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ashleylorelle's review
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Drug use, Rape, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Murder, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, and Violence
nac1050's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
anacatnascimento's review
4.0
A única sinopse que li deste livro não era, de todo, tão completa quanto a que podemos ler aqui no Goodreads. Falava-me de um mundo encantado e de magia, e por isso agradou-me. Mas não me preparou para o murro no estômago que, afinal de contas, é [b:The Enchanted|18090147|The Enchanted|Rene Denfeld|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1373991244s/18090147.jpg|25146823].
São pouco mais de 100 páginas, mas cada uma nos deixa com a pulga atrás da orelha. Onde é esta prisão encantada? Quem é, realmente, o nosso narrador? Como é que ele foi ali parar? Será que os cavalos dourados existem mesmo ou são só visões? Algumas respostas vêm, quase a contragosto, e confortam-nos. Outras ficam perdidas naquele lugar mágico, esperando ser encontradas por alguém mais sábio que nós. Mais encantado.
[b:The Enchanted|18090147|The Enchanted|Rene Denfeld|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1373991244s/18090147.jpg|25146823] é cru, e apesar de toda a magia, real, muito real. Ficamos com uma ideia do que se passa mesmo no interior de uma prisão - e se não nos deixa com vontade de nunca cometer um crime, I don't know what will. É assustador, porque nos deparamos com uma dualidade que temos de enfrentar praticamente todos os dias, embora noutros contextos: a humanidade, e a falta dela, presente nas pessoas.
Acima de tudo, é nisso que este livro se foca, e é essa a lição que o narrador nos tenta ensinar: de que apesar da miséria, dos erros, da tristeza, da solidão e da maldade, há sempre parte de nós que anseia por ser bom, por ser ouvido e, mais importante que tudo, reconhecido e visto pelo que se é.
Podemos aplicar isto a tantas partes da nossa vida que, a certa altura, deixei de tentar. Deixei que os cavalos dourados me levassem a galope, e os homenzinhos que vivem nas paredes a fazer os seus restauros descansados. Afinal, também eu estive naquele corredor da morte, a uma altura ou outra, e também eu vi a salvação ao fundo do túnel. Também eu me refugiei nas palavras e nos livros quando parecia que nada (nem ninguém) mais era capaz de me compreender.
[b:The Enchanted|18090147|The Enchanted|Rene Denfeld|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1373991244s/18090147.jpg|25146823] faz jus ao título. É um livro encantado que, entre horrores, consegue ser recheado da verdadeira magia, aquela que acontece todos os dias, muitas vezes sem darmos conta: a bondade.
“The truth is, clocks don’t tell time. Time is measured in meaning.”
São pouco mais de 100 páginas, mas cada uma nos deixa com a pulga atrás da orelha. Onde é esta prisão encantada? Quem é, realmente, o nosso narrador? Como é que ele foi ali parar? Será que os cavalos dourados existem mesmo ou são só visões? Algumas respostas vêm, quase a contragosto, e confortam-nos. Outras ficam perdidas naquele lugar mágico, esperando ser encontradas por alguém mais sábio que nós. Mais encantado.
[b:The Enchanted|18090147|The Enchanted|Rene Denfeld|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1373991244s/18090147.jpg|25146823] é cru, e apesar de toda a magia, real, muito real. Ficamos com uma ideia do que se passa mesmo no interior de uma prisão - e se não nos deixa com vontade de nunca cometer um crime, I don't know what will. É assustador, porque nos deparamos com uma dualidade que temos de enfrentar praticamente todos os dias, embora noutros contextos: a humanidade, e a falta dela, presente nas pessoas.
Acima de tudo, é nisso que este livro se foca, e é essa a lição que o narrador nos tenta ensinar: de que apesar da miséria, dos erros, da tristeza, da solidão e da maldade, há sempre parte de nós que anseia por ser bom, por ser ouvido e, mais importante que tudo, reconhecido e visto pelo que se é.
Podemos aplicar isto a tantas partes da nossa vida que, a certa altura, deixei de tentar. Deixei que os cavalos dourados me levassem a galope, e os homenzinhos que vivem nas paredes a fazer os seus restauros descansados. Afinal, também eu estive naquele corredor da morte, a uma altura ou outra, e também eu vi a salvação ao fundo do túnel. Também eu me refugiei nas palavras e nos livros quando parecia que nada (nem ninguém) mais era capaz de me compreender.
