhelst lijkt hetzelfde te zeggen, dit boek is volgens mij geen 'waarschuwing' voor de corrupte mens, maar voor het corrupt systeem.
June 28, 2016
Highly original - part allegory of migration, part surreal, dystopian fantasy. Some powerful, imaginative set pieces here. The intro reads like an account of the slave trade; the accelerated evolution a kind of Planet of the Apes meets Ballardian SF.
Hats off to the publisher (Periene) for this concept too. The blurb speaks of the series' aspiration to be a sort of literary cinema for readers who can't be arsed with film (that's me), and this pretty solidly delivers to that. Very interesting.
First Flemish novella (or indeed novel) I've ever read too. Bravo, manneke!
Hats off to the publisher (Periene) for this concept too. The blurb speaks of the series' aspiration to be a sort of literary cinema for readers who can't be arsed with film (that's me), and this pretty solidly delivers to that. Very interesting.
First Flemish novella (or indeed novel) I've ever read too. Bravo, manneke!
August 14, 2017
The Man I Became by Belgian writer Peter Verhelst. Translated from Dutch by David Colmer. Peirene Press (Logline: Contemporary European Literature. Thought provoking, well designed, short)
I loved the notice on the back page of this novella ‘Warning: this story is narrated by a gorilla’. I’m a sucker for any monkey business from King Kong, to the PG Tips advertisements. This small and rich volume is a satirical take on man’s inhumanity to man (and ape) containing the tragic elements of Kong, along with the comic slapstick of the PG Tips ads.
The narrator (let’s call him Gus he isn’t given a name), is abducted, along with various ‘healthy’ members of his and other gorilla families from their home jungle and taken to be trained to work as a human in a theme park (like Disneyland) called Dreamland.
The abduction has unpleasant overtures of the slave trade, with the gorilla families tied and towed in line to the back of a horse’s tail – ‘As long as everyone kept in step it was fine, but the moment someone stumbled or hesitated, the horse felt a stabbing pain in its tail and let fly with its sharp hooves.’
In Dreamland, things do become very dreamlike as Gus is put through a regime that strips away his animalistic nature, culminating in attendance at a grotesque cocktail party where he smiles politely, drinks wine and engages in small talk of ‘this, that and the other.’ The naming of Dreamland is an unsubtle punt towards the whole story as a satirical fantasy – the vivid dream of a domesticated, talking gorilla.
As the creator of the novella, we know that Gus progresses into humanity but along the way questions are raised on our own attitude to what it is to be civilised and in pursuit of capitalism... Commuters, train bound to work stare and touch at their mobile devices in silent worship. How did we ever find out anything about everything prior to Google?
We pay to visit zoos that hold captured animals. Within living memory, performing animals where the mainstay of circus acts. Beneath a thin veneer, corruption, greed and violent cruelty lurks. There are parallels here with the current migrant crisis that is displacing millions of people throughout the middle-east – causing them to flee their homeland and enter into a vastly different Western culture.
The inside back page mentions that Peirene Press supports Counterpoint Arts – a charity that supports refugees and migrants in the UK, with a 50p donation from the sale of the book going to them. ‘We are living in a time of human displacement. We need bold and imaginative interventions to help us make sense of migration. And who better to do this than artists who are engaging with this issue.’
Written in a tight (the edits have been honed via the Dutch to English translation) sharp detached style, the novella’s most striking quality is the ability to translate the innocence a child may feel as he matures, seeing the worst excesses of capitalism where the pursuit of money is all that matters.
Highly recommended for a two hour read.
I loved the notice on the back page of this novella ‘Warning: this story is narrated by a gorilla’. I’m a sucker for any monkey business from King Kong, to the PG Tips advertisements. This small and rich volume is a satirical take on man’s inhumanity to man (and ape) containing the tragic elements of Kong, along with the comic slapstick of the PG Tips ads.
The narrator (let’s call him Gus he isn’t given a name), is abducted, along with various ‘healthy’ members of his and other gorilla families from their home jungle and taken to be trained to work as a human in a theme park (like Disneyland) called Dreamland.
The abduction has unpleasant overtures of the slave trade, with the gorilla families tied and towed in line to the back of a horse’s tail – ‘As long as everyone kept in step it was fine, but the moment someone stumbled or hesitated, the horse felt a stabbing pain in its tail and let fly with its sharp hooves.’
