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Bir zamanlar yakışıklı ve etkileyici bir erkek olan ünlü film yönetmeni Waldo, David Bowie’yle ve Joe Strummer’la takılıyor, tanıştığı bütün kadınları baştan çıkarıyordu. Ama artık yaşlı ve hasta bir adam. Geçmişte kalmış başarılarının izleriyle dolu Londra’daki dairelerinde ona karısı Zee bakıyor. Ama bir gün Waldo, tutkuyla bağlı olduğu karısının onu otuz yıllık arkadaşı Eddie’yle aldattığından şüphelenmeye başlıyor. Bu durumu sessizce sineye çekmeye niyeti olmayan yaşlı kurt bir plan yapıyor: Hainleri suçüstü yakalayıp şüphelerini doğrulayacak ve sonra da intikamını alacak. Üstelik bu plan onun başyapıtı da olacak. Ama bütün bunları tekerlekli sandalyeye mahkûmken yapması pek de kolay değil…
Varoşların Budası ve Yakınlık’ın yazarı Hanif Kureishi, son romanı Hiç’te bir adamın ölümle yüzleşmesini çarpıcı bir dürüstlükle anlatıyor. Kureishi’ye özgü kapkara bir mizahın hâkim olduğu romanın arka planındaysa sınırsız bir özgürlük döneminin sona ermesinin hüznü ve bir kuşağın iç hesaplaşmaları var. Hiç; ölüme, arzunun doğasına ve cinselliğe dair saptamalarıyla hem sert hem de eğlenceli olmayı başaran nadir romanlardan.
"Başka hiçbir yazar günümüz dünyasına bu kadar keskin ve acımasız gözlerle bakamaz.” - William Boyd
"Hanif Kureishi’nin bu zekâ dolu intikam hikâyesi şeytani bir şekilde eğlenceli.” - Times
Varoşların Budası ve Yakınlık’ın yazarı Hanif Kureishi, son romanı Hiç’te bir adamın ölümle yüzleşmesini çarpıcı bir dürüstlükle anlatıyor. Kureishi’ye özgü kapkara bir mizahın hâkim olduğu romanın arka planındaysa sınırsız bir özgürlük döneminin sona ermesinin hüznü ve bir kuşağın iç hesaplaşmaları var. Hiç; ölüme, arzunun doğasına ve cinselliğe dair saptamalarıyla hem sert hem de eğlenceli olmayı başaran nadir romanlardan.
"Başka hiçbir yazar günümüz dünyasına bu kadar keskin ve acımasız gözlerle bakamaz.” - William Boyd
"Hanif Kureishi’nin bu zekâ dolu intikam hikâyesi şeytani bir şekilde eğlenceli.” - Times
142 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2017
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About the author
Hanif Kureishi
128 books1,123 followersHanif Kureishi is the author of novels (including The Buddha of Suburbia, The Black Album and Intimacy), story collections (Love in a Blue Time, Midnight All Day, The Body), plays (including Outskirts, Borderline and Sleep With Me), and screenplays (including My Beautiful Laundrette, My Son the Fanatic and Venus). Among his other publications are the collection of essays Dreaming and Scheming, The Word and the Bomb and the memoir My Ear at His Heart.
Kureishi was born in London to a Pakistani father and an English mother. His father, Rafiushan, was from a wealthy Madras family, most of whose members moved to Pakistan after the Partition of India in 1947. He came to Britain to study law but soon abandoned his studies. After meeting and marrying Kureishi’s mother Audrey, Rafiushan settled in Bromley, where Kureishi was born, and worked at the Pakistan Embassy.
Kureishi attended Bromley Technical High School where David Bowie had also been a pupil and after taking his A levels at a local sixth form college, he spent a year studying philosophy at Lancaster University before dropping out. Later he attended King’s College London and took a degree in philosophy. In 1985 he wrote My Beautiful Laundrette, a screenplay about a gay Pakistani-British boy growing up in 1980’s London for a film directed by Stephen Frears. It won the New York Film Critics Best Screenplay Award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay.
His book The Buddha of Suburbia (1990) won the Whitbread Award for the best first novel, and was also made into a BBC television series with a soundtrack by David Bowie. The next year, 1991, saw the release of the feature film entitled London Kills Me; a film written and directed Kureishi.
His novel Intimacy (1998) revolved around the story of a man leaving his wife and two young sons after feeling physically and emotionally rejected by his wife. This created certain controversy as Kureishi himself had recently left his wife and two young sons. It is assumed to be at least semi-autobiographical. In 2000/2001 the novel was loosely adapted to a movie Intimacy by Patrice Chéreau, which won two Bears at the Berlin Film Festival: a Golden Bear for Best Film, and a Silver Bear for Best Actress (Kerry Fox). It was controversial for its unreserved sex scenes. The book was translated into Persian by Niki Karimi in 2005.
He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours.
Kureishi is married and has a pair of twins and a younger son.
Kureishi was born in London to a Pakistani father and an English mother. His father, Rafiushan, was from a wealthy Madras family, most of whose members moved to Pakistan after the Partition of India in 1947. He came to Britain to study law but soon abandoned his studies. After meeting and marrying Kureishi’s mother Audrey, Rafiushan settled in Bromley, where Kureishi was born, and worked at the Pakistan Embassy.
Kureishi attended Bromley Technical High School where David Bowie had also been a pupil and after taking his A levels at a local sixth form college, he spent a year studying philosophy at Lancaster University before dropping out. Later he attended King’s College London and took a degree in philosophy. In 1985 he wrote My Beautiful Laundrette, a screenplay about a gay Pakistani-British boy growing up in 1980’s London for a film directed by Stephen Frears. It won the New York Film Critics Best Screenplay Award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay.
His book The Buddha of Suburbia (1990) won the Whitbread Award for the best first novel, and was also made into a BBC television series with a soundtrack by David Bowie. The next year, 1991, saw the release of the feature film entitled London Kills Me; a film written and directed Kureishi.
His novel Intimacy (1998) revolved around the story of a man leaving his wife and two young sons after feeling physically and emotionally rejected by his wife. This created certain controversy as Kureishi himself had recently left his wife and two young sons. It is assumed to be at least semi-autobiographical. In 2000/2001 the novel was loosely adapted to a movie Intimacy by Patrice Chéreau, which won two Bears at the Berlin Film Festival: a Golden Bear for Best Film, and a Silver Bear for Best Actress (Kerry Fox). It was controversial for its unreserved sex scenes. The book was translated into Persian by Niki Karimi in 2005.
He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours.
Kureishi is married and has a pair of twins and a younger son.
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April 13, 2024
Vreți să vă amuzați? Citiți acest roman cu personaje antipatice :)
Waldo e un regizor bătrîn (cam 70 și ceva), bolnav, paralizat, impotent. Zeena e soția lui cu 20 de ani mai tînără. În trecutul rostirii, cei doi s-au iubit. În prezentul rostirii, doar el o mai iubește. În definitiv, nimic nou...
Se înțelege, Zee (care nici ea nu mai este la prima frăgezime) ar dori să-și trăiască viața și nu să îngrijească un impotent. Cum ar veni, mariajul lor trece printr-un moment dificil. Fix în acest moment de cumpănă, își face apariția un jurnalist, Eddie. Nu-i cel mai chipeș dintre bărbați, nici cel mai isteț, dar mai poate ceea ce soțul nu mai poate. Waldo ar vrea să-și păstreze soția doar pentru el. E un pic egoist. În schimb, Zee e generoasă. Între Zee și Eddie se înfiripă o alianță malefică. Oare vor reuși să scape de Waldo?
Mi-a plăcut umorul lipsit de iluzii al naratorului. Waldo privește cu un ochi cinic lumea din jur. Și tot cinic (chiar sardonic) se uită și la propria-i persoană. Recomand romanul îndeosebi celor care cred în veșnicia iubirii și în înțelepciunea bătrîneții...
P. S. Nota mea ar fi putut avea ca motto acest minunat pasaj dintr-un roman de Patricia Melo:
P. P. S. Am uitat să menționez că Waldo e un regizor renumit și suficient de bogat. Dar, după cum spune o vorbă din bătrîni, banii și fericirea sînt într-o disjuncție exclusivă...
Waldo e un regizor bătrîn (cam 70 și ceva), bolnav, paralizat, impotent. Zeena e soția lui cu 20 de ani mai tînără. În trecutul rostirii, cei doi s-au iubit. În prezentul rostirii, doar el o mai iubește. În definitiv, nimic nou...
Se înțelege, Zee (care nici ea nu mai este la prima frăgezime) ar dori să-și trăiască viața și nu să îngrijească un impotent. Cum ar veni, mariajul lor trece printr-un moment dificil. Fix în acest moment de cumpănă, își face apariția un jurnalist, Eddie. Nu-i cel mai chipeș dintre bărbați, nici cel mai isteț, dar mai poate ceea ce soțul nu mai poate. Waldo ar vrea să-și păstreze soția doar pentru el. E un pic egoist. În schimb, Zee e generoasă. Între Zee și Eddie se înfiripă o alianță malefică. Oare vor reuși să scape de Waldo?
Mi-a plăcut umorul lipsit de iluzii al naratorului. Waldo privește cu un ochi cinic lumea din jur. Și tot cinic (chiar sardonic) se uită și la propria-i persoană. Recomand romanul îndeosebi celor care cred în veșnicia iubirii și în înțelepciunea bătrîneții...
P. S. Nota mea ar fi putut avea ca motto acest minunat pasaj dintr-un roman de Patricia Melo:
„Ce-i cu faţa asta speriată? Orice femeie visează să-şi omoare soţul”.
P. P. S. Am uitat să menționez că Waldo e un regizor renumit și suficient de bogat. Dar, după cum spune o vorbă din bătrîni, banii și fericirea sînt într-o disjuncție exclusivă...
June 2, 2017
This book was not at all what I expected and I will really have to be careful with my review as to not spoil the experience for others. I think not knowing what to expect and where this will go really enhanced my reading experience.
This book focusses on Waldo, an elderly, dying film maker, and his wife Zee and how their relationship is disrupted by Eddie. Waldo becomes convinced that Zee and Eddie are having an affair and the book goes from there. I don't want to say much more because this is all you really need to know about the plot. The book mostly takes place within Waldo's appartment and this added to the claustrophobic atmosphere of the book - reminiscent of old Hollywood movies - which I thought was a really nice touch. In this way it is different to most books I have read recently and I absolutely adore this decision to tell a tightly-woven story with limited characters and settings.
Hanif Kureishi has a brilliant way with words and managed to give me whiplash with his sentences of shifting moods and word choices (I don't think I have ever seen the words Nietzschean and c*nt in the same sentence ever before - and I lived in Scotland for four years with friends who used swear words as endearments) - but I did love that juxtaposition that perfectly illustrated Waldo's difficult personality.
But even though I really enjoyed the overall reading experience, I did find every single character to be highly unpleasant. And I have not as of now decided who I liked the least. But the characters were still believable in their nastiness - even if this made it too difficult for me to root for any of them. But then again, I don't think that was the point of this book at all.
______
I received an arc of this book curtesy of NetGalley and Faber&Faber in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for that!
This book focusses on Waldo, an elderly, dying film maker, and his wife Zee and how their relationship is disrupted by Eddie. Waldo becomes convinced that Zee and Eddie are having an affair and the book goes from there. I don't want to say much more because this is all you really need to know about the plot. The book mostly takes place within Waldo's appartment and this added to the claustrophobic atmosphere of the book - reminiscent of old Hollywood movies - which I thought was a really nice touch. In this way it is different to most books I have read recently and I absolutely adore this decision to tell a tightly-woven story with limited characters and settings.
