From the blurb I was greatly enthused about this book. I think the premise of the narrator being a wedding photographer and having secrets that threaten to come out is a good one. However, it falls flat in that the wedding photography really doesn't have any relation to anything, or to the secret. The secret, too, is absolutely disappointing and is not something I felt I could relate to or understand, even with the author's careful coaxing. There is also a lot that happens in this book - it takes place over an entire lifetime, as opposed to just one incident or phase, and that seems to stretch it out in a way that is a bit unappealing. The writing itself was quite pleasant and readable, but I felt it was let down by the subject matter. This book definitely went into some taboo topics I had no idea I would be reading about when I picked up the book. But even so, it was a good read in the end. The book reads like a fictional autobiography with the main character, Dominic Kitchen recounting most of his life from childhood, eventually stopping at his daughter's wedding. This book was not great in the sense that none of the characters were characters you would adore or love and I didn't take to any of them at all. But perhaps that was what made it real, they had real problems, real insecurities, and real flaws. The writing was also really fluid but I feel it might not have been a good thing as I would suddenly realise Dominic was talking about his troubles with a teenage daughter when I was still under the impression that his daughter was still and infant. In that way, the writing was too fluid, if there was such a thing. The knot the title of the book superficially refers to the knot that is tied at weddings, as Dominic is a wedding photographer by profession. However, the book does not touch on that aspect a lot which was a bit disappointing as I picked up the book expecting some juxtaposition between the bliss of weddings and Dominic's own less-than-blissful life, or something along those lines. The knot the book eventually addressed refers to the feelings Dominic had for his sister, Victoria. (yup, there's the taboo topic) That issue was resolved rather awkwardly actually, in my opinion. I feel the real point of the book isn't really about whichever knot the title was referring to. It was really about Dominic being "larger than life" finally at his daughter's wedding with the decision he chose to make. One seems to get the ssense, throughout the book, that Dominic seemed to be somebody floating along with the current of life. Whatever he had, be it his job, his wife, even his relationship with his sister, were things that he got lucky with under the right circumstances, but they weren't things he consciously wanted at any point or fought for. Only finally at his daughter's wedding did he finally dictate the currents of his life, and that seems to be the real point of the book for me.
What do You think about Überlebensgroß (2012)?
Would probably go for 3.5 stars than 4 but feeling generous. Some nice passages and kept me reading.
—wolvesblood08
Irgendwie hatte ich mir davon mehr versprochen.
—Elizabeth
Doesn't work at all. Jars, jolts and dismays
—garnetto
