A Guardian Angel Recalls

Read Around the World: The Netherlands This was an interesting premise that was excruciating to read. I would have DNF'd this at several points, but I never DNF books. I always like to try to find some redeeming qualities. I realize that what people consider "good literature" is subjective, but some things were objectively bad about this one. I'm not sure if that was because of the translation or if this was how the author intended it -- in truth, likely a bit of both 1) Point of view: Often shifted between 1st person and 3rd person, sometimes within the same paragraph. Sometimes the narrator was the guardian angel, who seemed to be omniscient, but also only followed the main character, Bert, so was a limited 3rd person. However, the guardian angel seemed to be recounting the story in the future (hence the title, Guardian Angel Recalls) and sometimes alluded to knowing the outcome, but this omniscient perspective offered nothing to the story. Then there were times that the story was being told through the lens/thoughts of Bert himself. There was even some 2nd person thrown in, just to add to the fun. The shifting point of view was such a mess and actually gave me a headache several times. 2) The metaphors: They were so many and they very obscure and contrived. Most of the metaphors added nothing and were nonsensical. 3) The guardian angel and the devil's perspectives: The guardian angel was preachy and condescending. The moral of the story was forced on the reader several times rather than letting the reader extract their own meaning. The purpose of the guardian angel was not clear-- sometimes he was able to intervene to prevent a crisis, other times he seemed to have no control at all. The Devil did not add much, if anything, to the story either. 4) Other characters and plot: Not much was relatable about the characters. It's not believable that the best friend's wife, Mimi, happily accepts the best friend, Erik, having several mistresses, or that the main character was previously engaged to Mimi before she married Erik, and they all remained friends. There were too many plot points and too many needless plot points. The book started with the main character being upset about his Jewish girlfriend fleeing the country, moved to him killing a 10-year-old Jewish refugee in an accident and dumping the body, moved on to the invasion of Holland by the Nazis, then to his brother, Rense's, bad art, then the friends and family trying to flee to England unsuccessfully, then ended abruptly without tying up any of these story lines. 5) Redeeming points: For 500 pages, it was quick and easy to read. I read it in about 4 days -- 2 of those days were long plane travel days, so I had nothing to do but sit and read. After that, I wanted so badly to be done that I forced the last 150 pages in a few hours. I think some of the preachiness, the ridiculousness of the characters (Rense's art, for example), the insertion of the Devil, etc, were meant add comedy and maybe came across that way in the original. However, none of that landed in the English translation. I laughed when I read that Veverka is Czech for squirrel, although this is also meaningless for the story