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Valtenberga
Romāns – mīkla, romāns – noskaņu mozaīka, romāns – politikas, spiegošanas, intrigu, mīlestības, neiespējamu draudzību un literāru izaicinājumu kokteilis... Latviešu lasītājiem nu ir iespēja iepazīt
vienu no savdabīgākajiem šī gadsimta pirmajā desmitgadē franciski sarakstītajiem romāniem. Tā autors Hedi Kadūrs (1944) prozaiķa karjeru sāka, jau pierādījis sevi dzejas, žurnālistikas, tulkošanas jomā un kā literatūras un dramaturģijas pasniedzējs.
“Valtenberga” (2005) ir viņa pirmais romāns, kas saņēma Gonkūru prēmiju un citas prestižas balvas, turklāt divus gadus pēc pirmpublicējuma iznāca tam veltīts rakstu krājums. Tā notiek reti, ja ir runa par darbiem un autoriem, ko vēsture vēl nav paguvusi novietot klasiķiem atvēlētajā grāmatu plauktā.
““Vīrietis sapņo atrast sievieti, ko mīlējis. Spiegošanas lielmeistars meklē kādu, ko varētu pierunāt uz sadarbību. Viņu ceļi krustojas. Tas notika 20. gadsimtā.” Šāds ir ceturtā vāka teksts romāna “Valtenberga” pirmizdevumam franču valodā. Īsi un kodolīgi. Iespējams, vienīgais veids, kā sniegt objektīvu informāciju par šīs biezās grāmatas sižeta galvenajām līnijām. Tādas ir divas: mīlestība un spiegošana, varbūt trīs, ja minam arī draudzību,” grāmatas pēcvārdā saka tulkotāja. “Lasītājam ir izvēle – apbruņoties ar pacietību un dzīt pēdas visām norādēm, kas varētu novest pie vēsturiskiem vai literāriem “faktiem”, vai arī ļauties teksta plūdumam un to lēnām baudīt kā vecu vīnu ar kuplu garšas buķeti.”
vienu no savdabīgākajiem šī gadsimta pirmajā desmitgadē franciski sarakstītajiem romāniem. Tā autors Hedi Kadūrs (1944) prozaiķa karjeru sāka, jau pierādījis sevi dzejas, žurnālistikas, tulkošanas jomā un kā literatūras un dramaturģijas pasniedzējs.
“Valtenberga” (2005) ir viņa pirmais romāns, kas saņēma Gonkūru prēmiju un citas prestižas balvas, turklāt divus gadus pēc pirmpublicējuma iznāca tam veltīts rakstu krājums. Tā notiek reti, ja ir runa par darbiem un autoriem, ko vēsture vēl nav paguvusi novietot klasiķiem atvēlētajā grāmatu plauktā.
““Vīrietis sapņo atrast sievieti, ko mīlējis. Spiegošanas lielmeistars meklē kādu, ko varētu pierunāt uz sadarbību. Viņu ceļi krustojas. Tas notika 20. gadsimtā.” Šāds ir ceturtā vāka teksts romāna “Valtenberga” pirmizdevumam franču valodā. Īsi un kodolīgi. Iespējams, vienīgais veids, kā sniegt objektīvu informāciju par šīs biezās grāmatas sižeta galvenajām līnijām. Tādas ir divas: mīlestība un spiegošana, varbūt trīs, ja minam arī draudzību,” grāmatas pēcvārdā saka tulkotāja. “Lasītājam ir izvēle – apbruņoties ar pacietību un dzīt pēdas visām norādēm, kas varētu novest pie vēsturiskiem vai literāriem “faktiem”, vai arī ļauties teksta plūdumam un to lēnām baudīt kā vecu vīnu ar kuplu garšas buķeti.”
