Schlafes Bruder (original 1992; edição 1997)

"Das ist die Geschichte des Musikers Johannes Elias Alder, der zweiundzwanzigjährig sein Leben zu Tode brachte, nachdem er beschlossen hatte, nicht mehr zu schlafen"--P. 9.

Del capolavoro decantato da critica e pubblico ho trovato solo alcuni tratti di prosa emozionante, ma purtroppo null'altro. Più che la storia mi ha colpito il garbato umorismo dello scrittore, vagamente snob e la competenza tecnica nelle descrizioni musicali. Anzichè invogliare la lettura di altre storie del medesimo scrittore, il libro mi indirizza sopratutto alla ricerca di qualche pagina musicale di un buon organista. ( )

Though with a good Leitmotiv and exploring the same thematic as Das Parfüm (the story of an adversity-stricken, miserable genius), there is no suspense, the plot is poor and, overall, the book is just too depressing. ( )

The story is about a boy, born in a small, Austrian village in the 19th century. He turns out to be an extremely gifted musician although his talent is never nurtured and formed in a proper way, because he is born in a simple farmer's family, never leaves his village and is hardly educated. When he falls in love with a girl from the village and his love is not reciprocated, this has an immense impact on his life. I don't want to give away too much about this book, but the author wonders about the fact that so much talent is never discovered and withers without ever being appreciated. There might have been born someone bigger than da Vinci and Mozart, but maybe we missed out on this because he wasn't born in the right place and the right time. In a bigger context, the book also deals with the effects of living in a closely-knit community where everyone knows everything. It is a strange but dazzling book, written in a very expressive yet subtle and intimate style which gives the reader plenty of things to think about. I recommend this one to anyone who likes psychological literature. ( )

I can't remember when I bought this book but I'm sure it was more than 10 years ago and I'm also sure it was because someone compared it to [book: Perfume] from [author: Patrick Suskind] which is one of my all time favorite books.

Though there are similiarities I found this book nowhere near as interesting, unique or beautifully written as Perfume. There was really no suspense, no mystery, just a kind of evenly paced telling of a tale that seemed to have no climax or build up.

So if you liked this I would definitely recommend Perfume but I guess no matter what I would definitely recommend Perfume so that's not saying much. ( )