[b:The Enchanted|18090147|The Enchanted|Rene Denfeld|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1373991244s/18090147.jpg|25146823] faz jus ao título. É um livro encantado que, entre horrores, consegue ser recheado da verdadeira magia, aquela que acontece todos os dias, muitas vezes sem darmos conta: a bondade.
“The truth is, clocks don’t tell time. Time is measured in meaning.”
srestrepo92886's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
gabi15's review
3.0
I had this book on my shelf for quite some time so i finally decided to give it a try, but sadly I just feel MEH about this book. It was written beautifully, confusing at times and i didn't understand the point of the magical realism. (and that is what attracted me in the first place-the magical realism aspect)
abs15's review
dark
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
jessnellreyn's review
5.0
This book will disturb and unsettle you in a thought-provoking way that leaves you changed and haunted. I could hardly put it down and haven't stopped thinking about it and the later-realized character nuances since I turned the last page. Bravo.
melissagallant_'s review against another edition
4.0
Such lovely writing here! What a sense of atmosphere. A brutal but beautiful story.
squirrelsohno's review against another edition
5.0
THE ENCHANTED is not my typical read - or at least not my typical review, if you rather. It's literary fiction telling the story of a man on death row with mental problems as he tells a story about life behind bars and also the stories of people around him, particularly a mitigation specialist (which our author knows lots about since she is one - it's a person who does intensive research to put together last ditch appeals for inmates) and a fallen priest who counsels the inmates. And even though it's a contemporary tale, Denfeld weaves in magic and lyricism to create a book reminiscent in its storytelling of THE NIGHT CIRCUS, except set in a prison.
Trust me, it's super good.
We follow a nameless man who is on death row for reasons we are initially not told, a man with a number of psychiatric issues that has left him mute and lost in a dreamlike state full of golden horses and tiny men and books provided to him by a compassionate warden who sees him for what he is - a disturbed, pitiful man.
"This is an enchanted place. Others don't see it, but I do."
Denfeld's biggest strength is her prose, which brings to mind Erin Morgenstern's effortlessly evocative writing from the aforementioned NIGHT CIRCUS. The writing is nothing short of amazing, painting a gorgeous yet bleak picture of life behind bars. Our narrator is a man who has turned his time in prison into a landscape littered with magical elements due to his multitude of issues. He's fearful and feared by those around him because of his past.
At the same time, his story is one of redemption. Maybe not for himself, no, but for telling the stories of those around him and weaving tales to keep his mind afloat and alive under the crushing weight of reality - he's on death row for an unspeakable crime, and nothing will save him.
Comparing it to Stephen King and Alice Sebold is a bit incorrect. Yes, in a way it's reminiscent of 'The Shawshank Redemption' and THE GREEN MILE, but Alice Sebold? Not really. It's a lyrical novel about hope and the healing power of imagination when faced with the darkest of circumstances.
But it is a beautiful book, plain and simple.
VERDICT: Amazing, breathtaking, and enchanting. THE ENCHANTED is a must read for fans of literary fiction.
♥♥♥♥♥ - FIVE HEARTS
Trust me, it's super good.
We follow a nameless man who is on death row for reasons we are initially not told, a man with a number of psychiatric issues that has left him mute and lost in a dreamlike state full of golden horses and tiny men and books provided to him by a compassionate warden who sees him for what he is - a disturbed, pitiful man.
"This is an enchanted place. Others don't see it, but I do."
Denfeld's biggest strength is her prose, which brings to mind Erin Morgenstern's effortlessly evocative writing from the aforementioned NIGHT CIRCUS. The writing is nothing short of amazing, painting a gorgeous yet bleak picture of life behind bars. Our narrator is a man who has turned his time in prison into a landscape littered with magical elements due to his multitude of issues. He's fearful and feared by those around him because of his past.
At the same time, his story is one of redemption. Maybe not for himself, no, but for telling the stories of those around him and weaving tales to keep his mind afloat and alive under the crushing weight of reality - he's on death row for an unspeakable crime, and nothing will save him.
Comparing it to Stephen King and Alice Sebold is a bit incorrect. Yes, in a way it's reminiscent of 'The Shawshank Redemption' and THE GREEN MILE, but Alice Sebold? Not really. It's a lyrical novel about hope and the healing power of imagination when faced with the darkest of circumstances.
But it is a beautiful book, plain and simple.
VERDICT: Amazing, breathtaking, and enchanting. THE ENCHANTED is a must read for fans of literary fiction.
♥♥♥♥♥ - FIVE HEARTS