I read The Tunnel earlier this year and it has become one of my favorite books. To clear up some confusion, Kohler is a very unreliable narrator. Gass himself says, “he is not to be trusted.” Further, he admits in the very beginning that he has, “inherited a poor memory.” This should cause some suspicion when he recalls some past events with excruciating detail. Kohler makes up a lot of events in the book, in one section he describes his Uncle Balt only to heavily imply later in the book that Uncle Balt never existed. A lot of people interpret Kohler’s affairs and even colleagues like Culp as part of his imagination. Also, the antisemitic riot he was a part of was Kristallnacht, a series of riots done by the Nazi party following the assassination Ernst vom Rath by a Jewish boy named Herschel Grynszpan (notice how one of Kohler’s colleagues is named Herschel, implying that he could be fake as well). Also, the root of Kohler’s hatred as well as his philosophy of history comes from the idea that life and everything in it is empty. That’s why it’s called The Tunnel, a tunnel is not a thing, it is an absence within a thing. Kohler’s teacher in Germany, Mad Meg, says that there is no “past” and no “reality” there is only how we choose to recall the past and how we choose to understand reality. From his perspective, historians literally create the past. I highly recommend the reviews by Michael Silverblatt (“A Small Apartment in Hell”) and Louie Menand (“Journey into the Dark”) for a deeper understanding of the book. I would recommend not focusing on the plot but rather looking for the various motifs and subjects Kohler obsesses over in the book. This is where The Tunnel shows its richness. For example, I would keep track of all the tunnels, windows, glass, dirt, dust, sand, wind, sexual references, and scatological references. For example, the name “Kohler” is a reference to a toilet company but it also means “miner” in German derived from the word “kohl” which means “coal” and Kohler’s two defining acts are breaking a window and digging a tunnel. Notice also that one of Kohler’s lovers is named “Lou” another name for a toilet. Notice also that all of Kohler’s lover’s names rhyme: “Lou,” “Susu,” and “Rue.” I could go on but I would be here forever. Anyways I’m just happy to see people read this book, especially since Gass spent nearly 30 years writing it.
@PaperBird
Жыл бұрын
I think you might dig Solenoid as a nice counterpoint
@BookShore
Жыл бұрын
Bro I've been asking people about it. I was gunna read it later this year but will probably do it sooner
@cadenceblackburn9205
Жыл бұрын
first video and subscribed, can’t wait to see more reviews
@BookShore
Жыл бұрын
Hey thank you so much!! I'm going to be more consistent on videos uploads
@MarcNash
Жыл бұрын
Gotta say it\'s become my white whale as well, just over halfway through, started before the pandemic!
@BookShore
Жыл бұрын
Aside from keeping track of the friends I think this is a fine novel to pick up whenever. I took breaks from it
@Etherchannel
Жыл бұрын
Did you end up getting a signed edition of Women and Men from dzanc books?
@BookShore
Жыл бұрын
No non signed version
@rishabhaniket1952
Жыл бұрын
It’s not available in India at the moment sadly. It was available a few years back and but it seems to have gone out of print by the old publishers
@BookShore
Жыл бұрын
I don't know how shipping is but try abe books. They have a lot of cheap used books
@rishabhaniket1952
Жыл бұрын
@@BookShore I will. But I am taking your cue of reading order and getting Woman and Men first.
@Jorge_Lima_
Жыл бұрын
Please more videos😥1 month😥
@BookShore
Жыл бұрын
I got 400 pages into solenoid and did not like it so that set me back😅. I'll get a video out this weekend for sure!!
@Stoney-Jacksman
Жыл бұрын
You are saying its genius, but fail to explain why you find it to be so.
@dirtycelinefrenchman
4 ай бұрын
KZitem book reviews often leave something to be desired
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