Review of Amphitheater of the Gods
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[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Amphitheater of the Gods" by Max Zwölf.]
Amphitheater of the Gods is a book written by Max Zwölf that questions every part of reality as we know it. With Peter as the main character, we read the book through his perspective, and we view the world as a theater, with gods as the audience and us as actors performing for their entertainment, and this shows life as something that's scripted. I lost count of the number of times I had to slow down and reflect after reading a little part of the book because most parts of it appear to have deeper meaning the more you try to think about them. As someone who thinks deeply about things and questions many things, I enjoyed the book to the fullest, mainly because I had already thought of something like this. Although it wasn't exactly in this creative manner, it was more of a "what if we're all just part of a huge experiment?" thought.
I like how the book tries to expose unsettling 'truths' about our existence in an interesting way. The author included some real-life events in the book that also made it even more interesting to read. For example, the tsunami incident that shook the world in 2004 was depicted in the book as a doing of the gods. It's somehow funny too that they took votes on it before making the decision and assigning the task to the gods of Olympus, who have always been known (through Greek mythology I've read about and movies I've seen) to be ever willing to do dirty work. These acts carried out by the gods are usually for one purpose or the other, most of which is usually to remind us of their 'divine' existence. These links to real-life events only made the book feel more original to me. I love the mixed feelings I experienced while reading the book; the idea of gods observing us like performers in a show was both creative and somewhat disturbing.
The character of Peter isn't even written to be perfect or heroic. He has his flaws and is also haunted as well, and this makes the character more real. I also like how the book didn't dispute some scientific facts. For example, the idea of the existence of a quantum universe that houses a 'datapool' where both events that will happen and events that have happened are written down, waiting to unfold. I found that fascinating. One thing I'll make clear about this book is that it's not for everyone. I mean, not everyone will find it as enjoyable as others would. The way the author wrote the book made it resemble a poem in some parts and might be too heavy for some people or even bore them. Anyone who wants a story that's clear and very straightforward might not enjoy this book. Instead, it would be perfect for anyone who's looking for answers to their unanswered questions about our existence.
This book reminds me of a scene in the movie Thor: Love and Thunder, where Thor has to go ask the gods for help and warn them about impending danger, only to find them seated in what seemed like a literal ancient theater, drinking and having fun, with Zeus at the center of it all. This was the image I imagined in my mind of the gods directing our affairs in this book. Since I found nothing to dislike about the book and found no errors while reading it, I'll award it a rating of five out of five stars.
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Amphitheater of the Gods
View: on Bookshelves |
Amphitheater of the Gods is a book written by Max Zwölf that questions every part of reality as we know it. With Peter as the main character, we read the book through his perspective, and we view the world as a theater, with gods as the audience and us as actors performing for their entertainment, and this shows life as something that's scripted. I lost count of the number of times I had to slow down and reflect after reading a little part of the book because most parts of it appear to have deeper meaning the more you try to think about them. As someone who thinks deeply about things and questions many things, I enjoyed the book to the fullest, mainly because I had already thought of something like this. Although it wasn't exactly in this creative manner, it was more of a "what if we're all just part of a huge experiment?" thought.
I like how the book tries to expose unsettling 'truths' about our existence in an interesting way. The author included some real-life events in the book that also made it even more interesting to read. For example, the tsunami incident that shook the world in 2004 was depicted in the book as a doing of the gods. It's somehow funny too that they took votes on it before making the decision and assigning the task to the gods of Olympus, who have always been known (through Greek mythology I've read about and movies I've seen) to be ever willing to do dirty work. These acts carried out by the gods are usually for one purpose or the other, most of which is usually to remind us of their 'divine' existence. These links to real-life events only made the book feel more original to me. I love the mixed feelings I experienced while reading the book; the idea of gods observing us like performers in a show was both creative and somewhat disturbing.
The character of Peter isn't even written to be perfect or heroic. He has his flaws and is also haunted as well, and this makes the character more real. I also like how the book didn't dispute some scientific facts. For example, the idea of the existence of a quantum universe that houses a 'datapool' where both events that will happen and events that have happened are written down, waiting to unfold. I found that fascinating. One thing I'll make clear about this book is that it's not for everyone. I mean, not everyone will find it as enjoyable as others would. The way the author wrote the book made it resemble a poem in some parts and might be too heavy for some people or even bore them. Anyone who wants a story that's clear and very straightforward might not enjoy this book. Instead, it would be perfect for anyone who's looking for answers to their unanswered questions about our existence.
This book reminds me of a scene in the movie Thor: Love and Thunder, where Thor has to go ask the gods for help and warn them about impending danger, only to find them seated in what seemed like a literal ancient theater, drinking and having fun, with Zeus at the center of it all. This was the image I imagined in my mind of the gods directing our affairs in this book. Since I found nothing to dislike about the book and found no errors while reading it, I'll award it a rating of five out of five stars.
******
Amphitheater of the Gods
View: on Bookshelves |
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