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The Hummingbird Saint
paperback, fine (as new)
526 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 16, 2017
Ein reicher Amerikaner hat sich in einem kleinen Städtchen in einem armen mittelamerikanischen Land niedergelassen. Er hat einen Moralkodex entworfen und will diese Stadt dazu erziehen, danach zu leben und eine Art Utopia zu bilden.
Außerdem bietet er jedem, der es möchte, an, dessen wohltätige Zwecke großzügig zu sponsern.
Das Buch erzählt die Geschichte von drei Leuten, die gerne etwas von diesem Geld abhaben möchten, allerdings ohne irgendwelche wohltätigen Zwecke im Sinn zu haben. Aber es wäre doch schade, dieser Gans, die danach schreit, gerupft zu werden, nicht den Gefallen zu tun ... die drei (eignetlich vier, denn die Frau reist mit einem Mann, den sie als ihren Ehemann ausgibt) treffen sich während der Anreise und kommen schließlich alle in dem Städtchen Miraflores an. Als sie schließlich auf den Gönner der Menschheit treffen, stellt sich heraus, daß dieser keineswegs naiv ist, jedenfalls nicht so, wie sie dachten.
Diese Geschichte ist gut, aber sie ist nicht das Kernthema des Buches. Das eigentliche Thema ist der Kodex selbst und die Fragen, die seine Anwendung zur Moral aufwerfen. Was ist gut, was ist böse? Sind böse Taten gegen Individuen zum Wohle der Allgemeinheit akzeptabel? Welche Werte stehen höher als andere? Welche Taten werden durch ihre Ziele gerechtfertigt, und sind gute Taten auch dann gut, wenn sie aus niederen Motiven begangen werden? Diese und diverse andere Fragen zum großen Themenkomplex Moral werden hier behandelt.
Es gibt keine konkrete Antwort auf viele Fragen, eher wird gezeigt, daß es meist keine absoluten Antworten gibt und gut und böse keineswegs klar definierte Gegenpole sind.
Ein wirklich gutes Buch, daß die interessanten Fragen in eine spannende Story verpackt.
Außerdem bietet er jedem, der es möchte, an, dessen wohltätige Zwecke großzügig zu sponsern.
Das Buch erzählt die Geschichte von drei Leuten, die gerne etwas von diesem Geld abhaben möchten, allerdings ohne irgendwelche wohltätigen Zwecke im Sinn zu haben. Aber es wäre doch schade, dieser Gans, die danach schreit, gerupft zu werden, nicht den Gefallen zu tun ... die drei (eignetlich vier, denn die Frau reist mit einem Mann, den sie als ihren Ehemann ausgibt) treffen sich während der Anreise und kommen schließlich alle in dem Städtchen Miraflores an. Als sie schließlich auf den Gönner der Menschheit treffen, stellt sich heraus, daß dieser keineswegs naiv ist, jedenfalls nicht so, wie sie dachten.
Diese Geschichte ist gut, aber sie ist nicht das Kernthema des Buches. Das eigentliche Thema ist der Kodex selbst und die Fragen, die seine Anwendung zur Moral aufwerfen. Was ist gut, was ist böse? Sind böse Taten gegen Individuen zum Wohle der Allgemeinheit akzeptabel? Welche Werte stehen höher als andere? Welche Taten werden durch ihre Ziele gerechtfertigt, und sind gute Taten auch dann gut, wenn sie aus niederen Motiven begangen werden? Diese und diverse andere Fragen zum großen Themenkomplex Moral werden hier behandelt.
Es gibt keine konkrete Antwort auf viele Fragen, eher wird gezeigt, daß es meist keine absoluten Antworten gibt und gut und böse keineswegs klar definierte Gegenpole sind.
Ein wirklich gutes Buch, daß die interessanten Fragen in eine spannende Story verpackt.
May 16, 2011
I was quite surprised by the amount of depth and the variety of powerful themes found in The Hummingbird Saint (from the corrosive insanity of war to the disturbing greedy shallowness of life in the Western world to the inevitable clash between idealism and pragmatism that occurs as people struggle to finding meaning in an imperfect world). Mark Weston (the first-person narrator) conveyed an interesting blend of bleak cynicism, tender compassion and spirited determination made the novel mature, authentic and unusually perceptive of the human experience (for a thriller anyway). The stark contrast between idealism (Hoppner’s decaying social laboratory of a village) and harsh reality (the corrupt Banana Republic regime) gave me much political and philosophical food for thought and illustrated the dangers of large-scale social engineering. The characters (Mark, Freddy, Hoppner, Leonard and Alice) were well developed and fully rounded characters. The dialogue was well crafted and the action scenes were vividly exciting. I also enjoyed the descriptive, exotic and varied settings (from lush jungles to arid plains to decaying urban environments). The Hummingbird Saint was a dark, intense and incredibly intelligent thriller which I would highly recommend.
January 16, 2020
4,5/5
April 4, 2009
I have to say, I was quite disappointed with this book. As an armchair philosopher of the worst kind, I usually love popular fiction with a healthy dose of popular philosophy, something that makes me put the book down in the middle of a chapter in order to think about what was just said or done by the characters in order to come to my own conclusions about whatever particularly interesting problem that had just been presented. But the ideas that provide the motor for the action of this book and the conversations of the characters about them are so shallow that I only ever felt the need to put the book down when I got bored with it.
But the copy I have doesn't bill itself as a philosophical book in any way, the reviewers do, and so the far greater shortcoming of the Hummingbird Saint is that it is simply a bad story. The skeleton of the idea is promising enough, but it's developed clumsily through the actions of two-dimensional characters and their unrealistic conversations. And some of the plot points that buttress the rest of the story - for example, that the main character, Mark, has run away from his girlfriend and newborn son because in the mists of his childhood memories, there is a vague recollection of a little boy huddled under a jacket in the backseat of a car. Without any further context, Mark takes this to mean that at some point, as young child, he mortally terrorized this poor kid and must therefore have an otherwise completely unattested evil streak in regard to children, and must therefore abandon his family.
Weak.
I don't think it would have taken too much more thought on the part of the author to concoct a better reason for Mark to undertake the journey that this book recounts. But, as with all the rest of the (and by the way, thoroughly unlikeable in their two-dimensionalness) characters, the plot as a whole, and the threadbare philosophy that underpins it, Macdonald seems content with half-measures in an un(or at least ill-)contemplated work.
But the copy I have doesn't bill itself as a philosophical book in any way, the reviewers do, and so the far greater shortcoming of the Hummingbird Saint is that it is simply a bad story. The skeleton of the idea is promising enough, but it's developed clumsily through the actions of two-dimensional characters and their unrealistic conversations. And some of the plot points that buttress the rest of the story - for example, that the main character, Mark, has run away from his girlfriend and newborn son because in the mists of his childhood memories, there is a vague recollection of a little boy huddled under a jacket in the backseat of a car. Without any further context, Mark takes this to mean that at some point, as young child, he mortally terrorized this poor kid and must therefore have an otherwise completely unattested evil streak in regard to children, and must therefore abandon his family.
Weak.
I don't think it would have taken too much more thought on the part of the author to concoct a better reason for Mark to undertake the journey that this book recounts. But, as with all the rest of the (and by the way, thoroughly unlikeable in their two-dimensionalness) characters, the plot as a whole, and the threadbare philosophy that underpins it, Macdonald seems content with half-measures in an un(or at least ill-)contemplated work.
January 13, 2011
I picked this up for £1.63 at ASDA, which works out around a 3rd of a pence a page so didn't have very high expectations for it. I was actually pleasantly surprised, while it's not the greatest piece of literature ever it was very entertaining and quite gripping. The book is aiming to discuss virtue and goodness and I'm not sure it feels that it really achieves that but that doesn't stop it being an enjoyable tale.
September 9, 2013
I tried, really I did. The jacket made the story sound so good. But this was plagued by an unbelievable plot, idiotic and unidentifiable characters, improbable events and while suggesting some action, almost no action. Pass on this one.
February 24, 2008
Wow! Great Great book, makes you sit down and think, highly recommended
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews