Već me sam opis ovog romana odmah privukao. Priča o braku i međuljudskim odnosima, društvu opsjednutom gadgetima, wellnessom, zdravom prehranom i neizbježnom krizom srednjih godina zvučala je kao nešto što jednostavno moram pročitati.
Hill je stvorio likove koji djeluju nevjerojatno stvarno. To nisu junaci koji postoje samo na stranicama knjige. To su vaši susjedi, kolege s posla, roditelji koje susrećete na dječjim utakmicama i sastancima. Ljudi koji vas neprestano podsjećaju na vlastiti život, razgovore koje vodite i pitanja koja si počinjete postavljati u određenim fazama života.
Njihova ljubavna priča počinje romantično i lijepo, baš kao u najboljim ljubavnim pričama. No onda joj se dogodi život. Na površinu isplivaju traume iz djetinjstva i mladosti, početna zaljubljenost polako blijedi, a ostaju one manje lijepe, ali mnogo stvarnije osobine koje na početku veze često ne vidimo ili ih svjesno zanemarujemo.
Elizabeth je lik koji je u meni izazvao snažne reakcije. Opsjednuta je istraživanjima, analizama i proučavanjem ljudskog ponašanja, pa čak i ponašanja vlastitog sina, često do granica vlastite opsesije. Iako njezine postupke djelomično mogu razumjeti zbog trauma koje nosi iz djetinjstva, meni je do posljednje stranice ostala jedan od najnegativnijih književnih likova koje sam ikad susrela. Slobodno može stati rame uz rame s Catherine iz Orkanskih visova.
A Jack? Voljela bih da Elizabeth nikada nije upoznao. Ako je njegov lik barem djelomično inspiriran stvarnom osobom, najradije bih ga zagrlila i pokušala popraviti sve ono što je život u njemu slomio.
Neke sam dijelove romana doslovno progutala i nisam mogla prestati čitati koliko su me oduševili. S druge strane, pojedina poglavlja činila su mi se nešto predugima pa sam se teže povezivala s njima. Unatoč tome, Wellness je izrazito zanimljiv roman sporijeg tempa koji otvara brojna pitanja o ljubavi, braku, roditeljstvu i suvremenom društvu. Svakako knjiga vrijedna vašeg vremena i pažnje.
Hvala @perga na primjerku za čitanje.
Jeste li pročitali Wellness? Ako da, kakvo je vaše mišljenje o Elizabeth?
[english]
“All they wanted back then was to eliminate the space between them. And now, here they were twenty years later, putting it back.”
Wellness – Nathan Hill
The premise of this novel immediately caught my attention. A story about marriage and relationships, a society obsessed with gadgets, wellness, healthy eating, and the inevitable midlife crisis sounded like exactly the kind of book I wanted to read.
Hill has created characters who feel incredibly real. These are not people who exist only on the pages of a book. They are your neighbours, your colleagues, the parents you meet at children’s football matches and school meetings. They are the people who constantly remind you of your own life, the conversations you have, and the questions you begin asking yourself at certain stages of life.
Their love story is at the beginning beautiful and romantic, just as the best love stories are. But then life happens. Childhood and adolescent traumas rise to the surface, the initial spark of infatuation slowly fades, and what remains are the less attractive yet much more authentic traits that we often fail to notice, or deliberately overlook, at the beginning of a relationship.
Elizabeth is a character who provoked strong reactions in me. She is obsessed with research, analysis, and studying human behaviour, including her own son’s, often to the point of becoming a bit crazy. Although I can partly understand her actions because of the trauma she carries from her childhood, she remained, until the very last page, one of the most unlikeable literary characters I have ever encountered. She could easily stand shoulder to shoulder with Catherine from Wuthering Heights.
And Jack? I wish he had never met Elizabeth. If his character is even partly based on a real person, I would gladly give him a hug and try to mend everything that life has broken in him.
I was totally obsessed with some parts of this story and I could not stop reading because I enjoyed them so much. On the other hand, certain chapters felt a little too long, making it harder for me to connect with them. Nevertheless, Wellness is a fascinating, slow paced novel that raises many thought provoking questions about love, marriage, parenthood, and modern society. It is definitely a book worthy of your time and attention.
Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.
Have you read Wellness? If so, what did you think of Elizabeth?
