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Eliott Gast e un tip care apreciază și se bucură de cele mai rafinate lucruri pe care i le oferă viața – delicatese, vinuri excelente, confort, muzică bună. Asta până într-o zi când e luat ostatic în Bruxelles de către o grupare de teroriști cu viziuni anti-globalizare. Este ținut prizonier timp de patruzeci de zile, timp în care, rând pe rând, îi sunt anihilate toate simțurile. Dintr-un om al simțurilor, Eliott devine treptat un om al cărui unic refugiu este propria minte. Dar nu e complet singur: teroriștii transmit live fiecare moment al perioadei sale de încarcerare.
Un thriller în care introspecția și brutalitatea se întâlnesc să tulbure cititorul.
„Kafka la superlativ.” (Cincinnati Enquirer)
Un thriller în care introspecția și brutalitatea se întâlnesc să tulbure cititorul.
„Kafka la superlativ.” (Cincinnati Enquirer)
160 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2003
9 people are currently reading
654 people want to read
About the author
Stona Fitch
11 books33 followersI'm a novelist, former punk, ad man, and recovering Okie living in Boston. I write dark, politically inflected novels that have a redeeming sense of humor that pulls them out of the abyss. My books go on to foreign editions, film adaptations, and other lives. But most important to me is that my books connect with new readers, every day. Thanks to you for being one.
My latest novel is Death Watch, and it's a wild ride. Not as scary as it sounds. Or is it? Your call. I also write under the pen name of my Irish twin, Mr. Rory Flynn (Third Rail, Dark Horse). And I'm the founder of the Concord Free Press, which has inspired more than $5 million in generosity around the world. Our books are free in exchange for a donation to a cause you believe in or a person in need in your community.
https://www.concordfreepress.com/
My latest novel is Death Watch, and it's a wild ride. Not as scary as it sounds. Or is it? Your call. I also write under the pen name of my Irish twin, Mr. Rory Flynn (Third Rail, Dark Horse). And I'm the founder of the Concord Free Press, which has inspired more than $5 million in generosity around the world. Our books are free in exchange for a donation to a cause you believe in or a person in need in your community.
https://www.concordfreepress.com/
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
December 29, 2024
I've seen the film adaptation of this several times over the years after stumbling across it during a deep dive on Netflix a looong time ago (early 2010s, I'd say), but I didn't know until this year that it was based on a novel. When I saw that it was available on Kindle Unlimited, I had to borrow it right away to see how it compared. I'm pleased to say that the film does the book a ton of justice. There are so many verbatim quotes and the plot follows incredibly closely to the original events.
I'm not sure if Senseless is more devastating to read or to watch, but this is a story in either format that has stuck with me as one of the more impactful (and underrated) pieces of media I've experienced. It's bleak, nauseating, and downright paranoia-inducing at times (thinking, "This could be anyone!"). The only complaint I had about the book is that some of Gast's internal monologues drag a bit longer than they need to, but otherwise, I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a truly unique and provocative story.
I'm not sure if Senseless is more devastating to read or to watch, but this is a story in either format that has stuck with me as one of the more impactful (and underrated) pieces of media I've experienced. It's bleak, nauseating, and downright paranoia-inducing at times (thinking, "This could be anyone!"). The only complaint I had about the book is that some of Gast's internal monologues drag a bit longer than they need to, but otherwise, I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a truly unique and provocative story.
April 11, 2012
Elliot Gast is a man of taste and refinement. He has a nose for a fine wine, and eye for fine detail and a palate that has appreciated the best of food. He works for a company called IBIS as a social facilitator in business dealings, having moved on from being a small cog in some murky palm-greasing on behalf of American business interests at the point of the formation of Europe’s Common Market.
His life is good.
On the way home from a splendid meal one evening, he is kidnapped from the streets of Brussels.
Initially, the kidnappers have a civilised approach to their guest, treating him with a modicum of respect.
Luckily Gast is a pretty cool customer. He’s been in hostage situations before. He’s been trained for such eventualities. He thinks he’ll be able to hang on till the necessary formalities for his release are completed.
Unfortunately, he’s not in the hands of any typical captors.
He finds himself accused, a little in the manner of Josef K, of being guilty of something by a group of people who are part of a bigger organisation that is ‘diverse by nature’ and with ‘many controls and safeguards’.
There’s to be a punishment, and what better punishment could there be for a man like Gast than to remove his 5 senses?
To gain support for their cause, the kidnappers are showing the entire event online. The general public are to vote on Gast’s future and to donate to buy his freedom or otherwise.
The situation is a complete nightmare.
The journey through it is told by Gast in a generally dispassionate way. He reflects on his past, the events that have taken him to such a point in life, and upon the present as he tries to figure things out. The stories are formed in such a way as to amplify the miseries of his predicament.
The premise of the book is superb, but a good idea in itself isn’t enough. To my delight, Stona Fitch works with the concept wonderfully well. The detail, the similes, the tales recounted from Gast’s past create a vivid experience and in doing so heightens the horror when it comes to the removal of his ways of interpreting the world.
I’ve seen mentions here and there of it being Kafkaesque and it’s easy to see why. What comes to mind when I think of Kafka is a dispassionate description of terrible situations, life turning on a moment, bureaucratic mess, individual guilt, alienation and the horrors that go hand-in-hand with it. There are elements of each throughout Senseless.
What’s more, the book was published way back in 2001. I guess that makes Stona Fitch a kind of visionary who’d seen early on the complex range of issues presented by globalisation, by reality TV and by the opportunities offered to anyone of enhanced methods of communication and our inevitable dependence upon them.
I also think that it’s a testament to the quality of his writing that there were points where I had to look away from the page. The anticipation of what was coming was quite overwhelming. Now, it’s not because I’m squeamish when it comes to violence and difficulty in fiction – I’d say the opposite was true – but when it’s done this well I do get goose-bumps, not just because of the acts buy because of the implications of them. Within the small pictures he shows us the whole world and in the world he shows us the miniature.
It’s a seriously good book and it deserves to be read, and it’s great value as there’s the ‘bonus track’ in that I know I’ll be thinking about it for a long time to come.
His life is good.
On the way home from a splendid meal one evening, he is kidnapped from the streets of Brussels.
Initially, the kidnappers have a civilised approach to their guest, treating him with a modicum of respect.
Luckily Gast is a pretty cool customer. He’s been in hostage situations before. He’s been trained for such eventualities. He thinks he’ll be able to hang on till the necessary formalities for his release are completed.
Unfortunately, he’s not in the hands of any typical captors.
He finds himself accused, a little in the manner of Josef K, of being guilty of something by a group of people who are part of a bigger organisation that is ‘diverse by nature’ and with ‘many controls and safeguards’.
There’s to be a punishment, and what better punishment could there be for a man like Gast than to remove his 5 senses?
To gain support for their cause, the kidnappers are showing the entire event online. The general public are to vote on Gast’s future and to donate to buy his freedom or otherwise.
The situation is a complete nightmare.
The journey through it is told by Gast in a generally dispassionate way. He reflects on his past, the events that have taken him to such a point in life, and upon the present as he tries to figure things out. The stories are formed in such a way as to amplify the miseries of his predicament.
The premise of the book is superb, but a good idea in itself isn’t enough. To my delight, Stona Fitch works with the concept wonderfully well. The detail, the similes, the tales recounted from Gast’s past create a vivid experience and in doing so heightens the horror when it comes to the removal of his ways of interpreting the world.
I’ve seen mentions here and there of it being Kafkaesque and it’s easy to see why. What comes to mind when I think of Kafka is a dispassionate description of terrible situations, life turning on a moment, bureaucratic mess, individual guilt, alienation and the horrors that go hand-in-hand with it. There are elements of each throughout Senseless.
What’s more, the book was published way back in 2001. I guess that makes Stona Fitch a kind of visionary who’d seen early on the complex range of issues presented by globalisation, by reality TV and by the opportunities offered to anyone of enhanced methods of communication and our inevitable dependence upon them.
