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Erik Hoel

Autore di The Revelations: A Novel

5 opere 55 membri 2 recensioni

Opere di Erik Hoel

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Recensioni

A fascinating novel about a scientist who becomes preoccupied with the limits of science to answer a simple question: what is consciousness? Reminiscent in some ways of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, the author’s expertise shows through in the discussion of this issue, which is explored thoroughly but never resolved. The core of the story is the irascible, frustrated genius of a narrator, whose conflicts with his fellow scientists make for fascinating reading. The author’s vocabulary is brobdingnagian, but sometimes the surreal aspects became overwhelming. On the whole, a fascinating read which I hope will not be this author’s last.… (altro)
½
 
Segnalato
Audacity88 | 1 altra recensione | Jan 19, 2023 |
The Revelations by Erik Hoel is, for me, almost like two different books. Unfortunately, they were not both equally compelling.

Strictly as a novel, by which I mean what propels the story and the way in which Hoel writes and develops the plot, I was less impressed. Well short of disliking but still a little disappointed. Part of it is likely that I just didn't care for his writing style, which is much more about the dynamics between author and reader than about the quality. One area that I just couldn't get past was the way I seemed to feel like I was being manipulated into feeling a certain way about characters. I understand that writing a novel is, in part, manipulating the reader into seeing some characters certain ways. But some degree of subtlety would be nice.

The part of the book I enjoyed had less to do with the story (though also a vital aspect of the story), namely the ideas surrounding consciousness, what it is to be human, to be a subject, indeed to what extent we remain an independent subject as we interact more and more with technology. Part of this chain of thinking is likely because I am also reading Slavoj Zizek's Hegel in a Wired Brain, so I am taking the ideas Hoel presents as part of this novel and running with it.

I hope your main takeaway from my comments about the thought-provoking aspect of the book isn't that Hoel is making all of the connections I am making but that he offers, within the frame of the story, information that will and should make the reader ponder things beyond the story. The direction your thoughts go will likely be different from mine based on your interests and past or present reading.

While I have mixed feelings about the novel as a whole, I would still recommend it to readers who like a story with quite a few think pieces, for lack of a better term, scattered throughout. I also think that plenty of readers will have a more positive reaction to Hoel's style than I do.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
… (altro)
½
 
Segnalato
pomo58 | 1 altra recensione | May 26, 2020 |

Liste

Statistiche

Opere
5
Utenti
55
Popolarità
#295,340
Voto
½ 3.3
Recensioni
2
ISBN
9

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