719 pages, Hardcover
First published August 22, 2005
11 people are currently reading
129 people want to read
About the author
Hédi Kaddour
22 books12 followersHédi Kaddour was born of a Tunisian father and a French mother. Received 1st at the aggregation of modern letters, he is a translator of English, German and Arabic. He taught French literature and dramaturgy at the École normale supérieure de Lyon (ex ENS de Fontenay-Saint-Cloud) and journalistic writing at the Centre de formation des journalistes [fr] (CFJ). He is now a professor of French literature at the New York University in France. He also teaches the writing of reports at the École des métiers de l'information (EMI, Paris) and runs one of the writing workshops of the "NRF" at Éditions Gallimard.
Editor-in-Chief of the magazine Po&Sie , he sometimes gives literary columns to Le Monde des livres, Libération and Le Magazine Littéraire.
After several collections of poems published by Editions Gallimard, he published Waltenberg [fr] in 2005, a novel that plunges into the history of men and letters of the twentieth century. This book, which mixes adventure and espionage, also houses a sentimental plot tinged with melancholy. Hailed by critics, it received the prix Goncourt du premier roman and the prix du premier roman, and was ranked "Best French novel of the year 2005" by magazine Lire.
A collection of studies on this novel appeared under the title Études sur Waltenberg, roman de Hédi Kaddour, at editions Act Mem (series "Lire Aujourd'hui") in 2007. The novel Waltenberg was translated into English by David Coward at Random House in 2007 and in German by Grete Osterwald in 2009 by Eichborn Verlag, Frankfurt am Main.
In January 2010, Hédi Kaddour published two new books: Savoir-vivre, novel, Gallimard, series "Blanche" and "Folio". A German translation appeared by Eichborn Verlag in April 2011. Les Pierres qui montent, notes et croquis de l'année 2008, Gallimard, series "Blanche".
In 2015, Hédi Kaddour received the Prix Jean-Freustié for his novel Les Prépondérants [fr], as well as the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française. He was also among the four finalists of the Prix Goncourt which was eventually awarded to Leïla Slimani. In March 2016, he also received the Prix Valery Larbaud for that novel.
Three of his poems were put into music in 1999 for voice and piano by composer Karol Beffa in the series Six Mélodies (Le Vin nouveau, Théâtre du vide and La Jalousie); These pieces were subsequently transcribed for violin (or viola) and piano in 2008 (Cinq Pièces).
Editor-in-Chief of the magazine Po&Sie , he sometimes gives literary columns to Le Monde des livres, Libération and Le Magazine Littéraire.
After several collections of poems published by Editions Gallimard, he published Waltenberg [fr] in 2005, a novel that plunges into the history of men and letters of the twentieth century. This book, which mixes adventure and espionage, also houses a sentimental plot tinged with melancholy. Hailed by critics, it received the prix Goncourt du premier roman and the prix du premier roman, and was ranked "Best French novel of the year 2005" by magazine Lire.
A collection of studies on this novel appeared under the title Études sur Waltenberg, roman de Hédi Kaddour, at editions Act Mem (series "Lire Aujourd'hui") in 2007. The novel Waltenberg was translated into English by David Coward at Random House in 2007 and in German by Grete Osterwald in 2009 by Eichborn Verlag, Frankfurt am Main.
In January 2010, Hédi Kaddour published two new books: Savoir-vivre, novel, Gallimard, series "Blanche" and "Folio". A German translation appeared by Eichborn Verlag in April 2011. Les Pierres qui montent, notes et croquis de l'année 2008, Gallimard, series "Blanche".
In 2015, Hédi Kaddour received the Prix Jean-Freustié for his novel Les Prépondérants [fr], as well as the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française. He was also among the four finalists of the Prix Goncourt which was eventually awarded to Leïla Slimani. In March 2016, he also received the Prix Valery Larbaud for that novel.
Three of his poems were put into music in 1999 for voice and piano by composer Karol Beffa in the series Six Mélodies (Le Vin nouveau, Théâtre du vide and La Jalousie); These pieces were subsequently transcribed for violin (or viola) and piano in 2008 (Cinq Pièces).
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 7, 2022
Lorsque j'ai découvert l'écrivain franco-tunisien en 2015 avec Les Prépondérants, qui lui a valu le Grand prix du roman de l'Académie française, je me suis dit qu'il fallait chercher d'autres livres de lui. Quelques mois plus tard, dans une librairie de Bruxelles, j'ai trouvé Waltenberg : un pavé de huit cents pages que j'ai posé sur l'étagère et que, sans le savoir, j'attendrais sept ans pour lire.
Et je pourrais peut-être dire que la longue attente en valait la peine.
Au fur et à mesure que l’intrigue se déroule et que l’on tourne les pages, dix, vingt, quarante, soudain un long soupir nous arrête. Il faut réfléchir aux deux choses qui impressionnent dans ce stupéfiant roman, entre histoire, espionnage, politique, amitié, loyauté, amour. La première, l’énorme ambition d’un tel projet, qui vise à couvrir la majeure partie du XXe siècle, avec ses deux idéologies rivales, centrée sur des personnages dont le profil est modelé jusqu’au dernier trait par une plume prodigieuse. Ce qui nous amène à la deuxième chose, à savoir l’incroyable virtuosité narrative qu’atteint Hédi Kaddour et qui ne cesse de surprendre par la richesse de ses ressources.
Que l'ambition et la virtuosité s'amalgament ainsi révèle un degré de maturité rare dans un premier roman, où un auteur se donne généralement beaucoup de mal pour mettre en valeur ses forces, tout en négligeant irrémédiablement ce qui finira par être ses faiblesses.
Et je pourrais peut-être dire que la longue attente en valait la peine.
Au fur et à mesure que l’intrigue se déroule et que l’on tourne les pages, dix, vingt, quarante, soudain un long soupir nous arrête. Il faut réfléchir aux deux choses qui impressionnent dans ce stupéfiant roman, entre histoire, espionnage, politique, amitié, loyauté, amour. La première, l’énorme ambition d’un tel projet, qui vise à couvrir la majeure partie du XXe siècle, avec ses deux idéologies rivales, centrée sur des personnages dont le profil est modelé jusqu’au dernier trait par une plume prodigieuse. Ce qui nous amène à la deuxième chose, à savoir l’incroyable virtuosité narrative qu’atteint Hédi Kaddour et qui ne cesse de surprendre par la richesse de ses ressources.
Et tous, hommes et femmes, savent ce qu'il faut là de timbre fragile, chute nostalgique d'un accent dans un autre, va-et-vient de syncopes qui se cherchent, douloureuses, errent, déchirées de cris, comme si l'âme découvrait soudain ce qu'elle porte en elle et ne peut taire, plaintes, angoisses, désirs, souvenirs et terreurs sans nom, syncopes harcelées de croches, tandis que les mouvements d'effroi prennent forme, se groupent en mélodie, et le moment finit par surgir où ils deviennent un chant suppliant venu calmer l'agitation errante de la douleur, puis retour du motif initial, chute d'un ton dans un autre, agitation violente d'accents chargés de résolution sauvage, tout ce qui fait que chacun, au même moment en est à se dire que se passe-t-il ?
Que l'ambition et la virtuosité s'amalgament ainsi révèle un degré de maturité rare dans un premier roman, où un auteur se donne généralement beaucoup de mal pour mettre en valeur ses forces, tout en négligeant irrémédiablement ce qui finira par être ses faiblesses.
July 16, 2008
This is a superb but somewhat difficult novel that is written in a literary style that jumps points of views, tenses, and modes of narration in the same phrase so it requires constant attention.
Ostensibly a novel about spies and containing several such, it is much more than that, ultimately I think that at its core is the philosophical debate of the Cold war and the obvious and definite failure of communism.
But it has so much that it is hard to summarize, there is a Malraux vignette that is worth reading the novel for, digressions on many other writers and philosophers, on the colonial North African wars in the 20's and 30's, on the pathetic attempts to form a United States of Europe in between the wars.
At the core of the novel there are 5 characters and their complicated relationships told in time jumping chapters, moving in between 1914, 1929, 1956, 1965, 1969, 1978, 1991. There are 2 opposing veterans of WW1 that become great friends, French journalist Max Goffard who knows everyone that's anyone and was present at many historical events, and German writer Hans Kappler a Thomas Mann like figure who tries to stay neutral in the great war of ideas. Linking them the mysterious American classical singer Lena - the lost love of Hans when he decides to go to war in 1914 rather than stay with her in Switzerland, or maybe it's the other way around, she left him and then he went to war - whose voice is the least heard, but whose deeds thread the novel.
And then there are the "young ones", Michael Lilstein a Jewish-German communist, survivor of Auschwitz and Stalin's gulag and later a master spy for the GDR, met and befriended by Max in 1929 when he was 16, and called "my young german" by him, and the mysterious "you", a disillusioned French communist who at age 19 after the events of 1956 is recruited by Lilstein - and referred to as "my young frenchman" - and then using confidential information from Lilstein becomes an invaluable aide of the French president. The identity of the "mole" is the big red herring of the novel, though it's quite obvious after a while.
The ending is superb and overall this is one of the best novels I've read in a long time.
November 6, 2017
Gaidīju trilleri vai spiegu romānu un tāpēc mazliet vīlos. Nevarētu teikt, ka slikti, bet izlasīju ar mocīšanos un piespiešanos.
October 8, 2019
Waltenberg is a "Magic Mountain" somewhere in the Swiss Alps: a place of retreat, introspection and reflection, inspired by Davos and situated in the German-Italian canton of Grayson. There is a symposium in the spring of 1929 attended by philosophers (Heidegger and Cassirer's shadows are present), economists (John Maynard Keynes in person), businessmen (eg members of the Croup dynasty, authors). .. aspiring spies. Kant's Enlightenment will directly clash with the advocates of returning to the essence of things and man. The reason with art. Capitalism with socialism. The sophisticated luxury will go hand in hand with extreme eroticism, while the delegates will argue for the definition of the Heideggerian Dasein as "within-the-world". And all of them, trying to build the United Nations of Europe, will ignore both the crap that lies across the Atlantic and the drums of war that are starting to sound again under the direction of the emerging Nazi party. But Waltenberg is not merely condensing the ideological context from which the great conflicts of the 20th century originate. It is also a place of return, meeting and adulthood. This triptych runs all this massive work. In Waltenberg, German writer Hans Kapler will meet his beloved American spy - and double spy - Lena Hotspur. There, skeptic Michael Lillestein will structure his anti-Nazi ideology and, after the war, enlist the mysterious "young Frenchman" into the Soviet camp. There, journalist Max Goffar, who has been associated with Kapler since World War I, will make an appearance in a trench friendship. Waltenberg is virtually the geometric place of the converging stories of the last century, with its colonialism and imperialism, with its genocides and revolutions, with technological triumphs and extreme inequalities. The 'Central European' atmosphere favors the construction of an ambitious mural featuring Kennedy and Brezhnev, Mao and Vietcong, Poincaré and Churchill, Einstein and early Condoleezza "Condi" Rice.
It is impossible to summarize this voluminous novel. Structured into fourteen chapters that have subtitle-light touches of dramatic incidents, the book has a cross-over layout and a roughly random layout, with peaks and gaps, with suspicious cardiograms. Chapters occur every two on the same date (eg 1929 or 1965). The work begins from the beginning of World War I (1914) and reaches the breakup of the Soviet Empire in 1991. The development follows the logic of harmonica with the author picking with seeming lightness from great historical moments and great historical moments, comfortable from one time to the next, intense to lighten the climate and equally light, leads us from a tart recipe to Marx's Grundrisse without warning.
So we have in front of us a constant play between anecdote and romance. The resulting chaos is gradually organized into a relative order only to the end, when a series of mysteries is deciphered and when the identity of the "young Frenchman" to whom the author (and Liechtenstein) are addressed is revealed.
What are the direct literary influences of this ambitious work? Many- the author confesses some. There is e.g. in person André Malraux, who talks to some of the protagonists at the French Embassy in Singapore in 1965 about the unveiling of his famous book The Human Squad. In contrast, the noir literature of the 20th century. The Human Comedy of Balzac. But, as we said, Thomas Mann, and still Shell with his racist obsessions, and Claude Simon with his famous books on World War I (The Road to Flanders, The Acacia, etc.). I still think that Kaddour does not hesitate to transform elements of Dos Pasos narrative technique when he proposes fragments from the current. The poetic, sometimes lyrical language of the book assimilates all of this - and many other loans, producing a systematic polyphony that at first tires but eventually rewards the persistent reader.
https://www.tanea.gr/2009/02/14/lifea...
It is impossible to summarize this voluminous novel. Structured into fourteen chapters that have subtitle-light touches of dramatic incidents, the book has a cross-over layout and a roughly random layout, with peaks and gaps, with suspicious cardiograms. Chapters occur every two on the same date (eg 1929 or 1965). The work begins from the beginning of World War I (1914) and reaches the breakup of the Soviet Empire in 1991. The development follows the logic of harmonica with the author picking with seeming lightness from great historical moments and great historical moments, comfortable from one time to the next, intense to lighten the climate and equally light, leads us from a tart recipe to Marx's Grundrisse without warning.
So we have in front of us a constant play between anecdote and romance. The resulting chaos is gradually organized into a relative order only to the end, when a series of mysteries is deciphered and when the identity of the "young Frenchman" to whom the author (and Liechtenstein) are addressed is revealed.
What are the direct literary influences of this ambitious work? Many- the author confesses some. There is e.g. in person André Malraux, who talks to some of the protagonists at the French Embassy in Singapore in 1965 about the unveiling of his famous book The Human Squad. In contrast, the noir literature of the 20th century. The Human Comedy of Balzac. But, as we said, Thomas Mann, and still Shell with his racist obsessions, and Claude Simon with his famous books on World War I (The Road to Flanders, The Acacia, etc.). I still think that Kaddour does not hesitate to transform elements of Dos Pasos narrative technique when he proposes fragments from the current. The poetic, sometimes lyrical language of the book assimilates all of this - and many other loans, producing a systematic polyphony that at first tires but eventually rewards the persistent reader.
https://www.tanea.gr/2009/02/14/lifea...
March 22, 2011
This is a truly exceptional novel written by a french poet and covering much of the 20th century through the perspective of espionage and the struggle for ideas. Lyrical, discursive, poetical and historically rich this is more true story telling than most novels.
May 9, 2023
At about the halfway point, the book threw me against the wall. I F'N Dspised it.
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July 1, 2021Apraksts uz grāmatas aizmugures vāka ir tikpat ļoti neskaidrs, cik īss. Grāmatas sākumā nav nevienas atsauksmes no izdevniecībām vai citām personām. Savukārt GoodReads aprakstā grāmata nodēvēta par savdabīgu. Tās ir pazīmes, pēc kurām man jau būtu vajadzējis nojaust, ka uzrakstīt par šo grāmatu kaut kādu aprakstu būs ļoti sarežģīti, ja reiz neviens to tā īsti nav pacenties izdarīt..
Grāmata ir ļoti bieza un smaga - tieši tāda, kādas mani piesaista grāmatveikalā. Likās - varēšu ar to kopā pavadīt daudz patīkamu stundu. Tomēr ne vienmēr daudz teksta nozīmē patīkamu laika pavadīšanu..
Es nevaru arī teikt, ka pavadītais laiks nebija patīkams. Jā, vietām autors ievelk tik garos un smagi sarežģītos vēstures aprakstos, kas sāk nogurdināt. Laikam ir jābūt ļoti labam dažādu 20. gadsimta lielvaru pazinējam, lai tas viss liktos ārkārtīgi saistoši. Tomēr kaut kas saistošs tajā visā tomēr bija, jo autors šos vēstures līkločus meistarīgi savij kopā ar līdzīgām paralēlēm parasto cilvēku dzīvēs.
Neparasts ir grāmatas valodas stils. Viena teikuma ietvaros (kas mēs būt ļoti gari) autors var pārlēkt no viena notikuma uz citu, kurus laikā šķir varbūt vairākas desmitgades, kurus varbūt nekas pat tā īsti nesaista, bet varbūt tomēr var atrast kādu paralēli. Arī stāstīšanas stils mijās - te stāstījums ir trešajā personā, te tas pārlec uz otro (kas, kā zināms, ir visretākais literatūrā izmantotais stils), bet reizumis sastopami fragmenti arī pirmajā personā. Kad pie tā pierod, nav tik traki.
Vairākas reizes grāmatas lasīšanas laikā radās jautājums, vai tiešām ir vērts pieturēties pie saviem principiem nevienu grāmatu neatstāt nepabeigtu arī šajā gadījumā, tomēr, lasot tālāk, domas aizklīst, jo neinteresantums nemitīgi mijas ar interesantām detaļām.
Kopējais vērtējums, kā viegli nojaust pēc augstākminētā, ir neviennozīmīgs. Tāds tādējādi iznācis arī manis piešķirto zvaigžņu skaits..
Zemāk pāris interesantākie citādi no šīs grāmatas.
"Precizitāte ir karaļu pieklājība..."
"Ja esmu pārliecināts, es slēdzu derības, bet, ja neesmu, dodu godavārdu."
"Rūgtums palīdz skaisti novecot, turklāt palielina produktivitāti, jo neatliek laika sapņošanai."
Grāmata ir ļoti bieza un smaga - tieši tāda, kādas mani piesaista grāmatveikalā. Likās - varēšu ar to kopā pavadīt daudz patīkamu stundu. Tomēr ne vienmēr daudz teksta nozīmē patīkamu laika pavadīšanu..
Es nevaru arī teikt, ka pavadītais laiks nebija patīkams. Jā, vietām autors ievelk tik garos un smagi sarežģītos vēstures aprakstos, kas sāk nogurdināt. Laikam ir jābūt ļoti labam dažādu 20. gadsimta lielvaru pazinējam, lai tas viss liktos ārkārtīgi saistoši. Tomēr kaut kas saistošs tajā visā tomēr bija, jo autors šos vēstures līkločus meistarīgi savij kopā ar līdzīgām paralēlēm parasto cilvēku dzīvēs.
Neparasts ir grāmatas valodas stils. Viena teikuma ietvaros (kas mēs būt ļoti gari) autors var pārlēkt no viena notikuma uz citu, kurus laikā šķir varbūt vairākas desmitgades, kurus varbūt nekas pat tā īsti nesaista, bet varbūt tomēr var atrast kādu paralēli. Arī stāstīšanas stils mijās - te stāstījums ir trešajā personā, te tas pārlec uz otro (kas, kā zināms, ir visretākais literatūrā izmantotais stils), bet reizumis sastopami fragmenti arī pirmajā personā. Kad pie tā pierod, nav tik traki.
Vairākas reizes grāmatas lasīšanas laikā radās jautājums, vai tiešām ir vērts pieturēties pie saviem principiem nevienu grāmatu neatstāt nepabeigtu arī šajā gadījumā, tomēr, lasot tālāk, domas aizklīst, jo neinteresantums nemitīgi mijas ar interesantām detaļām.
Kopējais vērtējums, kā viegli nojaust pēc augstākminētā, ir neviennozīmīgs. Tāds tādējādi iznācis arī manis piešķirto zvaigžņu skaits..
Zemāk pāris interesantākie citādi no šīs grāmatas.
"Precizitāte ir karaļu pieklājība..."
"Ja esmu pārliecināts, es slēdzu derības, bet, ja neesmu, dodu godavārdu."
"Rūgtums palīdz skaisti novecot, turklāt palielina produktivitāti, jo neatliek laika sapņošanai."
July 26, 2016
It's just fucking dull
January 31, 2020
“I went to the CIA because I’m a better Marxist than you.”
——————————
WALTENBERG, written by Hedi Kaddour, is a difficult journey covering 19th century – from the first world war to the uprisings in the early 1990s – full of espionage, ambitions, and the occasional hot takes on the failure of communism in the context of Europe.
At the center is a grand European hotel that serves as the common point of many characters in the novel. This is where a German writer falls in love with an American opera singer, and a celebrated figure reappears after many years to join forces with an up-and-coming spy. But this is not a story of good unions and your average lets-work-together mantra. Waltenberg is a story of calculated risks with betrayal at its core.
For a piece of literature that markets itself as a spy thriller, the novel does not rely on plot twists after plot twists. It uses precise build ups that often prove to be a good move, if only for making one push through despite the long sentences. It is a difficult read, to be honest, and it made me want to just completely abandon finishing the book several times. But fortunately, it gets better in the middle until the end.
For all the things that might make a reader give up, Waltenberg can be lauded for its commitment to its unconventional ways of delivering a good story. It runs on its own pace, may detour more than usual, but sticks its landing. Seldom do we see a confusing book achieve that, without compromising at some point.
Do I recommend this book? If you have the patience. Hehe
——————————
WALTENBERG, written by Hedi Kaddour, is a difficult journey covering 19th century – from the first world war to the uprisings in the early 1990s – full of espionage, ambitions, and the occasional hot takes on the failure of communism in the context of Europe.
At the center is a grand European hotel that serves as the common point of many characters in the novel. This is where a German writer falls in love with an American opera singer, and a celebrated figure reappears after many years to join forces with an up-and-coming spy. But this is not a story of good unions and your average lets-work-together mantra. Waltenberg is a story of calculated risks with betrayal at its core.
For a piece of literature that markets itself as a spy thriller, the novel does not rely on plot twists after plot twists. It uses precise build ups that often prove to be a good move, if only for making one push through despite the long sentences. It is a difficult read, to be honest, and it made me want to just completely abandon finishing the book several times. But fortunately, it gets better in the middle until the end.
For all the things that might make a reader give up, Waltenberg can be lauded for its commitment to its unconventional ways of delivering a good story. It runs on its own pace, may detour more than usual, but sticks its landing. Seldom do we see a confusing book achieve that, without compromising at some point.
Do I recommend this book? If you have the patience. Hehe
September 17, 2019
Max, Hans, Lena. On lit ce que les personnages pensent. Avant ou après, le temps change. Waltenberg est un livre poétique. Au lieu d’une ligne claire, des pensée, tantôt sur ceci, tantôt sur cela. Ce n’est pas un roman, mais l’idée est intéressante. Malheureusement, l’oeuvre est trop volumineuse - si elle avait eu une centaine de pages, je l’aurais aimée. Avec ses plus que 700 pages, le livre a été trop longue pour moi. En plus quand j’ai appris que la chapitre prochaine est de 60 pages...
May 14, 2024
Overly complicated, slow-paced spy novel. The heart of the novel was the characters and their motivation, and I did like that. I'm glad it's over though!
April 1, 2017
It is ostensibly a spy novel covering the short 20th century but I do feel sorry for the Amazon reviewer who was expecting a Alan Furst style thriller. It is much more a novel of ideas. The main characters are a French journalist and a German novelist who meet during the first world war and a East German spy master (survivor of the Holocaust and the Gulags) and his French mole who meet up occasionally in the town of Waltenberg.
The book begins with a description of a French cavalry charge in 1914 and two meetings in 1956 between Lilstein and the novelist who wants to defect to the East and the first meeting between the mole and his potential handler. From there it moves across the century showing more of the characters and introducing others. A lot of it is internal monologue as people think about the past and future with digressions to other times. To be honest not much happens, its mostly conversation and memory but it tells a brilliant story.
I don't think I've sold it very well but I would recommend it in a heartbeat.
The book begins with a description of a French cavalry charge in 1914 and two meetings in 1956 between Lilstein and the novelist who wants to defect to the East and the first meeting between the mole and his potential handler. From there it moves across the century showing more of the characters and introducing others. A lot of it is internal monologue as people think about the past and future with digressions to other times. To be honest not much happens, its mostly conversation and memory but it tells a brilliant story.
I don't think I've sold it very well but I would recommend it in a heartbeat.
January 29, 2017
A vrai dire je ne l'ai pas lu, j'ai du lire les 50 premières pages et je ne suis pas rentrée dedans du tout....
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