In Dreamland, things do become very dreamlike as Gus is put through a regime that strips away his animalistic nature, culminating in attendance at a grotesque cocktail party where he smiles politely, drinks wine and engages in small talk of ‘this, that and the other.’ The naming of Dreamland is an unsubtle punt towards the whole story as a satirical fantasy – the vivid dream of a domesticated, talking gorilla.
As the creator of the novella, we know that Gus progresses into humanity but along the way questions are raised on our own attitude to what it is to be civilised and in pursuit of capitalism... Commuters, train bound to work stare and touch at their mobile devices in silent worship. How did we ever find out anything about everything prior to Google?
We pay to visit zoos that hold captured animals. Within living memory, performing animals where the mainstay of circus acts. Beneath a thin veneer, corruption, greed and violent cruelty lurks. There are parallels here with the current migrant crisis that is displacing millions of people throughout the middle-east – causing them to flee their homeland and enter into a vastly different Western culture.
The inside back page mentions that Peirene Press supports Counterpoint Arts – a charity that supports refugees and migrants in the UK, with a 50p donation from the sale of the book going to them. ‘We are living in a time of human displacement. We need bold and imaginative interventions to help us make sense of migration. And who better to do this than artists who are engaging with this issue.’
Written in a tight (the edits have been honed via the Dutch to English translation) sharp detached style, the novella’s most striking quality is the ability to translate the innocence a child may feel as he matures, seeing the worst excesses of capitalism where the pursuit of money is all that matters.
Highly recommended for a two hour read.
May 22, 2013
Als je een Verhelst openslaat dan verwacht je dat de zintuiglijkheid van de woorden zich als een lichaam om je heen kronkelt... om je niet meer vrij te laten ademen tot je de laatste zin hebt bereikt. In 'Geschiedenis van een berg' weekt het lichaam zich geleidelijk aan los... zodat je vrij snel geconfronteerd wordt met de directheid van de woorden; het engagement van de schrijver. Bijzonder, want je leest dingen die je niet verwacht... en even later trekt het lichaam je weer naar zich toe. Alsof het je de poëzie van Verhelst opnieuw wil laten ontdekken. Telkens weer... aantrekken en afstoten. Tot je je verzet, en dat laagje engagement van de tekst wegkrabbelt. Je wil dat lichaam om je heen voelen, het proeven, ruiken, en niet meer loslaten. Dus kruip je helemaal het boekje in... en ga je het verhaal opnieuw lezen. En ervan houden.
September 21, 2014
Ik was erg teleurgesteld toen ik aan dit boek begon. Omdat ik eerder al "Tongkat", "Zwellend Fruit" en "De Allerlaatste Caracara" had gelezen, verwachtte ik heel veel van dit boek. Jammer genoeg werden deze verwachtingen niet ingevuld. Ik hou normaal gezien erg van Peter Verhelst zijn boeken omdat ze zo poëtisch en "lichamelijk" (bij gebrek aan een betere beschrijving) zijn. Maar dit was niet het geval in "Gechiedenis van een berg". Pluspunt vond ik wel dat alles in het begin van het boek een beetje wazig is, je weet niet precies waar het over gaat maar kan er toch een vaag idee over vormen.
June 14, 2014
Ik vond dit een top boek. Het las heel erg vlot (ik ben het gisteren gaan ontlenen en had het vandaag uit). Ook de inhoud was interessant. Een metaforisch, fantasierijk verhaal om over na te denken. De corrupte mens die zichzelf ziet als opperwezen en alles dat afwijkt verafschuwt maar die bij nader inzien toch niet zo 'ideaal' zou zijn/zou handelen. Het dier dat daarentegen evenwichtigheid uitbeeldt, alleszins in zijn oorspronkelijk biotoop.
September 11, 2013
Poëtisch proza of prozaïsche poëzie. Bij Verhelst telt elk woord en moet je lezen, verbeelden en je laten meevaren in zijn verhaal. Vergeet wat je denkt te weten. Geniaal.
January 9, 2014
Wow... Puur, mooi, geen woord te veel en telkens raak
May 16, 2016
Pas gelezen na 'De kunst van het crashen'... Ook hier getroffen door 'het allegorische'. Verhelst bewijst ook met dit boek een zeer eigentijds auteur te zijn. En stilistisch vaak onovertroffen!
February 16, 2016
Een "typisch" Verhelst boek, in het begin is het niet zo "eenvoudig" om te weten te komen waar dit heen gaat. Schitterend, vlot lezend boekje. Lekker maatschappijkritisch geschreven. Een to-read dus!
