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Liked It2 of 2 members found this review helpful “When I decided to read Daniel Kelhmann's Fame, I was expecting a novel that spanned the entire length of the book, with chapters the author referred to as "episodes." It did say "A Novel in Nine Episodes" on the jacket cover. So imagine my surprise when it turned out to be more like a...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “To dark for me.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“An amusing yet existential set of nine stories - these were a pleasure to read, confounding in their versions of reality, and masterful in their telling. ”
bunnychip9 wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“To dark for me.”
ACB333 wrote this review Thursday, June 30, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This is Kehlmann's statement of intent with Fame: a novel in nine episodes. Like a TV series, we're given short but satisfying instalments of a collection of people's lives.
Jack V wrote this review Wednesday, June 29, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Leo Richter (the writer) first enters onto the scene with: "A novel without a protagonist! Do you get it? A structure, the connections, a narrative arc but no main character, no hero advancing throughout." Kehlmann has a character in the story explain what you're holding between your hands!”
“Right when a a short story would almost capture my attention he lost me again. I'm not sure even what the point of this book is.”
Bianca D wrote this review Wednesday, February 2, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Interesting. I was intrigued at the end. Had it all been made up?”
Meredith S wrote this review Monday, December 27, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No2 of 2 members found this review helpful“When I decided to read Daniel Kelhmann's Fame, I was expecting a novel that spanned the entire length of the book, with chapters the author referred to as "episodes." It did say "A Novel in Nine Episodes" on the jacket cover. So imagine my surprise when it turned out to be more like a short story collection than a novel, though all characters from the nine episodes were related or connected in some way, and each plot or setting is an antecedent or aftermath of the other. And while this did kind of saddened me a bit, the stories did make up for it. This book did not disappoint.
Pauline Funa wrote this review Sunday, November 28, 2010. ( reply | view 1 replies | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Originally written in German and translated to English by Carol Brown Janeway, Fame presents the different stories of seemingly random people, each dealing with the subject of fame, anonymity, what is true and what is real: the computer technician who accidentally got a pre-assigned phone number and has been getting phone calls addressed to a famous actor; a widely respected author who realizes that all his bestselling books are rubbish, wondering whether he ought to keep up the pretense for his readers or end it all; and the telecommunications department head leading a double life between his family and his mistress, getting deeper and deeper into his labyrinth of lies. Each main character is related to the others, each story connected by a single detail or so, each episode dealing with the concept of identity (or lack thereof).
While Kehlmann's storytelling is vividly dark (and sometimes funny, as in the case of the forum post recounting one man's quest to make an impression on the author he ran into during a conference), Janeway does a superb job of keeping Kehlmann's paradoxes of what it is to be famous and satire intact.
A certain favorite of mine would be "The East," where an author of detective novels attends a conference in an obscure location and gets left behind when the delegation is sent home. Despite being a well-known author, her fame is of no use in a third-world country where nobody speaks any other language but their own, and where she is left with virtually nothing, not even her identity.
Fame is haunting and melancholic, where people clamor for fame, avoid it, flirt with it, give up to it, each of them with a different take on what it means to be recognized.
Originally posted here: http://thewannabeliterati.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/fame-daniel-kehlmann”
“Very cool book. I like stories that make me think. These went in all sorts of directions that I ddin't anticipate.”
Cathy R wrote this review Wednesday, November 10, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Daniel Kehlmann offers a real change-of-pace with "Fame." Translated from German, this is a series of related stories, rather than a novel, yet the connections are sly, surprising, and amusing. The reader is never certain where reality begins or ends.”
travelingmamma wrote this review Saturday, October 23, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“konstruktionsversuche”
huje wrote this review Wednesday, September 29, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
