Originally posted by Joseph K
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The idea that it might contain elements of fascism didn't altogether elude me as I read it. However, some of the symptoms of fascism are not the exclusive preserve thereof. The kind of psyche conjured in the novel is akin to psychosis - 'confusion between inner and outer worlds' or (obviously) a dream world. I think there are many facets of the novel which contradict each other - indeed, it is in these contradictions that lies the work's great richness. It evokes in the reader the kind of disconnection from reality that is the preserve of certain altered states of consciousness, and is like living for a while in a surrealist painting. There are quite a few uncomfortable taboo sexual aspects, namely paedophilia, though these are recognised quite dispassionately by the narrator and IIRC recognised as being disturbing, but there is almost a sense that, given the reactions from other characters towards this, it's like there is a conspiracy about this; indeed, not only this, but a conspiracy about the narrator's other transgressions. I'd say the weirdness is counterpointed by just enough reality for it to throw the weirdness into relief, if that makes sense. While there are elements of fascism and demagoguery, there is also a fair amount of religious imagery and the ending or climax is a kind of transcendence. It induces in this reader more than one kind of disconnection so that all one can do is stand back and marvel at this feat of imagination.
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