April 11, 2020
Nicholas Lezard, in his review of The Man I Became for The Guardian, described this as “a haunting, apocalyptic novella, supremely and deliberately difficult to pin down” and I’ve no problem with the latter half of that; I’m not sure what makes it apocalyptic though. There are endings and new beginnings so it’s also post-apocalyptic but not in the sense most people would imagine. Life went on after the Spanish Flu and the Black Death and life goes on for the book’s protagonist. It’s not a happy life but I’m not sure that’s life’s job.
The opening pages are reminiscent of tales describing what life was like for the Africans ripped from their homeland and transported to the other side of the world to be slaves. Only in this case it’s not men and women that are being forcibly relocated but apes only they’re not been carted off to fill zoos, no, it’s something more insidious; when they arrive at their new home they’re forced to become humans. They’re shaved, dressed, taught the human tongue, how to read and write, how to make small talk and dance and, finally, granted a kind of freedom in their new home:
The book’s protagonist adapts well and is the first to receive two gold Ds: “People with two gold Ds pinned to their chests were fully fledged humans.” He gets a job, a home of his own but being human, as we humans know all too well, brings its own problems and he soon realises that behind the veneer all is not right in Dreamland.
As a long-time Star Trek fan I, like many, am fond of the character of Data and his quest to be human even though, like many of his shipmates, I couldn’t quite accept his reasoning. Why not aspire to be Vulcan or Klingon? What’s so great about humanity? This is a trope used a tad too often in science fiction, the outsider who gets to comment on the society he finds himself in and who, if we listen to him, we can learn much from. Our simian hero never forgets his roots and although he can’t unlearn the things he’s forced to learn to fit into Dreamworld he refuses to be completely defined by them.
The Man I Became is published under Peirene’s Fairy Tale theme and I get why—there is common ground between satire and fairy tales—but I’d like to think this has more in common with Planet of the Apes than Pinocchio. Some characters you warm to, others not so much and that includes the hero. I think part of the problem here was the lack on a name. This was no Kunta Kinte fighting against being called Toby. The ape pretty much accepts everything that happens to him without a fight and it’s hard to root for someone like that even if, in reality, that’s how most of us would behave; heroes are few and far between in the real world. One of the key scenes in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is where the ape whom his owner had been calling “Milo” chooses his own name: Caesar. The closest we have to that is the talisman the ape constructs as a reminder of his journey although I suppose it has more in common with Winston Smith’s diary.
A thought-provoking read but maybe not as satisfying as I would’ve liked
The opening pages are reminiscent of tales describing what life was like for the Africans ripped from their homeland and transported to the other side of the world to be slaves. Only in this case it’s not men and women that are being forcibly relocated but apes only they’re not been carted off to fill zoos, no, it’s something more insidious; when they arrive at their new home they’re forced to become humans. They’re shaved, dressed, taught the human tongue, how to read and write, how to make small talk and dance and, finally, granted a kind of freedom in their new home:
‘Gentlemen,’ the human said after leading us back to the dormitory. ‘Gentlemen, gentlemen, gentlemen.’The transformation takes place at what feels like lightning speed and, of course, we’re left to imagine how they got round the physiological difficulties—apes have thinner tongues and a higher larynx, or vocal box, than people, making it hard for them to pronounce vowel sounds—but presumably some medical procedure handles that:
There was a blush on his cheeks and his voice was a little louder than usual.
‘I have an important announcement to make. Important not just for you but for Dreamland too.’
He walked back and forth, nodding. ‘As each of you has performed superbly in this big test, it is my privilege… in the name of Dreamland… to inform you that you may now call yourself a lawful resident of Dreamland.’
He smiled and spread his arms. ‘Gentlemen, you may congratulate yourselves!’
The next night it was my turn. Half asleep, I tiptoed along behind the human. People in white were waiting for me in the corridor.It takes a tremendous suspension of disbelief and a pinch of salt to read this without constantly asking questions the author has no intention of answering but this is satire, not the real world. Kafka transformed a guy into a dung beetle and we happily accepted it. So why not apes being turned human?
Your arm,’ said the human.
I held out my arm and felt the sharp pain I had felt when I was kidnapped. Everything went black for a moment.
The book’s protagonist adapts well and is the first to receive two gold Ds: “People with two gold Ds pinned to their chests were fully fledged humans.” He gets a job, a home of his own but being human, as we humans know all too well, brings its own problems and he soon realises that behind the veneer all is not right in Dreamland.
