Sunday, May 10, 2009

Kindly disposed so far ...

... to The Kindly Ones: Littel’s big book may be a masterpiece.

Michiko Kakutani was not alone in her dislike of this book, however. Ruth Franklin, in the New Republic, had this to say about it:A review cannot convey how deeply unpleasant the experience of reading The Kindly Ones is. This is one of the most repugnant books I have ever read. Some may put aside its philosophical and aesthetic confusions, and take its utterly persuasive evocation of depravity as a sign of achievement. But if getting under the skin of a murderer were sufficient to produce a masterpiece, then Thomas Harris would be Tolstoy.

Franklin's complete review is here.

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