Hanif Kureishi has a brilliant way with words and managed to give me whiplash with his sentences of shifting moods and word choices (I don't think I have ever seen the words Nietzschean and c*nt in the same sentence ever before - and I lived in Scotland for four years with friends who used swear words as endearments) - but I did love that juxtaposition that perfectly illustrated Waldo's difficult personality.
But even though I really enjoyed the overall reading experience, I did find every single character to be highly unpleasant. And I have not as of now decided who I liked the least. But the characters were still believable in their nastiness - even if this made it too difficult for me to root for any of them. But then again, I don't think that was the point of this book at all.
______
I received an arc of this book curtesy of NetGalley and Faber&Faber in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for that!
February 3, 2019
This is a rather brief novella and Kureshi has managed to create some of the least likeable characters that populate literature! Waldo is an aging film director with a colourful history who now has multiple medical conditions, is confined to a wheelchair and is impotent. His current wife Zee is just over twenty years younger. She seems (possibly) to be having an affair with Eddie, a sort of friend of Waldo. Eddie is an old style, public school, Soho raconteur, somewhat dissolute, debt-ridden and charming. Waldo tries to find out if the affair is taking place and plots revenge.
As always with Kureshi, the first line is arresting:
“One night, when I am old, sick, right out of semen, and don’t need things to get any worse, I hear the noises again.”
Of course Waldo has to decide whether he is imagining his wife’s affair or not:
“It is true that I imagine things for a living, and the imagination is the most dangerous place on earth.”
The New York Times rather aptly subtitles this Requiem for the Male Libido and indeed there is a whiff of Roth, Updike, Marquez, even Edmund White about it. Waldo can no longer be a physically sexual being; it’s the end of an era/eros and Waldo is angry. However there is no real depth to this and most of the book is taken up with plots and counter plots. Waldo’s sex crazed ramblings become boring very quickly. There isn’t a great deal of narrative or plot apart from husband and wife trying to get one over on each other. Even the brief appearance of an old time Soho gangster doesn’t liven it up. Zee can’t decide what she feels about her husband; apart from willing him to die so she can spend the inheritance she veers between being loving and trying to smother him with a pillow.
Waldo may be a tortured soul and Kureshi has lots of fun with different types of male gaze, but it doesn’t really go anywhere and takes over a hundred pages to do it.
As always with Kureshi, the first line is arresting:
“One night, when I am old, sick, right out of semen, and don’t need things to get any worse, I hear the noises again.”
Of course Waldo has to decide whether he is imagining his wife’s affair or not:
“It is true that I imagine things for a living, and the imagination is the most dangerous place on earth.”
The New York Times rather aptly subtitles this Requiem for the Male Libido and indeed there is a whiff of Roth, Updike, Marquez, even Edmund White about it. Waldo can no longer be a physically sexual being; it’s the end of an era/eros and Waldo is angry. However there is no real depth to this and most of the book is taken up with plots and counter plots. Waldo’s sex crazed ramblings become boring very quickly. There isn’t a great deal of narrative or plot apart from husband and wife trying to get one over on each other. Even the brief appearance of an old time Soho gangster doesn’t liven it up. Zee can’t decide what she feels about her husband; apart from willing him to die so she can spend the inheritance she veers between being loving and trying to smother him with a pillow.
Waldo may be a tortured soul and Kureshi has lots of fun with different types of male gaze, but it doesn’t really go anywhere and takes over a hundred pages to do it.
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October 15, 2022Vêtements lourds de la vieillesse..
A less common topic ( but not very ) - the nothingness.
" One night, when I feel old, sick, completely squeezed out of seed, and I really don't need to go any worse, I hear the noises, again. "
Kureishi has an almost naughty talent to draw your attention, from the first lines of the book. He is completely irreverent, with a style far from wielding the reader, and even the characters.
The central character - Waldo - likes to complain, and you suspect, for a while, that he would need a new challenge, to test his masculine ego by
a little drama in his life, wich has lost its dynamism. He hardly accepts that it is no longer like in the old days.
"If you were once attractive, desirable, charismatic and handsome man, you can never forget that ". And Waldo did not forget.
So, there is an insufferable and provocative old married man,who lies in bed, and depends on the others for the smallest daily tasks, including shameful hygiene, and listening to the noises...
Eddie comes to them, and Waldo suspects he is having an affair with Zee, his wife.
And there, it seemed to me that Waldo brings to the rank of art - what we all do, when we reach the limit of saturation : he takes pieces of reality, and recomposes them in his head, filling them with fiction.
He wants to make sense of things, in a game of power in the relationship, against the background of lack of physical power.
A brutally rendered reality, without too many psychological nuances. It's a rage in Kureishi's writing, it doesn't give you much time to analyze the style, but the story.
"The Nothingness" - as a title, can be interpreted in several keys. One of them - would be the nothingness that we reach in relationships.
Another- the lack of significance of things.
But, it will still be - the nothingness of the death, the non-existence. The repressed anguish of an imminent death, and the life fluttering through its last dramas .
A less common topic ( but not very ) - the nothingness.
" One night, when I feel old, sick, completely squeezed out of seed, and I really don't need to go any worse, I hear the noises, again. "
Kureishi has an almost naughty talent to draw your attention, from the first lines of the book. He is completely irreverent, with a style far from wielding the reader, and even the characters.
The central character - Waldo - likes to complain, and you suspect, for a while, that he would need a new challenge, to test his masculine ego by
a little drama in his life, wich has lost its dynamism. He hardly accepts that it is no longer like in the old days.
"If you were once attractive, desirable, charismatic and handsome man, you can never forget that ". And Waldo did not forget.
So, there is an insufferable and provocative old married man,who lies in bed, and depends on the others for the smallest daily tasks, including shameful hygiene, and listening to the noises...
Eddie comes to them, and Waldo suspects he is having an affair with Zee, his wife.
And there, it seemed to me that Waldo brings to the rank of art - what we all do, when we reach the limit of saturation : he takes pieces of reality, and recomposes them in his head, filling them with fiction.
He wants to make sense of things, in a game of power in the relationship, against the background of lack of physical power.