As a long-time Star Trek fan I, like many, am fond of the character of Data and his quest to be human even though, like many of his shipmates, I couldn’t quite accept his reasoning. Why not aspire to be Vulcan or Klingon? What’s so great about humanity? This is a trope used a tad too often in science fiction, the outsider who gets to comment on the society he finds himself in and who, if we listen to him, we can learn much from. Our simian hero never forgets his roots and although he can’t unlearn the things he’s forced to learn to fit into Dreamworld he refuses to be completely defined by them.
The Man I Became is published under Peirene’s Fairy Tale theme and I get why—there is common ground between satire and fairy tales—but I’d like to think this has more in common with Planet of the Apes than Pinocchio. Some characters you warm to, others not so much and that includes the hero. I think part of the problem here was the lack on a name. This was no Kunta Kinte fighting against being called Toby. The ape pretty much accepts everything that happens to him without a fight and it’s hard to root for someone like that even if, in reality, that’s how most of us would behave; heroes are few and far between in the real world. One of the key scenes in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is where the ape whom his owner had been calling “Milo” chooses his own name: Caesar. The closest we have to that is the talisman the ape constructs as a reminder of his journey although I suppose it has more in common with Winston Smith’s diary.
A thought-provoking read but maybe not as satisfying as I would’ve liked
March 25, 2018
Klasbak Verhelst schreef een boek over dieren die tot beschaving worden gedwongen, vanuit het perspectief van de gorilla. Door de ogen van het dier beleef je als lezer de werking van Droomwereld. De fantasiewereld/show die de evolutie van de beschaving moet weergeven.
En hij stelt zich markante vragen, wanneer een dier mens kan worden genoemd om maar een voorbeeld te geven.
De plot van dit boek is uiterst origineel en behoudt de typische sterktes van Verhelst, zijn beeldrijke taal, scherpe metaforen en de interessante bedenkingen die hij via het unieke hoofdpersonage laat doorschemeren.
Het verhaal bouwt goed en snel op tot het aangrijpende einde.
Zeer mooi.
Enkele fragmenten:
"Ik ben in de haven blijven werken, al is er niets meer te beginnen tegen de mensen die zich in containers verstoppen om elders een beter leven te vinden. Ik hurk neer bij zo'n container en vraag: 'Een beter leven?'
Als ze vertellen over overzeese gebieden waar de eieren zo groot zijn als een kinderhoofdje, over vruchten die van de takken in je handen vallen en over honing die je zo uit de boomoksels kunt likken, reis ik in gedachten mee. Soms vertel ik mijn eigen geschiedenis. Ik laat de politie weten in welke container de verstekelingen zitten, maar alleen als ik denk dat ze niet sterk genoeg zijn om de ontgoocheling over hun beloofde land te overleven."
"Wat herinneren dromen zich van wat ik zelf niet meer weet?"
"Het ontroostbare troostende: dat ik het niet ben die mezelf of de woorden hoeft te begrijpen, maar dat er woorden zijn. Die mij begrijpen. Alsof ze precies de vorm hebben van het gat in mijn ziel."
Precies.
En hij stelt zich markante vragen, wanneer een dier mens kan worden genoemd om maar een voorbeeld te geven.
De plot van dit boek is uiterst origineel en behoudt de typische sterktes van Verhelst, zijn beeldrijke taal, scherpe metaforen en de interessante bedenkingen die hij via het unieke hoofdpersonage laat doorschemeren.
Het verhaal bouwt goed en snel op tot het aangrijpende einde.
Zeer mooi.
Enkele fragmenten:
"Ik ben in de haven blijven werken, al is er niets meer te beginnen tegen de mensen die zich in containers verstoppen om elders een beter leven te vinden. Ik hurk neer bij zo'n container en vraag: 'Een beter leven?'
Als ze vertellen over overzeese gebieden waar de eieren zo groot zijn als een kinderhoofdje, over vruchten die van de takken in je handen vallen en over honing die je zo uit de boomoksels kunt likken, reis ik in gedachten mee. Soms vertel ik mijn eigen geschiedenis. Ik laat de politie weten in welke container de verstekelingen zitten, maar alleen als ik denk dat ze niet sterk genoeg zijn om de ontgoocheling over hun beloofde land te overleven."
"Wat herinneren dromen zich van wat ik zelf niet meer weet?"
