Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck
Published 2015 · 81,533 words · about 8 hours at an average pace · Literary Fiction
How hard is Go, Went, Gone to read?
Go, Went, Gone scores 78 out of 100 for difficulty on ReadingRate, making it very challenging. The score is a weighted composite of nine measures: four of how hard the prose is to parse, five of how hard the meaning is to extract.
- Vocabulary: 70 out of 100
- The text employs a broad vocabulary, frequently integrating untranslated German, Italian, and African terms, alongside specialized historical and legal terminology like 'Fiktionsbescheinigung' and 'Volkssolidarität'. While context often aids understanding, the consistent presence of such terms and allusions to figures like Lucretius and Ibn Battuta elevates its demands beyond standard literary fiction.
- Sentence structure: 75 out of 100
- The narrative features consistently long, multi-clause sentences, particularly during Richard's extensive internal monologues and philosophical digressions. These sentences often employ deep subordination and parenthetical remarks, requiring readers to maintain focus across complex grammatical structures. This sustained syntactic density places it significantly above typical contemporary fiction.
- Abstraction: 82 out of 100
- The narrative consistently interweaves concrete events, such as Richard's interactions with refugees, with profound philosophical and existential reflections on time, identity, and the nature of borders. Richard's internal monologues frequently delve into abstract concepts, using everyday observations as catalysts for deep theoretical inquiry. This pervasive intellectual probing elevates the text's abstraction level significantly.
- Information density: 85 out of 100
- The narrative is exceptionally dense, layering historical events, literary allusions, and philosophical concepts within Richard's observations and the refugees' stories. Readers must process a high volume of information, connecting disparate elements like German reunification, colonial history, Greek mythology, and contemporary politics, which demands sustained attention and intellectual synthesis.
- Narrative indirection: 78 out of 100
- The narrative frequently requires readers to infer meaning from Richard's philosophical musings and the stark juxtapositions presented, rather than explicit authorial statements. For instance, the profound critique of German bureaucracy and historical amnesia emerges from Richard's observations of the refugees' plight and his own past, demanding reader assembly of thematic connections. The final scene with the aghast family reacting to Richard's song about 'Africans' in his car is a moment of unstated social commentary, similar to the thematic construction required in 'Flights'.
- Symbolic density: 85 out of 100
- The text is rich with recurring motifs that carry meaning beyond their literal presence, such as the drowned man in the lake symbolizing unresolved pasts and hidden depths, or the advent wreath representing forgotten personal history. Borders, both physical and legal, and the concept of 'time' itself are extensively explored as symbolic constructs, shaping individual and collective identities. This pervasive use of symbolism is more central than in 'The Great Gatsby', approaching the depth seen in 'To the Lighthouse'.
- Ironic distance: 78 out of 100
- A consistent ironic distance exists between the narrator's presentation and Richard's often naive or self-serving interpretations, highlighting societal hypocrisies. The dry, critical tone in describing bureaucratic language (e.g., 'Fiktionsbescheinigung') or the 'disappointed liberators' at the Wall underscores the gap between stated intentions and underlying realities. This distance allows for a nuanced critique of German society and Richard's place within it, similar to the subtle critique in 'Lolita' but applied more broadly to social systems.
- Resolution withholding: 82 out of 100
- The narrative consistently resists definitive closure, leaving many central questions unresolved, particularly regarding the refugees' legal status and future. The drowned man's body remains unrecovered, a persistent symbol of an unaddressed past, while Richard's own internal conflicts and the broader historical legacies are left in a state of ongoing ambiguity. The 'agreement' for the refugees offers only vague hope, emphasizing the lack of true resolution, placing it closer to 'Crying of Lot 49' in its resistance to definitive answers.
- Structural complexity: 70 out of 100
- The narrative employs a largely chronological structure but frequently interweaves Richard's present observations with extensive historical digressions and philosophical reflections. Shifts between Richard's internal monologue and external events, along with detailed historical expositions on topics like colonialism or the Berlin Wall, create a layered but not overtly fragmented reading experience. The 'Go, Went, Gone' motif, explicitly referenced, serves as a subtle structural device, making it more complex than 'The Great Gatsby' but less experimental than 'Flights'.
How Go, Went, Gone is regarded
Go, Went, Gone holds a literary regard score of 57 out of 100, weighing its place in the canon, its critical reception, its influence on other writers, and the standing of its author. Regard is measured separately from difficulty: a demanding book is not necessarily an admired one.