Rating: 
Summary: Unusual & Thoughtful Debut
Review: Berberian's 'The Cyclist' is, put simply, the thoughts of a terrorist as he recovers from a bicycle accident and prepares himself for another terrorist mission. But Berberian does much more than tell a simple story. While in the hospital, the main character/narrator goes through a mental journey of his life and what is important to him. I think readers will be surprised at what they'll find. This man has a love of cycling, a love for fine food, love for a woman...and all of these loves blend together to make him more than just a faceless terrorist. Don't get me wrong, the book is NOT endorsing terrorism in any way, but rather giving us a glimpse of what might go through the mind of a terrorist as the designated act of destruction draws near. A very short book (187 pages) that can be read in just a couple of hours, 'The Cyclist' deserves to be read and discussed.
Rating:
Summary: pilosopher in phily
Review: Berberian's work is one more example of why writers, especially first-time writers, should write about what they know intimately. It is painfully obvious from his ponderous and endless recitation of his character's physical training techniques and his love for particular kinds of foods, that Viken has nothing else to talk about. Existentialism? Hah! More like pedanticism. Berberian's characters are flat, uninteresting, and tell us nothing new about the Mideast. Where is the conflict in his characters? Where is the multi-layered (and therefore believable) mileu of the cyclist's world? Where are the characters that could provide an alternate perspective on, or at least discuss, the objective reality of terror? Most unforgivingly, where is the drama? Pass on this author, until he decides to write about something he at least sparingly knows, and doesn't have to research from square one.
Rating:
Summary: the heart, soul and mind of a 'terrorist'
Review: I purchased Berberian's THE CYCLIST and read it in three days in the evenings. Besides being a fast read, it's a beautiful, sad tale of the toll war plays on human beings. It's the side movies don't show, CNN stays away from and the newspapers don't dwell on. The book is poetic... it's moving. It challenges you to go beyond the masked kids throwing rocks, the turbaned man screaming allah uh akbar and toting machine guns - beyond the ethnic identity of the perpetrator and the victim. War and terrorism have many victims... Definitely a must read.
Rating:
Summary: no clear answers
Review: I read the Cyclist as part of a reading group
and I can honestly say that we have not had so
many different interpretations of a book. We do
however agree on one point. That this is very much
a cutting edge work that avoids the stale literary
matrix, in language, in form, in its refreshingly
unique (if sometimes bleak) vision of a troubled
region. Singularly unusual, inspiring but not easy
to digest. Eat light before reading. Keep an open mind.
Rating:
Summary: amazing work of literature
Review: I wish I could have submitted a favorable review of this book. Unfortunately, it was long-winded, little content, and a tedious read.
Rating:
Summary: brave new world
Review: Is this book the product of creative chaos cast into
a pit of hell and emerging phoenix-like, in triumph?
I have to say yes. The protagonist's obsessions inform
nearly every page. His language, like him, transcends
convention, making him difficult to forget. Our Cyclist
is elliptical yet highly informed. The attention to
cultural detail is (for example, the way milk is stored
in plastic bags, the type of cookies eaten during Purim,
even the fruit shakes sold in Beirut which are named
after world despots)deliriously delicious. Some of the
sentences are permanently burned into my subconscious.
I highly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: amazing work of literature
Review: Let me begin by saying that this is not a breezy, feel-good page turner. This is serious literature that is meticulously crafted and meant to be thoroughly chewed before digesting. It is, however, an uncomfortable book, which is a good thing as great art often challenges us. Had Berberian offered terrorism as a septic endeavour, a facile pursuit, it would not only be disingenuous, it would be insulting to the reader. What struck me in particular about this book was that it is new. You really don't see writing these days that is so carefuly arranged and so vivid. Instead, we often read self indulgent first person screeds that play on ad infinitum. Berberian has a slightly surreal style with hints of Albert Camus dotting his lyrical landscape. You can tell that he has learned from the greats. There is a gravity and earnestness of purpose that is hard to ignore. If you are interested in the work of one of today's brightest young writers, please consider "The Cyclist." (I'm not sure how "old" Berberian is, but judging by the look of his handsome picture on the back flap he appears to be pretty young.)
Rating:
Summary: Not a Treatise on Terror
Review: loved this book but it's not so much a treatise on terrorism; it is more of a celebration of the senses. each morcel contains an idea, a truth, a new truth, a challenge, so savor each word carefully. nothing is wasted in this slim book. the ingredients combine in the most enduring ways.
Rating:
Summary: Implaccable
Review: Relentless, pushing, implacable, like a glacier, big and brutal. A precisely and delicately written portrait. Thank You.
Rating:
Summary: Tantalizing and Hearty/You Will Come Back for More
Review: The novel's food talk is great fun. The Cyclist's love affair with his girlfriend warms the heart throughout. The puns are pointed.
The prose is measured and in control. This is a rare book, different. An urgent read for its intrinsic values alone: the seamless prose, the cadence of the words, the narrative's unconventional structure, written in fragmented and inter-connected vignettes as if to reflect the current state of our divided world. One of the book's most arresting reminders is of how close tradition and technology have become in the troubles plaguing the modern world. The Cyclist will make you laugh, wince, tantalize your senses and make you think. You develop a love/hate relationship with the character until the end when...
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