Originally Posted by Karen 11th August 2006


NurseAnne8 has suggested in another thread that this is a satire and maybe some of the satirical details were lost or muddied in the translation.....

Thoughts?

Nurseanne8


Some of the following examples suggest to me that the book is a satire:statement at the beginning of the book that at age 18 he had experienced all life had to offer, his joy at the purchase of a gravesite and a tombstone rather than a car, the statement of "cradle to coffin-one box to another", the comment about changing his epitaph to "What a life" -the biting humor is entertaining but the statement"All, my life, I've let myself die." at the end of the book made me question the direction and some of my decisions I have made in my life and if changes need to be made.

Karen


I am in total agreement with you on this, I've gone back in and re-read bits of it and absolutely see how this very well could have been written with tongue firmly planted inside the cheek...ahhh the drawbacks of reading a book that's been translated...

Nurseanne8


yes but it is still a good book and it does offer points to ponder about our own life choices which sometimes we use the excuse that we are "to busy" to think about.

Karen


True. This little book really made me think and explore the people we have in our lives and why they are there...

Deppraved


I see it as more an allegory than a satire--but I agree about the tongue-in-cheek wording--more than a few times I chuckled to myself!

Nurseanne8


Agreed with satire-if only I was fluent in French.