"Het ontroostbare troostende: dat ik het niet ben die mezelf of de woorden hoeft te begrijpen, maar dat er woorden zijn. Die mij begrijpen. Alsof ze precies de vorm hebben van het gat in mijn ziel."
Precies.
June 23, 2018
Met zijn fel oranje kaft,en gouden letters,voel je al een warme gloed,en deze laat je niet los in deze mooi uitgegeven novelle,in de poëtische taal,van Peter Verhelst.
Als uit een paradijs ,één voor één weggerukt, een natuurlijk bestaan,komen dieren terecht in een droomland,geleidt door de mens. Ze ondergaan verplicht een metamorfose,in een wereld van dier naar mens. Dit wordt een zware beproeving,en houdt ons een spiegel voor.
Beeldende zinnen,wil je herlezen: zoals bijvoorbeeld deze:
"Wij die ons hele leven de beweeglijke hemel als plafond hadden gekend,met als enige meester de zon die het rode meer in vuur en vlam zette,de insecten als kleine ontploffingen boven het water,onze luie worstelpartijen,onze lachsalvo's die een fregatvogel enkele seconden als een wolk witte veren boven de boomkruinen lieten hangen,de muur van spieren en tanden die we bliksemsnel vormden bij het minste gevaar..."
Een juweeltje in je boekenkast.
Als uit een paradijs ,één voor één weggerukt, een natuurlijk bestaan,komen dieren terecht in een droomland,geleidt door de mens. Ze ondergaan verplicht een metamorfose,in een wereld van dier naar mens. Dit wordt een zware beproeving,en houdt ons een spiegel voor.
Beeldende zinnen,wil je herlezen: zoals bijvoorbeeld deze:
"Wij die ons hele leven de beweeglijke hemel als plafond hadden gekend,met als enige meester de zon die het rode meer in vuur en vlam zette,de insecten als kleine ontploffingen boven het water,onze luie worstelpartijen,onze lachsalvo's die een fregatvogel enkele seconden als een wolk witte veren boven de boomkruinen lieten hangen,de muur van spieren en tanden die we bliksemsnel vormden bij het minste gevaar..."
Een juweeltje in je boekenkast.
June 13, 2021
This book didn’t work for me. An evolutionary themed amusement park, Dreamland, catches wild animals and trains them to be human through harsh, brutal training; some become so human they get a pin that establishes that they can be considered human. This satire is narrated by a gorilla who does extremely well, gains enough trust to be given responsibility and free movement, and so uncovers something underhanded. How the gorilla deals with this is the point of the book I guess, but it felt undeveloped to me. I’m not sure what the point was, which I’m sure reflects poorly on me, not the author.
This is the only Peirene Press books I’ve not found remarkably good.
I woke up and added a star to my rating because there were images that have stuck in my head. I think this book would improve upon a reread.
This is the only Peirene Press books I’ve not found remarkably good.
I woke up and added a star to my rating because there were images that have stuck in my head. I think this book would improve upon a reread.
July 31, 2023
Opmerking: ik zou dit werk normaal gezien in het Nederlands gelezen hebben, maar het maakt deel uit van de Peirene Series die ik aan het lezen ben, en ik vond niet zo direct een digitale versie in het Nederlands... zodoende...
Gaat dit over slavernijpraktijken? Neen, toch niet.
Gaat dit over illegale smokkel van exotische dieren? Neen, toch niet.
Gaat dit over migratiepraktijken? Welja, voor mij is dit een metafoor van migratiepraktijken waarbij zogenaamd primitieve migranten herkneed worden tot zogenaamd beschaafde mensen.
Het beeld dat Peter Verhelst schetst is surrealistisch, satirisch, hard... en de mens die de gorilla geworden is, blijft van twijfelachtig allooi.
Gaat dit over slavernijpraktijken? Neen, toch niet.
Gaat dit over illegale smokkel van exotische dieren? Neen, toch niet.
Gaat dit over migratiepraktijken? Welja, voor mij is dit een metafoor van migratiepraktijken waarbij zogenaamd primitieve migranten herkneed worden tot zogenaamd beschaafde mensen.
Het beeld dat Peter Verhelst schetst is surrealistisch, satirisch, hard... en de mens die de gorilla geworden is, blijft van twijfelachtig allooi.
October 24, 2018
Origineel, snel over, en nog steeds emotionele naschokken aan het verwerken. Ik heb een zwak voor dieren en dat mensen zo misbruik kunnen maken is erg bedroevend. Het is eigenlijk een erg verdrietig getint verhaal(tje) waar ik alleen maar boos van kan worden, juist omdat de mens écht tot zo'n dingen in staat is. Een goede manier om in Peter Verhelst zijn literatuur "in te komen" omdat het poëtisch werk wel wat zwaarder is.
