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Loading... The Crime of Olga Arbyelina (1998)by Andreï Makine
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. The time is 1947. Olga Arbyelina is a Russian emigre living in a small town outside of Paris. She is reputed to be of royal blood, a rumor supported by the fact that her son is hemopheliac. Makine's prose is characteristically lyrical--dreamy and repetitious--it reminds me of Debussey's music. But in this case, the lush language is not supported and complemented by the plot and characters. The crux of the novel is Olga's relationship with her son, and her great love for him. However, Olga comes across as passive, apathetic, and unthinking. She and her son are rarely in the same room together (unless one of them is asleep). The disturbing acts of her son and Olga's reaction (or perhaps her nonresponse) to them are unrealistic and unbelievable. 2 stars
Diese Perspektive könnte durchaus reizvoll sein. Doch Andrei Makine hat in diesem Roman mit all zu vielen Andeutungen gearbeitet, mögliche Handlungsnebenfährten nur kurz angerissen; letztendlich aber erzählt er brav und bieder eine ziemlich hanebüchene Mutter-Sohn-Geschichte - und dies ausschließlich aus dem Blickwinkel der Mutter Olga. Belongs to Publisher SeriesGallimard, Folio (3366) Awards
In the summer of 1947, a small town outside Paris is rocked by scandal when a member of its Russian emigré community drowns in a boating incident and the woman with him, an enigmatic White Russian princess, is charged with his murder. But Olga Arbyelina is acquitted. Then the story unfolds of the preceding year and gradually a different, secret and more shocking crime emerges - Olga, separated from her husband, exiled from her homeland and convinced her life has reached a dead end, has allowed her adolescent son to commit incest with her, believing he has drugged her to sleep. Horrified at her own complicity yet oddly paralysed, she does nothing to halt it. Until she thinks they have been observed. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)843.914Literature French and related languages French fiction Modern Period 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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There is never any doubt in my mind when I pick up Makine's book - it will never disappoint. (The same I can only say about one more writer, Boris Akunin)... I love Makine's style. As far as his writing, this book didn't disappoint either, and probably if one gets into the character of the protagonist more intimately, one can actually get what's going on inside and be less judgmental. I am not at that stage yet. ( )