Houston, we have a problem....
Let's have a read of some reviews of this book from Native English speakers who read this book in their native language.
Arrive at Easterwine is either fiendishly good or criminally terrible. It would take several readings to know for sure. On its surface, Arrive is about the creation of a self-aware supercomputer tasked with three problems: find true leadership, true love & the true shape of the universe. The narrative style is reminiscent of Russia's Olesha, or perhaps a William Faulkner with talent. One can never be sure if the events being related are real or metaphorical. The machine itself, Epikt, drives this home early on. Just when the reader is about to throw the book down in disgust over characters as "tigers" eating "goats", Epikt declares, "You know, don't you, that there aren't *really* tigers, this is just a metaphor that perhaps has gone on too long" (paraphrase). This blurring between real & metaphor, with unique turns of phrase, make Arrive a challenging read, which not everyone will have the energy to get thru.
This is a mad, fever dream of a book, full of erudite nonsense. At points, it felt like a crazy cut up of the works of Aquinas and Bazooka Joe comics.
This one started out almost like a science fiction story, but quickly delved deep into all-ass craziness and never looked back. Like all stylistic authors I like, I've come to realize R.A. Lafferty is good in small doses- undiluted hits of him in quick succession drive me a little wacko.
Now imagine if these people had to read this in a second language... You see my problem, I'm sure. If someone took 5 scrabble games and threw all the letters at a wall with glue on it, then you had to read and comprehend the resulting mess of letters, you would have some feeling for what it is like for me to read this book in French.
I've made a bit more than a quarter of the way through it, and haven't killed myself or anyone else, so I'm coping pretty well, I think. Plus, I am having periodic quilt trips because I shouldn't be reading books, I should be writing them. I promised people on the mailing list a serialized novel over 18 months ago.
Anyway! I'm 1/4 of the way through and it is only a short book. So just have to muddle through. You want to know something ironic? I gave myself a SciFi book as an easy gift for completion of "La Scribe".