January 6, 2020
A beautifully translated and heartbreaking tale about civilisation and our history. The humanity within ‘animals’, and the lack of humanity found in some humans.
‘The inconsolable consolation: it is not up to me to understand myself or the words, and yet there are words. Words that understand me’
‘The inconsolable consolation: it is not up to me to understand myself or the words, and yet there are words. Words that understand me’
March 3, 2018
It just seemed unpleasant and I didn't get the point the author was trying to make. It wasn't clear how the fire was caused. The sentences were very clipped: there was no flow.
November 4, 2018
Bizar, wel.
February 21, 2019
A good little book to sit down and read in one go. Was incredibly sad but somehow all happened too quickly. Would have liked something a bit meatier.
May 8, 2019
Between 4 and 5 stars... Touchy.
August 14, 2020
Confronterende poëzie. Het start ietwat verwarrend doch mondt uit in proza om van te smullen. Verdient later een tweede leesbeurt om het gans te kunnen genieten.
November 9, 2021
Enjoyably surreal premise but a weird disconnect for me between the diffuse writing style and the very basic/obvious themes
July 6, 2015
Citaat: "Hij bracht de splinter naar zijn mond. Onmiddellijk verstrakte het gezicht van de mens. Hij hief zijn hand op. Iedereen zweeg behalve die ene die voorovergebogen neuriënd, met gesloten ogen, op de splinter kauwde. De mens strekte zijn arm uit. Uit de stok in zijn hand kwam een flits, een draadje dat eruitzag als de bliksem die we zo vaak in ons land uit de wolken hadden zien komen. Eén flits en de ene die voorovergebogen stond, lag kermend op de vloer. De mens glimlachte. ‘Waar waren we gebleven?’ vroeg hij."
Het begin
Dieren worden onder dwang verplicht naar Droomland te komen. Daar worden ze gedwongen getraind om ‘mens’ te worden, en wordt hen bewondering voor de menselijke cultuur ingepeperd – die ‘cultuur’ is dan een pretpark, een rollercoaster is toch heel wat beter dan een liaan om van boom naar boom te zwieren, en er zijn zoveel soorten eten (in het pretpark: ijs in alle kleuren, hamburgers, frisdrank…).
In het pretpark worden de dieren dan medewerkers, en wie het niet goed doet wordt ofwel gestraft ofwel aan de haaien gevoederd. Het conservatieve kapitalistische model, mannen met dassen en dames met chique jurken, is er de norm.
Het verhaal wordt verteld door een gorilla die zeer goed ‘leert’ en dus promotie maakt.
Agressie en geweld
Dit is niet zomaar een parabel, een fabel of een sprookje voor volwassenen. Van bij aanvang is dit een gruwelverhaal vol van agressie en geweld, fysiek en mentaal, blad na blad. Nooit een beetje humor.
Stijl
Van Verhelst wordt gezegd dat hij ‘lichamelijk’ schrijft, en ‘esthetisch’. Maar in deze novelle dreunt hij monotoon en saai door op hetzelfde toontje. Hij gebruikt een stijl van de doorsnee leerling op de middelbare school, zonder enige emotie te melden, koud en afstandelijk. En als het al eens 'mooi' zou kunnen zijn, breekt de zware agressie dat meteen af.
Pas tegen het einde komt er wat spanning, en na de climax komen zelfs esthetischer bewoordingen. Helaas worden zij misbruikt voor emoties van verlangen en verdriet, heimwee en berusting: een nietszeggend einde.
Maatschappijkritiek
Het verhaal is absurd op een manier waar ik nooit in ben kunnen meegaan, waar me nooit duidelijk is geworden wat de bedoeling was.
Wat is Droomland? Meer dan een noodzakelijke setting kan ik er niet in zien.
Wat klaagt Verhelst aan? Het kapitalistische systeem, waarin mensen en dieren en de natuur uitgebuit worden? De mens die de natuur bezet heeft, zijn oorsprong verloochend heeft, en hem nu begint te missen? De natuur die zich tegen de mens keert? Maar de mens IS toch natuur, we zijn toch geen twee verschillende dingen?
