I have spent my summer furiously and rapidly reading a spate of excellent books, and this was my favorite. This was one that I had seen prominently displayed at the public library's randomly chosen display of "Paperback fun!". I actually felt guilty when I checked it out (because the cover is emblazoned with "BY THE AUTHOR OF GIRL INTERRUPTED" - a book that I didn't read that was made into an imperfect movie that I assumed was written and consumed by the type of person who glamorizes pretty girls suffering). Additionally, I felt burdened, because I knew that the protagonist was male and boring, and that the subject was, to me, male and boring. A novel about a boring male protagonist (self-hating anthropology grad student) plumbing a boring male culture (scandinavian sea-bound community) written by a female who sexualizes female suffering? It was with a heavy heart that I cracked the spine . . .I WAS WRONG! I was fascinated by the strong sense of place and local community, seen through the eyes and ideas of an observant, hesitant, and self-loathing outsider. I identified totally - and self-loathingly- with the by turns lethargic, inspired, savvy, moronic, impulsive, over-considered protagonist. I loved the novel's occasional lyrical interludes and omnipresent sense of humor and irony.Read it now!My favorite part was the odd comparison drawn between the habits of puffins raising their young and the habits of overly academic young professors raising their young :).love,J
Makes you feel like you're actually living in the Faroe Islands. The type of book that has you spending as much time researching the places and ideas you're reading about as you do actually reading. Also, it showed up in my dreams, which is the ultimate nod to its captivating effect on my consciousness. The writing is the best kind, the kind that makes you forget it's writing. Though it did include many words that were over my head, they were included in such a way that made it possible to get the gist of the situation without having to know the meaning of the word -thus allowing lazies like myself to just skim over the hard ones. Does that mean the writing is less or more effective? I don't know, perhaps if the words made you WANT to find out their meaning and had you scrambling for a dictionary, it would be the MOST effective writing. Either way, it's effective enough, and I give it a 4. Good vibes.
What do You think about Far Afield (1994)?
Not a bad book at all. There were some parts that I had to skim due to the fact that it was so much useless details that had nothing to do with the overall story, but that is just my personal distaste, I'm sure others enjoy tremendous amounts of details in their stories, with me, I am content knowing that there is a green hill and a man on the top of it, not that there is a single red flower with red ants, their antlers holding on to a single green leaf, etc.I recommend this book to be read, because it was a nice story about a man who came into this strange land (an Anthropologist) to study the Faroe human behavior and cultures, and he was at first upset that he did not fit in, but he then figured out and realized that it is like any other place but just smaller. In the end he was sad to leave but alas he was not meant to be there.Memory is strong factor in this book. I enjoyed it.
—Elica