A brutally rendered reality, without too many psychological nuances. It's a rage in Kureishi's writing, it doesn't give you much time to analyze the style, but the story.
"The Nothingness" - as a title, can be interpreted in several keys. One of them - would be the nothingness that we reach in relationships.
Another- the lack of significance of things.
But, it will still be - the nothingness of the death, the non-existence. The repressed anguish of an imminent death, and the life fluttering through its last dramas .
May 2, 2017
This was not what I expected. Focusing on the intimate details of a marriage, and its apparent breakdown, the author's skill in detailing the innermost thoughts of the main character, Waldo, made this an intensely uncomfortable read. It was akin to those rare reality tv chat shows that accidentally end up bringing forth some genuine emotion, I didn't want to be there or be part of it. At times it's funny, but it's mostly a set of unlikeable people so deftly portrayed that I leave the book intensely feeling my dislike.
ARC via Netgalley
ARC via Netgalley
December 30, 2017
The Guardian said it best: "The tormented revenge fantasies of a cuckolded film-maker." Not something I particularly enjoyed, and it was strange to only have the story from the old man's perspective where he was the person being wronged and unable to fend for himself. It reads more like a horror story in that regard.
Thanks to the publisher for providing early access to this title through Edelweiss. It comes out January 2.
Thanks to the publisher for providing early access to this title through Edelweiss. It comes out January 2.
March 20, 2019
Mi incuriosiscono sempre gli scrittori che, quindici o vent’anni dopo Barney, si ostinano a proporre un protagonista anziano, malato, verboso ed erotomane (almeno con il pensiero), esponendosi ad un confronto impietoso.
E’ quello che succede a Kureishi (peraltro non certo uno sprovveduto) che fa del suo Waldo un uomo incattivito dalla malattia (ma scommetterei che tanto buono non doveva essere neanche prima), ancora innamorato della moglie, ma troppo rabbioso per volerle bene. D’altro canto anche lei non è proprio un giglio e, pur con la comprensione che si ha verso chi deve convivere con una persona molto malata, non esce benissimo dalla storia. Il terzo incomodo lasciamolo stare, è una macchietta.
C’è, nel libro, un coté grottesco (i ripetuti, falliti tentativi della moglie di soffocare il marito, probabilmente senza volerlo realmente fare), ma manca quasi totalmente l’ironia, se non per qualche frase qua e là. Mi spiace dirlo, ma leggendolo mi sono annoiata parecchio.
Tutto questo vale un voto di due stelline. Ma ricordandomi di averne date due al raccapricciante Yeruldegger, solo perché è ambientato in un paese misterioso e sconosciuto, sono costretta a darne tre a Kureishi.
E’ quello che succede a Kureishi (peraltro non certo uno sprovveduto) che fa del suo Waldo un uomo incattivito dalla malattia (ma scommetterei che tanto buono non doveva essere neanche prima), ancora innamorato della moglie, ma troppo rabbioso per volerle bene. D’altro canto anche lei non è proprio un giglio e, pur con la comprensione che si ha verso chi deve convivere con una persona molto malata, non esce benissimo dalla storia. Il terzo incomodo lasciamolo stare, è una macchietta.
C’è, nel libro, un coté grottesco (i ripetuti, falliti tentativi della moglie di soffocare il marito, probabilmente senza volerlo realmente fare), ma manca quasi totalmente l’ironia, se non per qualche frase qua e là. Mi spiace dirlo, ma leggendolo mi sono annoiata parecchio.
Tutto questo vale un voto di due stelline. Ma ricordandomi di averne date due al raccapricciante Yeruldegger, solo perché è ambientato in un paese misterioso e sconosciuto, sono costretta a darne tre a Kureishi.
February 27, 2020
kratak roman, sav satkan od dijaloga, tematikom i atmosferom podsjeća na "gorki mjesec" pascala brucknera -s/m (ne u seksualnom smislu) bračna ljubav koju upoznaješ kroz um walda, invalidnog starca. hanif kureishi piše otvoreno, bez zadrške u mislima i u peru i kroz događaje sjajno predočava likove i njihov čudnovati trokut. duhovito, sarkastično, tragično i uvrnuto.
September 10, 2017
This book is not for everyone. Its Gritty. Vulgar. Honest. Snarky. Edgy. Succinct
Its about Waldo - an old celebrated film maker at the end of his life who thinks his wife Zee is having an affair with on of his acquaintances. He wants to expose and punish them.
I absolutely loved it. The writing is light and easy - but has a swirl of darkness. The insight we gain through the mind of Waldo is challenging and interesting. Waldo is a cantankerous fellow who loves his wife selfishly and to a fault. He - in his own way - shows us what it means to be alive and how the living can be manipulated, used, shocked, hurt and cherished. Waldo is certainly driven and goes through many extremes to manipulate the situation to his own advantage. Those were actually a bit fun to see.
I liked this book because it was different shades of grey. No one is perfect. Thats what makes us human. I think Kureshi as an author does a good job portraying multi-layered characters. Even though the book is hardly 170 pages - we get a good sense of who everyone is and why they are that way. To me, this book is honest. Too honest actually. And that is what makes it so memorable
Its about Waldo - an old celebrated film maker at the end of his life who thinks his wife Zee is having an affair with on of his acquaintances. He wants to expose and punish them.
I absolutely loved it. The writing is light and easy - but has a swirl of darkness. The insight we gain through the mind of Waldo is challenging and interesting. Waldo is a cantankerous fellow who loves his wife selfishly and to a fault. He - in his own way - shows us what it means to be alive and how the living can be manipulated, used, shocked, hurt and cherished. Waldo is certainly driven and goes through many extremes to manipulate the situation to his own advantage. Those were actually a bit fun to see.