Als je maatschappijkritiek schrijft, doe het dan duidelijk, recht voor zijn raap. Nu lijkt het in mijn ogen soms alsof alles – en dus ook niets – aangeklaagd wordt in deze novelle. In een absurde tekst bestaande uit puur geweld, en eindigend met wat melodrama.
Akkoord, een compleet absurd leven, puur geweld om niets, dat is welbeschouwd waar wij mensen al millennia mee bezig zijn. Maar als het dat is wat Verhelst wil aanklagen, moet dat dan echt gebeuren door aan die weerzinwekkende wereld nog een weerzinwekkend agressief en gewelddadig boek toe te voegen? In een slechte stijl bovendien?
Voor een bepaald soort jeugd?
De novelle gaf me de indruk mee te gaan in de leefwereld van de vele jongeren die de hele dag voor hun computer agressieve games spelen, met winnaars, verliezers, ambitie, bloed en dood, en zonder emoties. De leefwereld van de jeugd die overspoeld wordt door gewelddadige beelden op TV en sociale media, maar o wee, vooral geen borsten mag zien op Facebook. Kortom, in de stijl van de jeugd die niet opgroeit in een maatschappij waar ze nood aan heeft. Een maatschappij van het psychopatische model.
Gelukkig was de novelle niet langer dan negentig bladzijden, met veel witruimte bovendien, anders had ik hem niet uitgelezen.
Het begin
Dieren worden onder dwang verplicht naar Droomland te komen. Daar worden ze gedwongen getraind om ‘mens’ te worden, en wordt hen bewondering voor de menselijke cultuur ingepeperd – die ‘cultuur’ is dan een pretpark, een rollercoaster is toch heel wat beter dan een liaan om van boom naar boom te zwieren, en er zijn zoveel soorten eten (in het pretpark: ijs in alle kleuren, hamburgers, frisdrank…).
In het pretpark worden de dieren dan medewerkers, en wie het niet goed doet wordt ofwel gestraft ofwel aan de haaien gevoederd. Het conservatieve kapitalistische model, mannen met dassen en dames met chique jurken, is er de norm.
Het verhaal wordt verteld door een gorilla die zeer goed ‘leert’ en dus promotie maakt.
Agressie en geweld
Dit is niet zomaar een parabel, een fabel of een sprookje voor volwassenen. Van bij aanvang is dit een gruwelverhaal vol van agressie en geweld, fysiek en mentaal, blad na blad. Nooit een beetje humor.
Stijl
Van Verhelst wordt gezegd dat hij ‘lichamelijk’ schrijft, en ‘esthetisch’. Maar in deze novelle dreunt hij monotoon en saai door op hetzelfde toontje. Hij gebruikt een stijl van de doorsnee leerling op de middelbare school, zonder enige emotie te melden, koud en afstandelijk. En als het al eens 'mooi' zou kunnen zijn, breekt de zware agressie dat meteen af.
Pas tegen het einde komt er wat spanning, en na de climax komen zelfs esthetischer bewoordingen. Helaas worden zij misbruikt voor emoties van verlangen en verdriet, heimwee en berusting: een nietszeggend einde.
Maatschappijkritiek
Het verhaal is absurd op een manier waar ik nooit in ben kunnen meegaan, waar me nooit duidelijk is geworden wat de bedoeling was.
Wat is Droomland? Meer dan een noodzakelijke setting kan ik er niet in zien.
Wat klaagt Verhelst aan? Het kapitalistische systeem, waarin mensen en dieren en de natuur uitgebuit worden? De mens die de natuur bezet heeft, zijn oorsprong verloochend heeft, en hem nu begint te missen? De natuur die zich tegen de mens keert? Maar de mens IS toch natuur, we zijn toch geen twee verschillende dingen?
Als je maatschappijkritiek schrijft, doe het dan duidelijk, recht voor zijn raap. Nu lijkt het in mijn ogen soms alsof alles – en dus ook niets – aangeklaagd wordt in deze novelle. In een absurde tekst bestaande uit puur geweld, en eindigend met wat melodrama.
Akkoord, een compleet absurd leven, puur geweld om niets, dat is welbeschouwd waar wij mensen al millennia mee bezig zijn. Maar als het dat is wat Verhelst wil aanklagen, moet dat dan echt gebeuren door aan die weerzinwekkende wereld nog een weerzinwekkend agressief en gewelddadig boek toe te voegen? In een slechte stijl bovendien?
Voor een bepaald soort jeugd?
