Lauren's review of Netherland (original) (raw)

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Lauren's Reviews > Netherland

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Netherland
by

Joseph O'Neill

Lauren's review

May 20, 2008

really liked it

It's really too late to talk about this book, but I had to finish it tonight and that should say it all. The loneliness of New York (and let's face it: modern life or whatever that means to you) is so palpable in this book. Chuck and Hans are two unlikely friends, thrown together in a post 9/11 New York, out of step with their families and connected by a love of cricket. This connection makes up for the wayward actions played out by these men.

Postcolonial, post 9/11: Isn't it all about finding common humanity despite the utterly scarred and screwed up state of the world? This book speaks to all the unlikely friendships that see us through the horrors of history and the wrenching pain of loss and fractured family. Those people haunt us and make us better people, despite the confusion and disconnect that they so often leave in their wake.

This book reminds me of the nostalgia and wistfulness of Fitzgerald. You ache to see connection where there is none and doing so makes you treasure all the more the fleeting moments of togetherness that mark these characters' lives. And your own.

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Reading Progress

May 20, 2008 – Shelved

Started Reading

May 28, 2008 –Finished Reading