I also think that it’s a testament to the quality of his writing that there were points where I had to look away from the page. The anticipation of what was coming was quite overwhelming. Now, it’s not because I’m squeamish when it comes to violence and difficulty in fiction – I’d say the opposite was true – but when it’s done this well I do get goose-bumps, not just because of the acts buy because of the implications of them. Within the small pictures he shows us the whole world and in the world he shows us the miniature.
It’s a seriously good book and it deserves to be read, and it’s great value as there’s the ‘bonus track’ in that I know I’ll be thinking about it for a long time to come.
January 25, 2016
Fantastic twist at the end a well written story that had me cringing throughout. Some of my own worst fears coming to fruition makes uncomfortable reading but I devoured it in just two sittings. A very thought provoking novel which definitely makes the saying it could be you seem all too true and terrifying at the same time.
January 28, 2012
Senseless is best described as a psychological thriller, a novel that blends crime and horror, harking back through Christie’s And Then There Were None, back through the Sherlock Holmes stories, right back to Edgar Allan Poe, the guy who brought the detective story genre kicking and screaming into the world with his Murders in the Rue Morgue in 1841.
But I digress. Senseless is the brutally short tale of US economist Eliott Gast, abducted from the streets of Brussels by an anti-globalisation group.
The group strips Eliot of each of his five senses one by one, and broadcasts his torture over the internet as an example of the wages of capitalist sin.
The twist is that Eliot’s release depends on the votes of those watching. Will the unwashed, ignorant millions vote for his release, or for another of his senses to be stripped away?
This novel pitches you right into Eliot’s situation and forces you to ask the sort of questions you’d be asking if you were him. Could you really stand to live without any one of your five senses? If you had to choose, which one would you sacrifice? And if you had to sacrifice two of them? Or how about if you had to choose which one you’d want to be left with? Could you do it?
Fitch’s descriptive prose, minimal yet rich, adds to the mundane atmosphere, making the events seem all the more horrific.
In terms of sheer visceral impact, this is one of the best novels I've ever read. I devoured it on a train ride from Edinburgh to Peterborough, and let me tell you, that was one of the most uncomfortable train journeys I've ever had, all because of how much I was squirming while reading this book. If you think you can take it, I urge you to read it to.
But I digress. Senseless is the brutally short tale of US economist Eliott Gast, abducted from the streets of Brussels by an anti-globalisation group.
The group strips Eliot of each of his five senses one by one, and broadcasts his torture over the internet as an example of the wages of capitalist sin.
The twist is that Eliot’s release depends on the votes of those watching. Will the unwashed, ignorant millions vote for his release, or for another of his senses to be stripped away?
This novel pitches you right into Eliot’s situation and forces you to ask the sort of questions you’d be asking if you were him. Could you really stand to live without any one of your five senses? If you had to choose, which one would you sacrifice? And if you had to sacrifice two of them? Or how about if you had to choose which one you’d want to be left with? Could you do it?
Fitch’s descriptive prose, minimal yet rich, adds to the mundane atmosphere, making the events seem all the more horrific.
In terms of sheer visceral impact, this is one of the best novels I've ever read. I devoured it on a train ride from Edinburgh to Peterborough, and let me tell you, that was one of the most uncomfortable train journeys I've ever had, all because of how much I was squirming while reading this book. If you think you can take it, I urge you to read it to.
January 17, 2016
the story was disturbing and the ending wasn't very satisfying
March 30, 2022
This book is fucking horrifying. I wish I’d never read it. It’s going to haunt my dreams for a while. Gah this author can teach Mr King something.
July 30, 2010
Review snippet: However, Gast never loses site of himself even as he is made senseless. He refuses to cooperate in any manner, fighting as much as he can, refusing to do what his captors ask of him. In order to increase the theater of the torture, his captors want him to scream, to yell in pain, to fight overtly instead of rebel passively. At one point, Blackbeard tells Gast that his Internet pain show is making the terrorist group lots of money, 10% of which will be his if only he will cooperate and scream in pain. Gast, who is clueless in some respects, hopes it is true he will be permitted to leave if he does what is asked of him but doesn’t take such promises to heart. Instead, he hopes he can unmask Blackbeard in front of one of the cameras, revealing his face to the millions Blackbeard says are watching, making him a marked man. Instead of railing against his tormentors when he is left alone, he is resolute – all the ghouls who are watching will get is a man kicking a wall over and over and over. Moreover, it is hard to tell if Blackbeard is taunting Gast, asking him to participate in his own torture, or if Blackbeard genuinely thinks Gast is so craven he would think screaming in agony for a cut of the profits a good deal. In a book about senselessness, it is hard to know which character actually has any sense. Read my entire review here.