De novelle gaf me de indruk mee te gaan in de leefwereld van de vele jongeren die de hele dag voor hun computer agressieve games spelen, met winnaars, verliezers, ambitie, bloed en dood, en zonder emoties. De leefwereld van de jeugd die overspoeld wordt door gewelddadige beelden op TV en sociale media, maar o wee, vooral geen borsten mag zien op Facebook. Kortom, in de stijl van de jeugd die niet opgroeit in een maatschappij waar ze nood aan heeft. Een maatschappij van het psychopatische model.
Gelukkig was de novelle niet langer dan negentig bladzijden, met veel witruimte bovendien, anders had ik hem niet uitgelezen.
August 12, 2016
I received a copy of this book from the publishers and this is my honest opinion of the book.
This is heart-wrenching and anger inducing from its opening pages. The family of gorillas, happy in their mountain home are dragged violently from all they have known. They are taken overseas to a facility that teaches them how to be human. They learn to walk upright without using their hands to balance. They are taught to talk, to wash and shave and eat and drink like a human. They are tested by attending a cocktail party where they have to mingle with other guests. Guests who, in a previous existence, it would have been more instinctive to flee from than drink with. Our narrator is then moved to Dreamland, an amusement park of epic proportions. He is part of the show, there to entertain the human masses who come to wonder at the abilities of these ‘nearly’ humans.
There is, however, nothing cartoonish or sweet about the anthropomorphism of the animals in this book. I read it with a sense of nagging sorrow and anger. Yes it is an exaggerated tale of the whims and follies of the human ego but it has the underlying message of the unconscionable actions of some humans to control everything else that shares the planet with us.
There is of course a danger to imposing our human traits on other animals. We know that animals can feel fear so it is easy to imagine that other species can love, can feel anger, regret and other human emotions. There is also the possibility of passing on the human ability to destroy, both ourselves and the world around us. As this tale shows.
There is little more I can say about the plot of this story without giving it away; at 120 pages you may think it could be lacking on story. It is not. Though it may be short on word count, the words that are used are used to great effect.
The translation is well done. It may sound a tad unfair to the translator but I believe that a good translation is one that is not obvious. If it feels like the words have come from the author then in my opinion the translator has done their job well. This was the case with this book.
The Man I Became is published under Peirene’s Fairy Tale theme. There is indeed a fairy tale like quality to this novella, but with a darker Grimm like edge to it. Peirene only publish books that are less than 200 pages long and that can be read in less than 2 hours. 2 hours that won’t be wasted.
This is a thought-provoking tale of the dangers of the human ego and the desire to control everything we can, and of the frailty that can lead to. Well worth a read.
This is heart-wrenching and anger inducing from its opening pages. The family of gorillas, happy in their mountain home are dragged violently from all they have known. They are taken overseas to a facility that teaches them how to be human. They learn to walk upright without using their hands to balance. They are taught to talk, to wash and shave and eat and drink like a human. They are tested by attending a cocktail party where they have to mingle with other guests. Guests who, in a previous existence, it would have been more instinctive to flee from than drink with. Our narrator is then moved to Dreamland, an amusement park of epic proportions. He is part of the show, there to entertain the human masses who come to wonder at the abilities of these ‘nearly’ humans.
There is, however, nothing cartoonish or sweet about the anthropomorphism of the animals in this book. I read it with a sense of nagging sorrow and anger. Yes it is an exaggerated tale of the whims and follies of the human ego but it has the underlying message of the unconscionable actions of some humans to control everything else that shares the planet with us.
There is of course a danger to imposing our human traits on other animals. We know that animals can feel fear so it is easy to imagine that other species can love, can feel anger, regret and other human emotions. There is also the possibility of passing on the human ability to destroy, both ourselves and the world around us. As this tale shows.
There is little more I can say about the plot of this story without giving it away; at 120 pages you may think it could be lacking on story. It is not. Though it may be short on word count, the words that are used are used to great effect.
The translation is well done. It may sound a tad unfair to the translator but I believe that a good translation is one that is not obvious. If it feels like the words have come from the author then in my opinion the translator has done their job well. This was the case with this book.
The Man I Became is published under Peirene’s Fairy Tale theme. There is indeed a fairy tale like quality to this novella, but with a darker Grimm like edge to it. Peirene only publish books that are less than 200 pages long and that can be read in less than 2 hours. 2 hours that won’t be wasted.
This is a thought-provoking tale of the dangers of the human ego and the desire to control everything we can, and of the frailty that can lead to. Well worth a read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews