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paulineleonor's review
1.0
This is my first ever review on Goodreads and I wish it could be a positive one. Unfortunately, there is too much that is wrong about this book to give it more than one star.
The synopsis sells you a riveting story set over a 24-hour period, but even that is misleading. Rasa never looks for his friend Maj (he is actually told quite early one where Maj is and does very little about it) and the absence of tension, action and progress in the story is beyond frustrating.
All the characters are 1D cartoons — the closeted society man, the flamboyant queer, the romantic and passive gay man — and not one of them sees an ounce of character development. The writer doesn't even talk about the first time Rasa had sex with a man, which seems like an even that would have had some impact on Rasa. The whole middle section of the book (around 150 pages) is packed with memories, which not only affect the 24-hour rush the book promised, but also take us far from the actual situation and into stories about Rasa's mother and grandmother that add absolutely nothing to the story.
It's all unbelievably boring, slow, and pointless. There's no real resolution and you finish the last page having gained nothing and lost a whole lot of time. Also I can't believe how badly written this book is. I felt it the entire way but it was hard to ignore when I came across the words "I did a sad little vomit". Not sure why editors allowed that to be kept in.
All in all, a book I wish I hadn't read and one I certainly don't recommend.
The synopsis sells you a riveting story set over a 24-hour period, but even that is misleading. Rasa never looks for his friend Maj (he is actually told quite early one where Maj is and does very little about it) and the absence of tension, action and progress in the story is beyond frustrating.
All the characters are 1D cartoons — the closeted society man, the flamboyant queer, the romantic and passive gay man — and not one of them sees an ounce of character development. The writer doesn't even talk about the first time Rasa had sex with a man, which seems like an even that would have had some impact on Rasa. The whole middle section of the book (around 150 pages) is packed with memories, which not only affect the 24-hour rush the book promised, but also take us far from the actual situation and into stories about Rasa's mother and grandmother that add absolutely nothing to the story.
It's all unbelievably boring, slow, and pointless. There's no real resolution and you finish the last page having gained nothing and lost a whole lot of time. Also I can't believe how badly written this book is. I felt it the entire way but it was hard to ignore when I came across the words "I did a sad little vomit". Not sure why editors allowed that to be kept in.
All in all, a book I wish I hadn't read and one I certainly don't recommend.
rayyash's review
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
thewhisperingpages's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-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
3.0
jezzajezza's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-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
4.0
mgreer56's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
genteale's review
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-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
4.5
emerwalsh's review against another edition
5.0
superrr delayed review here but so good !! gritty, honest and brilliantly written
the_literarylinguist's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-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
3.75
standardbearer's review
emotional
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? No
4.75
rocio_voncina's review against another edition
5.0
Titulo: Ultima noche en el Guapa
Autor: Saleem Haddad
Año publicado: 2016
Motivo de lectura: #MarzoAsiatico
Lectura / Relectura: Lectura
Fisico / Electronico: Electronico
Mi edicion: -
Idioma: Español
Puntuacion: 5/5
Sin lugar a dudas de esos libros que te roban el corazon por la profundidad emocional. Saleem Haddad tiene una enorme habilidad en la construccion de atmosferas sumamente emocionales, cuando los personajes interactuan, la experiencia como lector es ser testigo mudo de una conversacion en extremo intima, sincera, con el corazon en la mano.
Saleem Haddad hace un trabajo fantastico retratando lo que es la orientacion sexual entrelazada con la religion, las personas en nombre de la religion no dudan en levantar el dedo y acusar/juzgar, sumado a esto la presion familiar y el aspecto politico, la combinacion de los cuatro aspectos resulta en algo desolador.
La construccion de los personajes es realmente muy destacable. Aca no hay exageraciones ni tampoco aspectos fantasiosos, son personajes absolutamente terrenales, reales, con profundidad, complejidad, miedos, vulnerabilidad, y con verdaderos motivos para intentar superar obstaculos.
El realismo de la trama, Rasa (nuestro protagonista) es un muchacho que en este momento estara caminando por alguna calle, viviendo en un pais que criminaliza su orientacion sexual, y donde la libertad solo es un sustantivo sin valor, algo que no puede aplicarse/vivirse. Miles de Rasas que dia a dia piensan que no son "normales" y que la sociedad los lleva a avergonzarse de si mismos e incluso hasta a desenlaces fatales.
El homenaje a Ayham Ahmad a traves de un personaje en la historia. Este hombre es conococido como el "pianista" del campamento de refugiados sirios de Yarmouk. Por favor, dediquen un tiempo a buscar un video en youtube, la capacidad de Ahmad para crear una absoltua belleza a traves del arte en un lugar como un campamento de refugiados es de esas cosas que se graban en el alma.
Al final del libro se encuentra un glosario de palabras arabes, lo cual ayuda mucho en la lectura para las personas que no esten familiarizadas con la cultura/idioma.
Autor: Saleem Haddad
Año publicado: 2016
Motivo de lectura: #MarzoAsiatico
Lectura / Relectura: Lectura
Fisico / Electronico: Electronico
Mi edicion: -
Idioma: Español
Puntuacion: 5/5
Por dentro habia empezado a construir una jaula secreta en mi cabeza donde ir metiendo todos esos pensamientos oscuros. Como si fueran pajaros, los cazaba cuando cruzaban volando y los metia en esa jaula por si algun dia llegaban a hacerme falta. Almacene en esa jaula secretos que no podia ni siquiera susurrarme a mi mismo por miedo a que consiguieran escapar y salir volando..
Sin lugar a dudas de esos libros que te roban el corazon por la profundidad emocional. Saleem Haddad tiene una enorme habilidad en la construccion de atmosferas sumamente emocionales, cuando los personajes interactuan, la experiencia como lector es ser testigo mudo de una conversacion en extremo intima, sincera, con el corazon en la mano.
Saleem Haddad hace un trabajo fantastico retratando lo que es la orientacion sexual entrelazada con la religion, las personas en nombre de la religion no dudan en levantar el dedo y acusar/juzgar, sumado a esto la presion familiar y el aspecto politico, la combinacion de los cuatro aspectos resulta en algo desolador.
La construccion de los personajes es realmente muy destacable. Aca no hay exageraciones ni tampoco aspectos fantasiosos, son personajes absolutamente terrenales, reales, con profundidad, complejidad, miedos, vulnerabilidad, y con verdaderos motivos para intentar superar obstaculos.
El realismo de la trama, Rasa (nuestro protagonista) es un muchacho que en este momento estara caminando por alguna calle, viviendo en un pais que criminaliza su orientacion sexual, y donde la libertad solo es un sustantivo sin valor, algo que no puede aplicarse/vivirse. Miles de Rasas que dia a dia piensan que no son "normales" y que la sociedad los lleva a avergonzarse de si mismos e incluso hasta a desenlaces fatales.
El homenaje a Ayham Ahmad a traves de un personaje en la historia. Este hombre es conococido como el "pianista" del campamento de refugiados sirios de Yarmouk. Por favor, dediquen un tiempo a buscar un video en youtube, la capacidad de Ahmad para crear una absoltua belleza a traves del arte en un lugar como un campamento de refugiados es de esas cosas que se graban en el alma.
Al final del libro se encuentra un glosario de palabras arabes, lo cual ayuda mucho en la lectura para las personas que no esten familiarizadas con la cultura/idioma.