ldquo;Giunto sul rettilineo dove si comincia a leggere chiaramente TRAGUARDO o FINE DELLA CORSA; immagino sia naturale a tutti pensare che si abbiano ancora molte cose da dire o da compiere; cose che non si iniziano piugrave; percheacute; manca il tempo per portarle a termine...Il passato umano egrave; probabilmente una montagna invisibile di progetti e propositi irrealizzati.Non egrave; detto che sia necessariamente un danno.Dal canto mio ho tentato; con questa ventina di racconti; di rabberciare una sintesi; dubito di esservi riuscito.Consapevole che molte delle cose affermate non piaceranno a tutti; sono sinceramente dispiaciuto e chiedo scusa; ma ldquo;lrsquo;ora della veritagrave;rdquo; dovrebbe rendere vana ogni ipocrisia.Sbaglio? Forse sigrave;. Probabilmente soddisfo solo unrsquo;inutile vanitagrave;.Ho provato ad addolcire lrsquo;impatto con alcuni intervalli; nellrsquo;intenzione; ameni e spero di non deludere troppo lrsquo;eventuale lettore; lo prego anzi di perdonarmi se dovessi indurre a qualche dubbio angosciante. Egrave; una probabilitagrave; tanto esigua che mi lascia malinconicamente tranquillo.rdquo;
#2184579 in eBooks 2013-04-30 2013-04-30File Name: B00C8WSXSO
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Nothing negative about this book! Well written and honestBy Juliet MdluliI honestly did not think I would love this book but I really did. Neville is a young white man in starting off in apartheid era South Africa trying to find himself as a young person really- no real political inclinations that you could pick up. He clearly seems to have no real direction or plan with his life; and to prod him along his father introduces him to photographer Saul Auerbach who in turn invites Nev; to spend a day with him and Brookes; a British journalist; on this day Nevs life is changed as he sees his city; his country and ultimately himself through the wiley and crafty lens of Auerbachs photography. Fast forward a couple of years; and Nev leaves South Africa for London where he establishes himself as a photographer. Eventually returns to post apartheid Johannesburg; which is nothing like what he knew. I enjoyed travelling through post apartheid South Africa through Vladislavics descriptions. I loved the honesty; it was not simpering sweet liberal descriptions that you normally get from South African writers. It was reality through Nevs lens and not necessarily pretty. The story is well narrated and written. Language to point and the descriptions of Johannesburg absolutelty on point. I am looking forward to reading more of this authors books.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Bringing rich texture to a city with a crass outer shell; is worthy of praise.By jayzedDouble Negative is an important; bold piece of writing. The expertise and skill of Vladislavic is evident from the start. Essentially; the photographed visual image is brought to the reader in literary form; with plot and character development fairly flat - left for the most part undeveloped; so to speak. There were however two disturbing elements that bothered this reader and that I believe; weakened the profound nature of the work. One was the weighted judgmental position of the protagonist ndash; or to be harsher his creator; the writer. Almost all the characters who take a position with opinion or ideology are disdainful; ugly; crude. The heroes are the subjects within the photographs ndash; the simple folk who live and simply do what they do including the narrator and his hero Auerbach. No subtleties or complexity of inner struggles here. The other glaring problem is metaphor and analogy overload. It reaches absurd proportions; and rather than displaying the writerrsquo;s proficiency; grows weary on us and frankly smacks of exhibitionism. By the time the oven ldquo;liberatesrdquo; wafts and the oven gloves turn into sharks and Leora; the wife who has no more depth that an on-stage prop; spoon-feeds us with the double negative meaning ndash; well; I was already glancing down to see how much remained of the book and considering taking the emergency exit. But I decided to endure and suffer until we arrived at Wellness Week at the mall and the finale; the child and father in the game of urban exploration: wonderful stuff. Rich; beautiful and a fine ending.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Excellent piece of literature.By nnnThis is a very witty biographic story; which manages to describe the same person throughout different stages in his life using different language and style. - Very nice.