I liked this book because it was different shades of grey. No one is perfect. Thats what makes us human. I think Kureshi as an author does a good job portraying multi-layered characters. Even though the book is hardly 170 pages - we get a good sense of who everyone is and why they are that way. To me, this book is honest. Too honest actually. And that is what makes it so memorable
May 19, 2017
A doddering old film auteur on his death bed, imagining his horny wife getting it on while he is confined to a wheelchair, dying … Misogyny, sexism, classism … Hanif Kureishi manages to be as politically incorrect as it is possible to be in about 200 pages. And that is a fucking lot, given he is a noted screenwriter, and knows how to make words count. This has to be one of the funniest, saddest books I have read in a long time. Reading this leaves you feeling randy, unfulfilled, and unloved. It is Hanif Kureishi’s love letter to the human condition. So beguiling, you will laugh out loud. But you will pay for it in tears, at the end. And then, realise, shockingly, that you are still alive. And horny. That is the gift of this extraordinary novel.
February 9, 2019
Triunghi amoros? Doar la nivel declarativ, pentru că aici există un duo bine stabilit (soție-amant) și un soț în ultima perioadă a vieții, invalid, dependent, care are de partea sa doar banii și ceva succes din trecut.
Iubirea dintre soți nu s-a stins, mai ales din partea lui, dar ea are nevoie de un debușeu, de vreme ce au trecut ceva ani de la ultima partidă de sex și vreo 10 de când are grijă de el zi de zi, îmbrăcându-l, spălându-l, dându-i de mâncare și plimbându-l pe la diverse sindrofii.
El află de aventura lor, petrecută chiar în casa în care locuiește și nu poate face altceva decât scenarii de ”recucerire”.
Așadar, să fie un roman despre voyeurism? Să fie despre dragostea ”până la adânci bătrâneți”? Să fie despre fidelitate? Eu aș zice că este un roman slab, despre ”nimic”.
Iubirea dintre soți nu s-a stins, mai ales din partea lui, dar ea are nevoie de un debușeu, de vreme ce au trecut ceva ani de la ultima partidă de sex și vreo 10 de când are grijă de el zi de zi, îmbrăcându-l, spălându-l, dându-i de mâncare și plimbându-l pe la diverse sindrofii.
El află de aventura lor, petrecută chiar în casa în care locuiește și nu poate face altceva decât scenarii de ”recucerire”.
Așadar, să fie un roman despre voyeurism? Să fie despre dragostea ”până la adânci bătrâneți”? Să fie despre fidelitate? Eu aș zice că este un roman slab, despre ”nimic”.
July 6, 2017
The writing was really good - some spectacular turns of phrase - and I liked the premise, but it just seemed to be missing something. Perhaps a point? It felt like a great writer on a bad day.
March 24, 2025
I wish Waldo’s wife had succeeded in smothering him.
July 3, 2025
Ocjena 5 u inat ovoj prosječnoj ocjeni na GR. :)
U Hanifovom stilu, autoironija, crni humor, seksualnost, neizostavno malo i o rasizamu, ali i o prolaznosti života, starosti te smrti... Međutim, ok sve to, ali u ovom romanu je predvidio svoju vlastitu tragediju i stanje u kojem se nalazi poslije nje.
U Hanifovom stilu, autoironija, crni humor, seksualnost, neizostavno malo i o rasizamu, ali i o prolaznosti života, starosti te smrti... Međutim, ok sve to, ali u ovom romanu je predvidio svoju vlastitu tragediju i stanje u kojem se nalazi poslije nje.
July 12, 2017
3.5 stars, I think. It's hard to rate compelling fiction with disagreeable characters.
It's always a pleasure to read Kureishi, and this is shot through with vivid descriptions and black humour on every page. A bawdy, obnoxious, clever novella about a loathsome character, Waldo, a celebrated filmmaker now confined to his home because of illness and advancing age. Waldo will probably balk if you called him a misogynist, but he thinks that "a woman is the ultimate luxury item". His wife describes him, because he's always seeing people through the lens of the camera, as having "savage eyes". That's a great commentary on Waldo's male gaze, but I'm not sure if Kureishi meant it that way.
It's a first person account of a descent into paranoia and sexual jealousy, and I laughed out loud at some points. Despite Waldo going on and on about his former fuckability and good looks, and how ugly people are to be pitied, I only felt sorry for him. The great seducer doth protest too much.
All in all, it's a great character study, but not much more.
Full review appears here: http://www.star2.com/culture/books/bo...
It's always a pleasure to read Kureishi, and this is shot through with vivid descriptions and black humour on every page. A bawdy, obnoxious, clever novella about a loathsome character, Waldo, a celebrated filmmaker now confined to his home because of illness and advancing age. Waldo will probably balk if you called him a misogynist, but he thinks that "a woman is the ultimate luxury item". His wife describes him, because he's always seeing people through the lens of the camera, as having "savage eyes". That's a great commentary on Waldo's male gaze, but I'm not sure if Kureishi meant it that way.
It's a first person account of a descent into paranoia and sexual jealousy, and I laughed out loud at some points. Despite Waldo going on and on about his former fuckability and good looks, and how ugly people are to be pitied, I only felt sorry for him. The great seducer doth protest too much.
All in all, it's a great character study, but not much more.
Full review appears here: http://www.star2.com/culture/books/bo...
March 27, 2017
Hanif Kureishi always makes me smile. I love his writing style, his references, his urban angst, his portrayal of love, intimacy, sexual desire and the frustration they bring. He belongs to this rare category of writers who invite the reader into a dialogue, perhaps because his characters are easily identified, they live among us, either in an over-populated multi-ethnic London or in a big city elsewhere. They face the same problems, the same happiness, even their mishaps are not unusual. They sometimes listen to the music we prefer when we’re sad or watch an old film we liked but have forgotten. This is the world of Hanif Kureishi, and if you live in a big city somewhere, a city you love and hate at the same time, if you have loved and lost and loved again, and your favourite music is rock (no hip hop, please!), then this is your world too.
His latest novel, a small gem of 173 pages, is the story of Waldo, an aged, famous film maker, now retired because of his ill health, who is confined to his London apartment under the care of his much younger wife, Zee. Waldo suspects that his wife is cheating on him, that she has an affair with a middle aged film critic, who pays a visit every day but “he is more an acquaintance, not a friend”, to quote Waldo. So, Waldo sets out to expose the illicit affair and get ready for his revenge.
All the characters are wonderfully drawn, especially Waldo, the sick old man confined to a wheel chair and trapped to his home, while his wife is neglecting him. His frustration and rage is often comical and his revenge is masterfully calculated. Zee however appears more weak, both in spirit and body, and she is easily lured into falling for a younger man. Love will blind her, but that’s what love does, so I admit that her behavior is expected under the circumstances. I wouldn’t want to reveal much about the lover, but that was a well written character with his flaws and his issues. All in all, a wonderful new book by Hanif Kureishi, don’t miss it.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Faber & Faber and Hanif Kureishi for offering a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
His latest novel, a small gem of 173 pages, is the story of Waldo, an aged, famous film maker, now retired because of his ill health, who is confined to his London apartment under the care of his much younger wife, Zee. Waldo suspects that his wife is cheating on him, that she has an affair with a middle aged film critic, who pays a visit every day but “he is more an acquaintance, not a friend”, to quote Waldo. So, Waldo sets out to expose the illicit affair and get ready for his revenge.
All the characters are wonderfully drawn, especially Waldo, the sick old man confined to a wheel chair and trapped to his home, while his wife is neglecting him. His frustration and rage is often comical and his revenge is masterfully calculated. Zee however appears more weak, both in spirit and body, and she is easily lured into falling for a younger man. Love will blind her, but that’s what love does, so I admit that her behavior is expected under the circumstances. I wouldn’t want to reveal much about the lover, but that was a well written character with his flaws and his issues. All in all, a wonderful new book by Hanif Kureishi, don’t miss it.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Faber & Faber and Hanif Kureishi for offering a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
February 11, 2022
Ne znam kome je ovo duhovito i čemu ovolika pompa (mislim na preporuke pozadi). Dosta vulgarno, i to od prve stranice. Moram priznati da je dinamično i da se baš brzo čita, nije uopšte dosadno. Ovo su 2.5 da se razumemo, ali tehnika mi je nepoznanica.
January 3, 2022
I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE ZERO STARS.
disgusting. badly written bc plot was hard to follow and though he tried to make himself sound smart by using big words they didn't flow at all and it just felt wrong to read.
really crude language, bad handling of sensitive themes, overtly sexist and gross. i hated every bit of reading this.
it has taken me so long to finish this book and I heavily debated dropping it but I felt bad because it was only 160 ish pages but by god if you ever see this book just burn it.
disgusting. badly written bc plot was hard to follow and though he tried to make himself sound smart by using big words they didn't flow at all and it just felt wrong to read.
really crude language, bad handling of sensitive themes, overtly sexist and gross. i hated every bit of reading this.
it has taken me so long to finish this book and I heavily debated dropping it but I felt bad because it was only 160 ish pages but by god if you ever see this book just burn it.
December 17, 2025
Bayıldım bayıldım bayıldım! Ortalarına doğru roman düşer gibi oldu ama durumu hemen toparladım, düşen benmişim meğer! Bir kitaptan memnun kalmanın sırrı diye öncelikle 'beklenti kurmamak' gerektiğinin kayıtlara geçilmesini yetkili mercilere teklif etmeye hazırlanıyorum. Yani şu roman yıllardır rafımda yeri değiştirilip duruyor. Niyesi var mı, hakkında olumsuz düşündüğüm için; hastalık romanı gibi duruyor, baksana kapakta tekerlekli sandalye var hele arka kapak yazısındaki ifadeler, adam ölümle yüzleşiyormuş. Kim okur bunu? Deli olmak lazım. Meğer hiç alakası yokmuş. Eğlendim! Yoruma 'dalmadan' önce belirtmeliyim: Romanın orijinal ismi The Nothing, Türkçe 'hiçlik' demekmiş. Bizimkiler romanda geçen bir durumdan cesaretle başlık diye Hiç'i uygun görmüşler. Sağlık olsun! Alışkınız. Ama tabii arada ciddi fark var: İngilizlerin 'dünya görüşü' anlamında tasarladıkları başlığı bizimkiler bir kimlik, bir lakap olarak düşünmüş. Böyle durumlarda soğuk su içmekte fayda vardır! Bayıldım bayıldım da neyine bayıldım romanın? Hanif Kureishi'nin yazım tarzına bayıldım. Nokta atışı ufak cümleler tak tak, bitti! Samimiyetsizlerin odaktan kaçırırcasına yazıyı dallandırıp budaklandırmaları Hiç'te yok, sarhoşlar gibi yanlamasına ilerleyen ifadeler yok, bilmece bulmaca yok. Metin net yani. Her fırsatta yazar çizerim: Türkçe ekonomik bir dildir ve Hiç metni Türkçeye öyle güzel yakışmış ki! Çevirmen Ahmet Ergenç'e saygılarımı sunuyorum. Kureishi boş cümle yazmamış. Boş sayfa romanlarda illa ki olur, Hiç'de yok. Ve paso diyalog; aralarda anlatıcı ihtiyarın iç sesi var sonrası arkası yanı yöresi diyalog! İç ses ve diyaloglardan edepsiz sözler de akıyor tabii. İhtiyar epeyce manyak, ağzı bozuk! Romanın ortamı aile çay bahçesi değil yani! Karakterlere bayıldım. Tekerlekli sandalyeye bağlı yaşantısında kabullenmişlikle, mutlulukla ölümünü beklerken karısının yan odada Eddie'yle sevişirkenki seslerine homurdanıp duran yaşlı yönetmen Waldo'ya bayıldım. "Benim de yaşamam gereken bir hayatım var şekerim" deyip eve dadanan Eddie'yle yan odada aşk yaşayan Hintli eşi Zee'ye bayıldım. Zee'nin aşkından cesaretle evi sahiplenen Waldo'nun iş arkadaşı Eddie'ye bayıldım. Waldo'nun iyilik meleği arkadaşı Anita'ya bayıldım. Eddie'nin kabadayı arkadaşı Gibney'e bayıldım. Sıkı bir dedikoducu olarak Hiç'in dedikodularına hayran kaldım. Öyle böyle değil! Sallama atıp tutma falan yok; araştırmalı belgeli yapıyorlar dedikoduyu. Kalite yani. Hiç'te olay örgüsü falan yok, skandal olay var: İnsanların güzel ve çirkin diye ikiye ayrıldığını ve çirkinlerden de nefret ettiğini her fırsatta söyleyen bir zamanların maestro lakaplı ego budalası yakışıklı yönetmen hasta yatağında azraili beklerken yan odadan aşk sesleri duymaya başlıyor. Karısının kendisini aldattığını düşünüyor. Waldo'da moraller sıfır tabii. Her gece aşk sesleri yayını! Ben bunlara yapacağımı bilirim deyip hasta yatağında intikam planlar yapıyor. Mevzu bu.
December 15, 2021
18+.
Cum se metamorfozeaza un triunghi amoros format din sot, sotie si amant intr-un altfel de triunghi (format din sot, sotie si Dumnezeu) ?
Unii barbati spun ca femeia cauta in permanenta un barbat pe care sa-l urmeze. Atunci cand sotul devine slab si amantul dispare, ce mai ramane?
Cum se metamorfozeaza un triunghi amoros format din sot, sotie si amant intr-un altfel de triunghi (format din sot, sotie si Dumnezeu) ?
Unii barbati spun ca femeia cauta in permanenta un barbat pe care sa-l urmeze. Atunci cand sotul devine slab si amantul dispare, ce mai ramane?
June 24, 2017
this book was, well, i am not sure...i enjoyed it, but it also left me incredibly empty and i am not sure if that was the point.
reading about the main character's descent into paranoia and the effects is has made me feel on edge. and his resulting protective feelings i mostly took as selfishness and it became a narrative about control, how we exert it and want to continue to exert it even when we will not be around long enough to see the effects. but the exertion of that control became all-consuming in the main character, and that i felt sad for.
i do not need to find books uplifting to like them, and i did, i will say, have an experience reading this book. i definitely do not feel uplifted, but i do feel like a read an intense and truthful character study. and i will leave it at that.
reading about the main character's descent into paranoia and the effects is has made me feel on edge. and his resulting protective feelings i mostly took as selfishness and it became a narrative about control, how we exert it and want to continue to exert it even when we will not be around long enough to see the effects. but the exertion of that control became all-consuming in the main character, and that i felt sad for.
i do not need to find books uplifting to like them, and i did, i will say, have an experience reading this book. i definitely do not feel uplifted, but i do feel like a read an intense and truthful character study. and i will leave it at that.
January 30, 2022
✒️ Nu știu ce să spun despre această carte, dar o pot considera una din cele două dezamăgiri ale acestei luni. Cu Hanif Kureishi m-am mai întâlnit în perioada licenței, prin intermediul cărții "Darul lui Gabriel", așa că nu aveam așa mari așteptări de la ea. Totuși, nu mă gândeam că o să mă dezamăgească atât de tare încât să îi dau, cu indulgență, nota 2,5. ⭐️
✒️ Am avut și câteva aspecte pe care le-am apreciat la ea, dar au fost foarte puține. Mi-a plăcut umorul diabolic al autorului, fiind printre puținele cărți pe care le-am citit de acest fel, dar până la un moment dat. Apoi, am simțit că este prea mult și a devenit deranjant pentru mine. 🤦♀️
✒️ Nu am simțit că are acel ceva care să mă facă să zic că "vai, ce carte faină!". Am cam tras de mine să o termin, deci nu știu dacă să vă zic să o încercați sau nu. Povestea a fost mult prea simplă și întâlnită peste tot. Nu a adus ceva nou, surprinzător. 🥺
✒️ Legat de aspect, mie mi-a plăcut mult coperta. Datorită ei am cumpărat cartea. O pot considera o copertă simplistă, dar totodată elegantă. Culorile au reușit să se îmbine și s-a creat un aspect vizual plăcut.
✒️ Am avut și câteva aspecte pe care le-am apreciat la ea, dar au fost foarte puține. Mi-a plăcut umorul diabolic al autorului, fiind printre puținele cărți pe care le-am citit de acest fel, dar până la un moment dat. Apoi, am simțit că este prea mult și a devenit deranjant pentru mine. 🤦♀️
✒️ Nu am simțit că are acel ceva care să mă facă să zic că "vai, ce carte faină!". Am cam tras de mine să o termin, deci nu știu dacă să vă zic să o încercați sau nu. Povestea a fost mult prea simplă și întâlnită peste tot. Nu a adus ceva nou, surprinzător. 🥺
✒️ Legat de aspect, mie mi-a plăcut mult coperta. Datorită ei am cumpărat cartea. O pot considera o copertă simplistă, dar totodată elegantă. Culorile au reușit să se îmbine și s-a creat un aspect vizual plăcut.
April 10, 2019
Haleluja. Vítejte v myšlenkovém brojleru. Tentokrát se podíváme na zoubky Hanifa Kureishiho (česká výslovnost Arnošt Angrešt). Vůbec nic je o tom, jak se starej páprda na vozíčku doslechne z vedlejší místnosti, že mu mladý hřebec drandí jeho legální buchtičku, aka manželku. hešteg #hororskopičiny, to nechceš kemo. Rozehraje se tedy myšlenkové Rychle a zfunile, ve kterém se děda posouvá po bytě a nahrává na svůj iPad všechny vzdechy co zaslechne, přičemž jen nadává a sleduje, jak si mladý hřebec kromě važíny přivlastňuje i jeho boty, pásek, vatu a další fíčurety. Naštěstí má nedobrovolný cyklista aka vozíčkář, za lubem a vymyslí pořádnou odvetu.
Arnošt Angrešt píše velmi svižně, dialogy vodsejpají a sem tam se hodí i nějakej příjemnej bonmot o životě (Nachčiju ti do pusy a tvojí hlavou si vytřu prdel), ale ve finále jde jen o slabomyslnou povídku o tom, jak se jeden dědula nedokáže smířit s tím, že jsou na světě vždy dvě auta na jedno parkovací místo. No bože.
6,5/10
Arnošt Angrešt píše velmi svižně, dialogy vodsejpají a sem tam se hodí i nějakej příjemnej bonmot o životě (Nachčiju ti do pusy a tvojí hlavou si vytřu prdel), ale ve finále jde jen o slabomyslnou povídku o tom, jak se jeden dědula nedokáže smířit s tím, že jsou na světě vždy dvě auta na jedno parkovací místo. No bože.
6,5/10
February 26, 2019
https://vanatoaredelicurici.blogspot....
Romanul este confesiunea lui Waldo, o mărturisire frustră, caustică, scabroasă, pe alocuri scatologică. Waldo, impotent frustrat și furios, privește lumea cu margini strânse în jurul său nu doar prin fanta strâmtă a propriilor nevoi, ci și prin obiectivul camerelor de filmat pe care le amplasează în apartament. Și reușește din neclintirea lui să-i transforme pe cei din jur în actori ai propriilor scenarii, jucându-le feste, manipulându-i și amuzându-se pe seama lor. E o victimă sadică, dar și un figurant care se estompează în propriul film, așa cum singur realizează.
Romanul este confesiunea lui Waldo, o mărturisire frustră, caustică, scabroasă, pe alocuri scatologică. Waldo, impotent frustrat și furios, privește lumea cu margini strânse în jurul său nu doar prin fanta strâmtă a propriilor nevoi, ci și prin obiectivul camerelor de filmat pe care le amplasează în apartament. Și reușește din neclintirea lui să-i transforme pe cei din jur în actori ai propriilor scenarii, jucându-le feste, manipulându-i și amuzându-se pe seama lor. E o victimă sadică, dar și un figurant care se estompează în propriul film, așa cum singur realizează.
February 7, 2019
dezamagitor, poate cea mai slaba povestioara a lui Kureishi.
January 22, 2019
It's raw and caustic; seems like the (intentional) rambling of a derelict at times and sometimes as the observations of a bitter old man. It reads more like a play than a novel, especially with some wayward and surreal elements when it comes to language and the imagination.
May 5, 2021
Surely one of our most underrated contemporary novelists?
No matter what subject matter he turns his hand to, Hanif Kureishi never fails to engage, entertain, challenge, disturb, shock and question. This time, it's old age and impending death which is the main track that he follows, though plenty of others get air time along the way.
Our main protagonist is a dying filmmaker, suffering the indignities of his much younger wife carrying on with one of his protegees under his nose whilst he is physically unable to do anything about it. Instead, what we get is his mental response to it all.
It's visceral in its dissection of old age, death and dying, but it has soul and positivity and redemption at it's core. It was a short novel anyway, but despite the fairly grave topic matter, it read even shorter, as not a word was wasted, and not an emotion was spared.
Yes, I really, really enjoyed this book!
No matter what subject matter he turns his hand to, Hanif Kureishi never fails to engage, entertain, challenge, disturb, shock and question. This time, it's old age and impending death which is the main track that he follows, though plenty of others get air time along the way.
Our main protagonist is a dying filmmaker, suffering the indignities of his much younger wife carrying on with one of his protegees under his nose whilst he is physically unable to do anything about it. Instead, what we get is his mental response to it all.
It's visceral in its dissection of old age, death and dying, but it has soul and positivity and redemption at it's core. It was a short novel anyway, but despite the fairly grave topic matter, it read even shorter, as not a word was wasted, and not an emotion was spared.
Yes, I really, really enjoyed this book!
March 1, 2022
I enjoyed this. I can understand that it’s not for everything. It’s gritty and vulgar, it’s honest and snarky. It’s clear. Straight to the point. No bullshitting. This basically a story about revenge. It’s about Waldo, who is old and at the end of his life, with some terrible illness. He is a celebrated film maker and suspects his wife Zee is having an affair with an acquaintance of his. He plans to expose and punish them. The writing is great, it had me laughing out loud, the quote at the bottom is one. In just under 200 pages, there is a lot that goes on, but it’s also sad. There is a sense of loneliness, of love unfulfilled, it’s a note on the human condition. I enjoyed this.
‘One night, when I am old, sick, right out of semen, and don't need things to get any worse, I hear the noises growing louder. I am sure they are making love in Zenab's bedroom which is next to mine.’
‘One night, when I am old, sick, right out of semen, and don't need things to get any worse, I hear the noises growing louder. I am sure they are making love in Zenab's bedroom which is next to mine.’
November 13, 2019
Průměrný průměr. Pan Karel je velmi starý, je na vozíčku a nejmenuje se Karel. A taky je tak trochu zelenina. A je bohatej! Protože byl za mlada režisér, nebo producent nebo něco takovýho.
A jelikož je zelenina a není teda úplně okurka, začne si jeho o dvacet let mladší manželka domu vodit Jaroslava, aby se ji staral o zahradu. No a Karel je pozoruje, nahrává si je na iPad a plánuje a provede odvetu. Ale ta odveta byla stejně napínavá, jako když zápas doma skončí 7:1.
5/10. Naskledanou.
A jelikož je zelenina a není teda úplně okurka, začne si jeho o dvacet let mladší manželka domu vodit Jaroslava, aby se ji staral o zahradu. No a Karel je pozoruje, nahrává si je na iPad a plánuje a provede odvetu. Ale ta odveta byla stejně napínavá, jako když zápas doma skončí 7:1.
5/10. Naskledanou.
May 20, 2017
I'll need to sit and think about this book over time. Like a Bret Easton Ellis novel with more distance might come more admiration. But right now I just feel somewhat disturbed. The guy can write but I need a shower to wash these people away.
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