September 1, 2016
An allegory from another cave. A minor economist, involved with an NGO, is kidnapped by an anti-globalization group and tortured. That is the gist of Stona Fitch's second novel. Fitch anticipated the broadcasting of torture over the internet before ISIS made it a part of their message. The metaphoric cave in which Eliott Gast is kept hostage offers a limited view of reality, it's all white with white painted windows. Gast is also entrapped in a cave of memory, as he ponders events from his life, both reassuring and damning. Like the actors in Plato's allegory, Gast can grasp only a reflection of reality, yet he comes to a sort of revelation at the end of his ordeal. This is a brutal book, dealing with terrorism, complacency, and the Stanley Milgrim-like attraction to the nature of suffering. It is as if Orwell's Room 101 were capitalized for vague ideology. Nightmarish and gripping.
October 13, 2016
Not sure what to say about this book. The premise was intriguing, but I never felt the story was fully developed. The characters didn't have enough depth. The torture of the main character was horrific, but I didn't care that much about anyone and just wanted to finish the book so I could move on to something more interesting. The bad guys weren't interesting, the 'good' guy wasn't interesting - maybe it was just too political for me. I don't even know how I came across this book. It must have been recommended to me, maybe in an Amazon newsletter, and I got it on interlibrary loan.
I think the story had a lot of potential, but I just could not connect emotionally with any of these characters.
I think the story had a lot of potential, but I just could not connect emotionally with any of these characters.
August 7, 2014
great writing.....captivating story line
February 13, 2015
I couldn't put this book down (as much as I wanted to at times). It was horrific, quick and painful but oh so good.
May 14, 2021
I don't even know why I decided to read this.
November 7, 2013
RATING: 4.75
Senseless is a book that does not leave you, whose disturbing images remain with you long after you finish the last page. It is that most shocking of books, one whose gruesome acts resonate in reality. It is terrifying because it could so easily be true.
Eliott Gast is a mid-level American economist working in Belgium, not the kind of person you would think would make an attractive hostage. However, while at a business dinner in Brussels, he is kidnapped by a group of terrorists who oppose the European economic union and imprisoned in a totally white apartment with no apparent way in or out. His captors remain elusive, and he lives comfortably for a few weeks. The kidnappers provide him with the necessities, as well as books to occupy his time; but there doesn't seem to be a purpose in his snatching. Little does he know, but Gast's plight is being broadcast on the Internet. He is the first online hostage.
The kidnappers are raising funds by running a vote on the site. The results of the vote determine if Gast will be tortured and removed of one of his senses. If the viewers donate enough money and vote for his release, he will be let go. His fate is entirely in the hands of the visitors to the site; and he systematically loses each of his senses, one by one. He is a man who has had a sensual relationship with food and wine and the finer things in life, and the loss of his ability to hear or touch or taste or smell is a blow to everything that he has lived for.
After each vote, his captors perform a medical procedure to remove one of his senses. One does not have to read the details to be deeply disturbed by these events. Imagine losing your hearing, and knowing that it is only a matter of time before another sense will be snatched from you. At the mercy of an anonymous group of onlookers, there is nothing to be done, no way out. You are an entertainment commodity, something to watch in horror, a reality show that has no limitations.
Senseless is a grim read, with Eliott in a truly hopeless situation. Even the reader feels complicit in what happens to Eliott—after all, just like those voting to continue the torture, you are continuing to turn the page to see what gruesome event is next. Senseless is the perfect title for the book—in addition to being rendered truly senseless, the acts of which the books speak have no moral meaning and depict humanity at its worst and possibly most real. This is a deeply disturbing yet oddly thought provoking book, beautifully written but emotionally wrenching. I found it extraordinary.
