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Bezig met laden... Hark (editie 2019)door Sam Lipsyte (Auteur)
Informatie over het werkHark door Sam Lipsyte
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Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. Hark is the name of a new age guru who preaches mental archery to corporate groups, a motivational speaker which a message about how focusing can change your life. He is charismatic enough but his popularity seems to be in spite of his own belief in himself. He has an entourage of friends/promoters who set up gigs and update his main website. The main one, Fraz, is your typical Lipsyte character, "underemployed, middle-aged New York Jewish protagonists with abandoned artistic dreams, cheating wives and snack-food obsessions."(NYT) I enjoyed the writing and the ideas especially in the first half of the novel. The banter and irony remind me of Joseph Heller. This novel is like a Catch 22 of slightly distant future. However, I feel like the ending meandered into too many arteries: world at war, the president dead, -still funny but it's vision a bit frayed. But, like I said, sometimes a good observation about the inane direction of the world made the reading worth it. I have read a few books by Sam Lypsyte. He is a very talented satirical writer with funny and keen observations about our culture etc. Hark is about a guru and those that follow him. It is a good send off on all of the various issues that are going on in our world. The plot is all over the place but what makes this a worthwhile read is the high level of the writing. Lypsyte is very creative and funny. I can read him just for his hilarious and creative prose. If you have never read him before then I suggest you start with his novel "The Ask". If you enjoy that then you will like all of his stuff. ‘He came to us and was golden-y.’ I really wanted to love this book, and for the opening pages I felt that I would. With a hint of Douglas Coupland, I felt we were in zeitgeist territory, a satire for our time, casting a super-critical eye on beliefs, religion, big business, the internet, and health-food cafes…. The story of Hark Morner, a stand-up comedian turned guru (or messiah) who may or may not actually believe in anything he says. However, he is surrounded by his disciples of Harkism, who espouse the idea of Mental Archery – part mysticism, part yoga, part mindfulness, part archery – mostly to fill the spaces in their empty, sad lives. In the background, incidental to the plot but saying everything about the inanity of modern America, a major war rages in Europe involving American forces. But, I’m afraid to say the book got away from me. The characters didn’t really involve me, and the relentless negativity of the satire actually started to wear me down (OK, yes I know what satire is supposed to do, but this felt like overkill). The plot took a pretty obvious course, too, and the book seemed to veer more into a religious satire than anything else, challenging along the way any actual belief system that happened to wander past. Some of the writing was genuinely funny, but the book just seemed to run out of steam. I’ve tried to avoid spoilers so I won’t focus on particular moments, but what springs to mind is one of Hark’s own thoughts from the book: ‘there isn’t a message.’ A nice idea, and I can see why some might find it a searing satire on modern-day society. For me, not so much. A less scattergun approach may have worked better. Because some of the writing was actually very good, and for the moments of genuine comedy, I give it 3 stars. geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
A social satire of the highest order from bestselling author Sam Lipsyte, centered around an unwitting mindfulness guru and the phenomenon he initiates. In an America convulsed by political upheaval, cultural discord, environmental catastrophe, and spiritual confusion, so many of us find ourselves anxious and distracted, searching desperately for peace, salvation, and-perhaps most immediately-just a little damn focus. Enter Hark Morner, a failed stand-up comic turned mindfulness guru whose revolutionary program is set to captivate the masses. But for Fraz and Tovah, a middle-aged couple slogging through a very rough patch, it may take more than the tenets of Hark's "Mental Archery" to solve the riddles of love, lust, work, and parenthood on the eve of civilizational collapse. And given the sudden power of certain fringe players, including a renegade Ivy League ethicist, a gentle Swedish kidnapper, a social media tycoon with an empire on the skids, and a mysteriously influential (but undeniably slimy) catfish, it just might be too late. But what's the point of a world, even a blasted-out post-apocalyptic world, if they don't try with all their might to keep their marriage alive? Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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There are some truly funny moments in this book, especially in the dialogue. Truth be told, I'm probably not the very best audience for satire (I really couldn't bear The Sellout and that won the Man Booker), but this book amused me in a Monty Pythonesque way. If you like black humor and a sarcastic edge to your entertainments, it is definitely worth giving a try. ( )