Reviews

• 文体が気に入っています

  まだ読み終わっていない。忙しい日常のなかで原書を短時日で読み終えるのは無理なのかな。しかし、一日の終わりの静かな夜の時間が迎えられたら、就寝前のひと時、この本を開いて楽しんでいる。スティーブン・ミルハウザーの文章が好きだ。「どこが？」と言われると困るけれど、敢えて生意気を言うと「わび、さび」を感じる。平たく言えば、人生の哀歓。しかし、敢えて「わび、さび」と言ってみたい。この話しも19世紀の終わりあたりから語り始められていて、アメリカの大繁栄の前の時代から始まっている。文明の興亡の無常と人間の栄枯盛衰が重ねられている。どうも諸行無常という言葉をあてはめたくなる次第。 なんだか読み終わりたくないな。就寝前のブランディーのような芳醇な読書の時間だから。 ミルハウザーは、映画 『幻影師アイゼンハイム』の原作者として知った。原作は短編集《The Barnum Museum》に収録されている。こっちは翻訳を買ってしまった。てっとり早く読もうとしたためだ。でも、ミルハウザーの文体の魅力が分かったので、原書も買ってみよう。

• 美しい英文

  19世紀末から20世紀初頭にかけてのニューヨークが舞台。 タバコ屋の息子がホテルのベルボーイとなり、やがて成功してホテルオーナーとなり、夢のホテルを次々建てていく物語。 と、あらすじを書くと華やかな物語と思われそうですが、本書を読んだ印象は正反対です。 主人公は夢を次々と現実のものにしていくのですが、建てるホテルのスケールが壮大になればなるほど、読んでる側には空虚な印象が残る。 で、結局これは何だったんだろう？？全部夢だったんじゃないか、と思わせる終わり方です。 簡潔で読みやすい英語で、文章も美しいです。 上手いんでしょうね、この作者。 これから他の作品も読んでみようと思っています。

• Satisfied

  Good book. I enjoyed reading it and I would recommend it. Maybe there are some a little boring chapters but to sum it all, a nice book.

• Fine novel, quick read

  Martin Dressler is a well-written, compelling story of a young man pursuing the American dream. Imposing today's standard's on him as I read, I alternately wanted to congratulate him for his sharp business acumen and bop him on the head for being such a dunce when it came to decisions about his personal life. What a likable character! An easy, quick read.

• Beautiful writing on every page

  Steven Millhauser, the great American stylist, normally turns his hands to writing short stories. Martin Dressler is a 'Great American Novel', a wondrous tale of an imaginary Horatio Alger type at the turn of the 20th Century who has a desire to build his dreams. It is elegant in construction, immaculate in execution, but sexless and dry as a fish bone. Millhauser writes fantasy/reality and is a top class storyteller. His tale of German American Dressler, son of a cigar maker, is one of great ambition, like the hero himself. He is old fashioned, romantic and very controlled. Martin's sin is hubris - his dreams know no bounds. The one explosion of creativity, which almost merits the full 5 stars, is the 50 pages at the end. His undoing is as remarkable as anything I've ever read. His sentences blossom to Melville size, his prose is electric, his imagination lets rip. It stands in marked contrast to the close clipped prose of the first three quarters of the book. I can see why it won the Pulitzer, but it is hardly Millhauser's best work. For British readers looking for a great old fashioned rags to riches tale with a difference, this is one to cherish. I prefer my meat redder, my heroes more flawed and human.

• Good book

  Pretty good book, got it for school. Though truthfully a lot of it is pretty forgettable, it's still a good read.

• There were a number of these constant repetitions which were sposed to be tone poesy-like but were just shallow and annoying. Be

  The book kind of disappears in meta overwriting (you would think there would be underwriting, but then Brando overacted underacting). Someone pointed out they got sick of the girl's hair in a bun. There were a number of these constant repetitions which were sposed to be tone poesy-like but were just shallow and annoying. Best part is beginning where research doesn't feel forced. Awful on business and not interesting on architecture, two major themes. A couple of fine scenes.

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