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gippez's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Superbly written, spectacularly sad. Not an easy book to read from an emotional point of view
roann_gutierrez's review against another edition
4.0
It’s disturbing and chilling and disgusting and beautiful.
faintgirl's review against another edition
4.0
I finished Don't Move nearly a week ago, but it's taken me a remarkable amount of time to figure out what I felt about it. For a start, I hated the lead character. I'm pretty sure I was supposed to, but he really got my goat. He's a mildly successful hospital surgeon who starts an affair with a woman after she helps him when his car breaks down. She's from a different side of town, she has very little money, and she's not even attractive to him, according to his description, but he essentially rapes her in her own home, before starting a strange relationship full of weird power balances and half information. Shortly after the affair starts, the narrator finds out his wife is pregnant, and his attempts to avoid his lover only bring them closer together, whilst souring the relationship with his pregnant wife.
The story is told as some kind of apology to his daughter, who is now 17 and has been hit by a car whilst riding her Vespa to school. It's almost a confession, a desperate trade off with god to save the daughter he loves, but as he gets lost in the lurid details, it seems somehow dirtier than that. It's really quite a horrible novel, about betrayal, guilt, the nature of marriage and a ton of other things, and made me want to go back to being 14 years old and oblivious to all that stuff. But you get the impression he really does love his lover, despite the strange space their relationship exists in. In fact, the love might exist precisely because o that space.
Powerful and mesmerising, but really quite brutal at the same time.
The story is told as some kind of apology to his daughter, who is now 17 and has been hit by a car whilst riding her Vespa to school. It's almost a confession, a desperate trade off with god to save the daughter he loves, but as he gets lost in the lurid details, it seems somehow dirtier than that. It's really quite a horrible novel, about betrayal, guilt, the nature of marriage and a ton of other things, and made me want to go back to being 14 years old and oblivious to all that stuff. But you get the impression he really does love his lover, despite the strange space their relationship exists in. In fact, the love might exist precisely because o that space.
Powerful and mesmerising, but really quite brutal at the same time.
swaye's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you for recommending this masterpiece to me, my Bonnibel.
This book ravaged me. Books like this are the reason I love to read. I like to seek out things that make me feel deeply and Mazzantini's Non Ti Muovere stoked intense white heat emotion in me. This is not a story about beautiful love, it's a brilliantly written love story with it's ugliness laid completely bare, told from the perspective of the most narcissistic, selfish bastard in literary history. I hated him more and more with every chapter. The women in his life ultimately deserve so much better but this isn't a fairy tale. This is the story of a man that can only see through the narrow lens of his own putrescence and self-induced misery.
This book ravaged me. Books like this are the reason I love to read. I like to seek out things that make me feel deeply and Mazzantini's Non Ti Muovere stoked intense white heat emotion in me. This is not a story about beautiful love, it's a brilliantly written love story with it's ugliness laid completely bare, told from the perspective of the most narcissistic, selfish bastard in literary history. I hated him more and more with every chapter. The women in his life ultimately deserve so much better but this isn't a fairy tale. This is the story of a man that can only see through the narrow lens of his own putrescence and self-induced misery.
demi_binnema's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
donnaadouglas's review against another edition
4.0
This is a superbly written piece of literature. Mazzantini's writing style is both richly descriptive and highly evocative, resulting in powerful images created in the pages of this book. The only major drawback to this novel was its conclusion, which I found to be very predictable and uninspired. Had this been handled perhaps, in another fashion, then the novel may have had a more satisfactory ending for me.
cosaleggimari's review against another edition
3.0
È rimasto per 6 anni sullo scaffale e sono contenta di non averlo letto prima: non avrei capito molte cose e probabilmente molte cose mi sfuggono anche adesso.
È una confessione mutilata, una doppia vita nascosta nella terra e mangiata, una tentata giustificazione per quella lontananza costante, una spiegazione al protagonista inavvicinabile.
L'ho iniziato una sera in cui avevo bisogno di una storia che mi facesse piangere visto che aveva tutte le carte in regola per scatenare il pianto e invece con mia sorpresa la Mazzantini è riuscita a mettermi sulla difensiva, a farmi sconcertare e indispettire, Timoteo mi ha fatto indignare, mi ha fatto riflettere. Timoteo mi dispiace ma io non ti giustifico.
È una confessione mutilata, una doppia vita nascosta nella terra e mangiata, una tentata giustificazione per quella lontananza costante, una spiegazione al protagonista inavvicinabile.
L'ho iniziato una sera in cui avevo bisogno di una storia che mi facesse piangere visto che aveva tutte le carte in regola per scatenare il pianto e invece con mia sorpresa la Mazzantini è riuscita a mettermi sulla difensiva, a farmi sconcertare e indispettire, Timoteo mi ha fatto indignare, mi ha fatto riflettere. Timoteo mi dispiace ma io non ti giustifico.
lisa00's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, and Sexual harassment