gmc reviewed Kallocain by Karin Boye
Well-written classic
5 stars
This classic from 1940 explores a concept that has been an inspiration for many more modern movies: what if you were forced to tell the truth, hold nothing back, reveal your deepest inner secrets? Combine that premise with a totalitarian state and you have Kallocain by Karin Boye.
The tension builds right from the start and doesn’t let off. Through the protagonist, an altogether horrible man, the reader gets an increasingly worrying picture of this dystopian world. Despite the protagonist’s faults, the author has managed to portray the man such that it is easy to find sympathy for his plight, making one stick around for the transformational journey he undergoes.
We know right from the start that the protagonist is in jail, but why or where is left open, adding to the suspense. At every chapter, one wonders whether that is the chapter where the protagonist makes his fatal mistake …
This classic from 1940 explores a concept that has been an inspiration for many more modern movies: what if you were forced to tell the truth, hold nothing back, reveal your deepest inner secrets? Combine that premise with a totalitarian state and you have Kallocain by Karin Boye.
The tension builds right from the start and doesn’t let off. Through the protagonist, an altogether horrible man, the reader gets an increasingly worrying picture of this dystopian world. Despite the protagonist’s faults, the author has managed to portray the man such that it is easy to find sympathy for his plight, making one stick around for the transformational journey he undergoes.
We know right from the start that the protagonist is in jail, but why or where is left open, adding to the suspense. At every chapter, one wonders whether that is the chapter where the protagonist makes his fatal mistake and is apprehended by the officials of the world state.
All together a very good read indeed.