Senseless is a book that does not leave you, whose disturbing images remain with you long after you finish the last page. It is that most shocking of books, one whose gruesome acts resonate in reality. It is terrifying because it could so easily be true.
Eliott Gast is a mid-level American economist working in Belgium, not the kind of person you would think would make an attractive hostage. However, while at a business dinner in Brussels, he is kidnapped by a group of terrorists who oppose the European economic union and imprisoned in a totally white apartment with no apparent way in or out. His captors remain elusive, and he lives comfortably for a few weeks. The kidnappers provide him with the necessities, as well as books to occupy his time; but there doesn't seem to be a purpose in his snatching. Little does he know, but Gast's plight is being broadcast on the Internet. He is the first online hostage.
The kidnappers are raising funds by running a vote on the site. The results of the vote determine if Gast will be tortured and removed of one of his senses. If the viewers donate enough money and vote for his release, he will be let go. His fate is entirely in the hands of the visitors to the site; and he systematically loses each of his senses, one by one. He is a man who has had a sensual relationship with food and wine and the finer things in life, and the loss of his ability to hear or touch or taste or smell is a blow to everything that he has lived for.
After each vote, his captors perform a medical procedure to remove one of his senses. One does not have to read the details to be deeply disturbed by these events. Imagine losing your hearing, and knowing that it is only a matter of time before another sense will be snatched from you. At the mercy of an anonymous group of onlookers, there is nothing to be done, no way out. You are an entertainment commodity, something to watch in horror, a reality show that has no limitations.
Senseless is a grim read, with Eliott in a truly hopeless situation. Even the reader feels complicit in what happens to Eliott—after all, just like those voting to continue the torture, you are continuing to turn the page to see what gruesome event is next. Senseless is the perfect title for the book—in addition to being rendered truly senseless, the acts of which the books speak have no moral meaning and depict humanity at its worst and possibly most real. This is a deeply disturbing yet oddly thought provoking book, beautifully written but emotionally wrenching. I found it extraordinary.
July 18, 2011
Haunting, terrifying, disturbing, grotesque. But also lovely, touching, poignant, and even funny. It's not for everyone, but Senseless is a book I'll not soon forget. Eeesh. Also, the SAW franchise could learn something for Fitch's novel: it pays to have an entirely separate, well-developed interior landscape for the hostage. The moment that Eliot Gast says— "I'd never catch a napkin in midair again"? That's how you get a reader/viewer to care about a character. It's in the details, not in the screaming.
June 7, 2011
What a prescient novel: looking back at the 10 years since its publication, its resonance, both worldly and personal, is simply unavoidable for me.
In terms of style and sensibilities, Senseless perfectly matches my own tastes. It's rather rare that I know from the first 2 sentences that I am "all in," but that's exactly what happened, and I finished the novel in one, incredibly late night because I couldn't put it down.
In terms of style and sensibilities, Senseless perfectly matches my own tastes. It's rather rare that I know from the first 2 sentences that I am "all in," but that's exactly what happened, and I finished the novel in one, incredibly late night because I couldn't put it down.
November 21, 2011
This book was very interesting and kept me engaged the entire time. It is short too, so it was easy to sit down and read big chunks at a time. It was very dark at times, and scary, but still very interesting. The conflict that Elliot was in continuously changed. Very creative book, the setting especially was very well thought out, I could imagine it vividly by the end of the book. Also the different forms of torture made for a very interesting book.
July 7, 2007
Terrifying. A business man is kidnapped by a terrorist group opposed to the European Union. They broadcast torture of him--removing each of the five senses--on the internet, leaving his fate to their audience.
"A chilling psychological thriller and brilliant political fable for our time. It's masterful and should be situated on the literary map between DeLillo and Coetzee." --Russell Banks
"A chilling psychological thriller and brilliant political fable for our time. It's masterful and should be situated on the literary map between DeLillo and Coetzee." --Russell Banks
July 2, 2008
A cruel fictional account of a man held captive and subjected to losing each of his five senses, one at a time...it sounds awful (and it gets intense to read at times), but it actually seems to pay homage to the senses. I'd actually do 3 1/2 stars if it were possible.
