I simply could not get into this book. I think it was one of those cases where the protagonist is so lacking in appeal or empathy that you do not get interested in him, and thus don’t care about anything that happens. I had to force myself to finish this and, if the book wasn’t so brief, I would not have bothered. ( )

3.5 stars (may change after thinking about this for awhile).

This book looks at post-WW2 Netherlands, and the different types of men who are capable of surviving in this new world. As this was published in 1980, I wonder if there are some specifics about post-WW2 Europe/Netherlands in particular that would help be better understand the context of the novel. In particular--what was so different about the "before" that made strict men struggle? Was it urbanization? The TV/news bombardment? PTSD? Paperwork amounts? Or simply life not as a farmer (or perhaps landlord for these men) pre-tractors and industrial fertilizers, where your days and years were to the rhythm of nature?

We meet Inni (Inigo) Wintrop in 1963, 1953, and 1973. In 1963 at age 30, he attempts suicide when his wife leaves him--but he fails. Because Inni is a dabbler. He goes through life, with a small income, and does what he wants, travels as he wants, does some buying and selling of prints. In 1953 he met Arnold Taads--a man unable to exist in the modern world, he kept his life on a very strict timeline day-to-day and year-to-year. He could manage his life in this strict system. He already knew how he would die, but not when. Inni found Taads fascinating and liked him, though he was odd. In 1973, Inni meets Philip Taads, the man Arnold abandoned as a child, whom Inni did not knew existed. Inni can see so many strange parallels between the two men, though the son never really knew his father. And though Philip is not so strict on time as his father, he has his own obsessions and struggles with modern life. ( )

I didn't find this 1001 book an easy read, though it is short, and there were many phrases and observations that were original and well-put. The first part introduces the main character, Inni, in 1963, contemplating suicide as his wife Zita leaves him. In the second part, set in 1953, Inni meets Arnold Taads, an older man who is obsessed with time and keeping to schedules, and who will play an important part in his life, at least for a short while. There is much discussion of Catholicism, and you might even call this part "Losing My Religion." In the final part, set in 1973, Inni meets Phillip Taads, the estranged half-Indonesian son of Arnold. Phillip covets, but cannot afford antique Japanes roku pottery. There is a lot of discussion of art collecting, which I found interesting, as well as discussion of Eastern religions and other beliefs and "rituals," including yoga and the tea ceremony (also interesting).

I'm glad I read this, but it was not a book that called to me when I wasn't reading it.

3 stars ( )

Jesus, all I do is think about books, films and those elections I read about in the Guardian and Economist. I think about Rituals often, it must be radical. I know. Maybe I should admit my affectation for espresso and the Premier League. ( )

The story follows Inni Wintrop as he wanders through life looking for Meaning (in the absence of a god) and encounters father and son, one of whom has adopted time as his savior and the other for whom Zen-like rituals lets him escape time. This has numerous interesting thoughts and ideas about life and being and the writing is of very high quality. It wasn’t, however, a particularly enjoyable read for me as the characters are ideas rather than people and I had had an easier time had this been a straight-forward philosophical essay. If you’re into Existential or Post-Modern literature, it will most likely be a better read for you than it was for me. ( )