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Sto caricando le informazioni... Oval: A Novel (originale 2019; edizione 2019)di Elvia Wilk (Autore)
Informazioni sull'operaOval di Elvia Wilk (2019)
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Iscriviti per consentire a LibraryThing di scoprire se ti piacerà questo libro. Attualmente non vi sono conversazioni su questo libro. https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/oval-by-elvia-wilk-brief-note/ Interesting exploration of green lifestyle and consciousness-altering pharmaceuticals. I do love Berlin as a city and it’s nice to see something set there. The subject seemed compelling, and with blurbs by Jeff VanderMeer and Tom McCarthy, the book seemed promising, but it was a disappointment. Wilk has some neat ideas, and she writes of things that reminded me of works by both VanderMeer and McCarthy that I admired, but ultimately, so much of the book was just dull recounting of dud relationships. It doesn't begin to be especially enjoyable until near the end, and then it stops. Anja, a scientist from a privileged cosmopolitan background and her boyfriend Louis, an American who works for a ubiquitous non-profit are personified versions neo-liberalism in the futuristic novel Oval. Elvia Wilk describes a near-future Berlin in which the young couple agrees to live in an experimental eco-colony called the Berg. The Berg is a constructed mountain that has been placed on a former airfield by a company that is ostensibly dedicated to developing innovative and rigorously sustainable living solutions. In return for a home built of wholly organic and self-maintaining materials, residents must agree to follow stringent rules and be captured on continuous video. It becomes apparent that the company subsidizing the project, Finster Corp., is actually a shadowy bureaucracy with potentially sinister motives despite its claims. Life on the Berg is also rife with issues, as promises for improvements go unfulfilled, and the vacillating microclimates there create an environment that is “untenable” in the truest sense. Anya and Louis are also having troubles within their relationship, and Anya suspects that Louis has been deeply changed by the recent death of his mother. She also is disturbed by the mysterious way she and her lab partner (both under the employ of Finster) have been reassigned as ambiguous “consultants,” just when they were approaching a breakthrough. Louis’ work also seems to be taking a strange course as he becomes increasingly obsessed with a new drug he is helping to develop. Partying and drug experimentation are sanctioned and even encouraged in this Berlin of Wilk’s imagining. In fact, social connections are monetized and material success can be attained through a system of interpersonal bartering. Oval is a dystopic vision of “leftism” taken too far and a condemnation of political and commercial structures that seek to manipulate and pervert good intentions. Efforts to promote equality become mutated into selfish patronization and mindless philanthropy, serving to distract from the creeping expansion of a monopolizing entity. Wilk’s book is odd and difficult to navigate when it veers into Anya’s more philosophical musings. The second half also introduces science fiction elements that stretch credulity, particularly since the rest of the setting mirrors existing reality so closely. Still, the short novel contains are some interesting and timely topics portrayed in a unique manner that makes this indie release well worth a look. Thanks to the author, Soft Skull Press for post-release copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. nessuna recensione | aggiungi una recensione
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"In the near future, Berlin's real estate is being flipped in the name of "sustainability," only to make the city even more unaffordable; artists are employed by corporations as consultants; and the weather is acting strange. In search of affordable housing, young couple Anja and Louis move into a community on an artificial mountain, The Berg--yet another "eco-friendly" initiative run by a corporation called Finster. They're offered a home rent-free in exchange for keeping quiet about the seriously malfunctioning infrastructure of the experimental house. But when Louis returns home from his mother's funeral in America, Anja is convinced he has changed. He seems to be in denial of his grief and newly idealistic, consumed by a secret project at the NGO where he works as an artist-consultant. Anja is horrified when she discovers what Louis has invented: a pill called Oval that temporarily rewires the user's brain to be more generous. Louis is convinced that if he can introduce the drug into the Berlin club scene, he can finally remedy the income disparity that has made Berlin so unlivable. Oval is a fascinating portrait of the unbalanced relationships that shape our world, as well as a prescient warning of what the future may hold"-- Non sono state trovate descrizioni di biblioteche |
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Google Books — Sto caricando le informazioni... GeneriSistema Decimale Melvil (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyClassificazione LCVotoMedia:
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This New Yorker review is the best thing you might read about the novel:
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/in-elvia-wilks-oval-earth-capitalism... ( )