July 18, 2007
Gory and bloody and terrible. A train wreck I couldn't look away from. I'm glad it was short because as much as I wanted to, I couldn't put it down.
August 4, 2009
A haunting plot...
Want to read
October 4, 2010favorite books of Gregory Maguire
April 2, 2013
A really great book, so horrible yet so brilliant. Makes you cringe and really feel something when you read it.
October 29, 2021
Absolut sfâșietoare. Nu e o carte de consum, abordați cu grijă, s-ar putea să vă perturbe realitatea. 😶
May 7, 2020
Dacă ar fi să caracterizez această carte în puține cuvinte, aș spune astfel: foarte scurtă, dar și foarte intensă, bine scrisă, dar totuși greu de citit, mai ales în partea finală.
Și, din nou, deja parcă este un făcut dat fiind pandemia Covid-19, citesc o carte despre izolare, ce-i drept, nu una menită să te protejeze, ci exact pe dos. "Imaginează-ți camera în care urmează să fii ținut captiv. Știi că există așa ceva, toată lumea poartă cu sine această încăpere..."
Eliott Gast este un om de afaceri american, hedonist până în măduva oaselor, având biroul la Bruxelles. Dupa ce participă la o cină alături de alți directori, o adevărată desfătare a simțurilor, el este răpit de o grupare destul de incertă, ce pare cumva suspendată între lăcomie și o ideologie confuză anti-globalizare și anti-americană. Iar ororile la care este supus sunt transmise live pe internet, dar nu în dark net, precum în Iulie însîngerat a lui Joe R. Lansdale sau în Convinge-mă de Lee Child, ci pe site-urile unor diverse instituții globale.
Citind această carte, am aflat răspunsul la o întrebare pe care nu mi-am pus-o niciodată până acum: ce ecranizare nu voi fi niciodată tentat să o văd? Iar răspunsul tocmai mi-a fost oferit de această carte. Lectură plăcută!
Și, din nou, deja parcă este un făcut dat fiind pandemia Covid-19, citesc o carte despre izolare, ce-i drept, nu una menită să te protejeze, ci exact pe dos. "Imaginează-ți camera în care urmează să fii ținut captiv. Știi că există așa ceva, toată lumea poartă cu sine această încăpere..."
Eliott Gast este un om de afaceri american, hedonist până în măduva oaselor, având biroul la Bruxelles. Dupa ce participă la o cină alături de alți directori, o adevărată desfătare a simțurilor, el este răpit de o grupare destul de incertă, ce pare cumva suspendată între lăcomie și o ideologie confuză anti-globalizare și anti-americană. Iar ororile la care este supus sunt transmise live pe internet, dar nu în dark net, precum în Iulie însîngerat a lui Joe R. Lansdale sau în Convinge-mă de Lee Child, ci pe site-urile unor diverse instituții globale.
Citind această carte, am aflat răspunsul la o întrebare pe care nu mi-am pus-o niciodată până acum: ce ecranizare nu voi fi niciodată tentat să o văd? Iar răspunsul tocmai mi-a fost oferit de această carte. Lectură plăcută!
July 26, 2020
I read this because I couldn't find the movie anywhere. I recognized a lot of direct quotes from the movie trailer so that looks to be a fairly faithful adaptation and I got pretty much exactly what I expected and wanted! I would recommend you not read this unless you know what it's about cause otherwise you might be upset. I did want slightly more in some parts but I'm pretty pleased.
May 15, 2024
i’ve been on a horror kick lately and this book satisfied me. the anticipation of waiting for the next aspect of torment is unbelievable. the part where they rupture his eardrums with an icepick made my stomach turn. i also truly did not expect the ending twist with nin. i really enjoyed the book overall, well-written, uncomfortable, and a quick read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 16, 2019
Disturbing
April 21, 2020
Ce as face daca in 40 de zile as ramane fara toate simturile?
Aceasta este intrebarea pe care mi-o adresez acum dupa ce am citit aceasta carte tulburatoare.
Aceasta este intrebarea pe care mi-o adresez acum dupa ce am citit aceasta carte tulburatoare.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews