Every once in a while, you read a book because you are trying to read 52 books in a year. You look at the cover and it looks cool. The ideas seem interesting. But it does nothing for you and you end up taking weeks to finish it; you end up keeping it for ten days overdue from the library; and you end you just wishing you never picked it up in the first place. The Investigation by Phillippe Claudel is just that book. It is beautifully written and I think its theme that you shouldn’t define yourself or anyone you know by their role, job, or defining characteristic. There is more to a person than any of that. But I didn’t get it. I didn’t care. I found it annoying.
Claudel was trying to be Kafka. He tried to create a world that didn’t make any sense but was really interesting. It confused you but it painted an absurd image of the world. I am sure that there are lots of people who like this book and like how it is mind-challenging. But I found it tedious and boring. I had no connection to any character, the events, or where it was heading. It isn’t for me. I didn’t find it enchanting. I found it troublesome. I didn’t find it engaging. I found it tedious. It felt like I was being beat over the head with its absurdity and it didn’t go anywhere. I’m sure that was the point. Yeah…I didn’t get it. Either way though…
It was better than my fourth book…
