| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Modern-Day Cult of the Child Is Satirized,
By M. JEFFREY MCMAHON "herculodge" (Torrance, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Little Girl and the Cigarette (Paperback)
In an arch, assured style, Duteurtre alternates two plots, one of a death-row prisoner putting a cog in the legal system by demanding his right to a final cigarette before his execution and an adult intellectual who feels at odds in a world where children are worshipped as gods. Duteurtre uses these two plots as vehicles for his real agenda: to satirize modern day's love of political correctness, utopian-visioned do-gooders, absurd legalism, and a society so bereft of ideals and so soggy-brained that its only "religion" is the adoration of the child, as a sort of symbol of society's replenishment and renewal. The satire is never forced or obvious, as too many books that attempt humor are guilty of. Instead, the author effortlessly weaves his satirical themes into his narrative so that the book mirrors our modern day absurdities with crystal clear vision and gives us a facile story at once. As this is the first book of many to be translated into English, I must either learn French or wait eagerly for Duteurtre's other books to be translated.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"The Children Are Running The Asylum",
By
This review is from: The Little Girl and the Cigarette (Paperback)
Although this satirical tale is occasionally forced or given to swiping at too easy targets, in its central thrust it's undeniably successful. Using a deadpan satiric approach, Duteurtre ponders the last two remaining sins in our post-industrial, developed world. Here, where good health is the primary duty of life and children have replaced the gods, cigarette smoking has become one of the greatest evils. In first place, though, is child molestation, whether real or just merely alleged. In a society which worships the child, and therefore turns out to be pretty much run by children, the charge of such abuse becomes itself indistinguishable from the deed and is thought equally deserving of the ultimate punishment. It is the author's winning satirical insight that a contemporary moppet might be smart enough to make a false accusation against an adult out of mere vengefulness but be believed as an honest reporter of dire events. What other conclusion could one expect from ignorant grownups clinging tenaciously to a perverse belief in the natural goodness of children?
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well done satire, with some dark comedy.,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Little Girl and the Cigarette (Paperback)
"I am not victim of a conspiracy, but of the natural accumulation of stupidity."
And with that that thought our misanthropic protagonist realizes his fate. This is a good book and although fiction, could easily happen in today's political environment. Might make a good, smart, satirical - dark comedy movie if you can find someone with skills to write a clever adaptation.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
