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gadicohen93's review
3.0
I was running down my to-read list in the library yesterday and found this book, read that the author was Peruvian, and immediately hunted it down in the fiction aisle, seeing as I'm leaving for Peru the day after tomorrow. I'm glad I did -- Alarcón really gives you a feeling for the varied experiences of Peruvians and Pervuian-Americans and their complicated history as a people, as well as for the country's manifold physical settings, and the stories here do seem to establish a human context for the place and the culture.
Thematically, the stories touch on divergent plots and themes -- many of them deal with the terrorist/fighting that took place in Peru in the 1980s from a very close, gritty level; some stories treat unrequited love, or unfaithful love; almost all stories discuss poverty. However, despite the diverse themes and plotlines and characters, the writing style throughout is restrained, realistic fact, which occasionally expands into a more contemplative, streaming form.
The style bothered me. Sometimes Alarcón would write about an action that a character took and it'd feel so logical, almost predictable, that I lost my ability to empathize with the characters. The title story was like that, as was the last story -- the writing was, essentially, sterile.
At other times, when Alarcón lets his characters' thoughts trickle in, when he holds their thoughts and actions more urgently closer to the reader, then he succeeds, and his writing blooms. The juxtaposition of the restrained writing with the emotional vibrancy of the characters at those moments is then especially sharp and poetic. (I especially felt it in the first story, Flood, in Third Avenue Suicide, in the story about the dogs, and in A Science of Being Alone.)
But a lot of the time, it doesn't work. And even when it works, it's obscured by the times it doesn't work. So that even if most of this book was good -- and it was, really truly this book was mostly good -- it was also forgettable.
Thematically, the stories touch on divergent plots and themes -- many of them deal with the terrorist/fighting that took place in Peru in the 1980s from a very close, gritty level; some stories treat unrequited love, or unfaithful love; almost all stories discuss poverty. However, despite the diverse themes and plotlines and characters, the writing style throughout is restrained, realistic fact, which occasionally expands into a more contemplative, streaming form.
The style bothered me. Sometimes Alarcón would write about an action that a character took and it'd feel so logical, almost predictable, that I lost my ability to empathize with the characters. The title story was like that, as was the last story -- the writing was, essentially, sterile.
At other times, when Alarcón lets his characters' thoughts trickle in, when he holds their thoughts and actions more urgently closer to the reader, then he succeeds, and his writing blooms. The juxtaposition of the restrained writing with the emotional vibrancy of the characters at those moments is then especially sharp and poetic. (I especially felt it in the first story, Flood, in Third Avenue Suicide, in the story about the dogs, and in A Science of Being Alone.)
But a lot of the time, it doesn't work. And even when it works, it's obscured by the times it doesn't work. So that even if most of this book was good -- and it was, really truly this book was mostly good -- it was also forgettable.
jelundberg's review
4.0
A remarkable collection of stories about Peru, and Peruvians living in New York. Everyday people living through war, poverty, hopelessness, and geological disasters, and finding a way through the day. Poetically observant and socially aware, Alarcon's writing sings with beauty and savagery, rich with humanity.
isamerel's review
4.0
I really, really enjoyed this book. The stories, because they were so short, kept me very engaged and interested in the book. Furthermore, each story was like a puzzle to me, so I enjoyed trying to solve it and piece everything together. Aside from that, the deep, current issues the book touches on intrigued me, especially because many of them were based in Lima, Peru, and since I don't know too much about South America, it was nice to see a new perspective, hear new opinions, and just generally learn a bit more about the area. I recommend this book to anyone that likes to read (obviously) and wants a quick, engaging read that will make them more aware of issues and ways of life in other countries.
kellyelizabeth27's review
4.0
Daniel Alarcon's a rising voice in new fiction. He wrote this before Lost City Radio, and the stories show both his promise and how much he's grown as a writer since he wrote them. They are fascinating, beautifully descriptive, and occasionally a teeny bit sentimental or teetering right on the verge of cliche. A fantastic read while traveling in the Andes... keep your eye on this guy.
literaryfeline's review
3.0
http://www.literaryfeline.com/2010/03/from-archives-mini-reviews-from-2005.html
gabeisnotanangel's review
4.0
Beautiful in their sparcity, there is a bareness to Alarcon's writing that is haunting. Some might consider them unemotional but I think that the bareness and raw aspect of the stories makes the physical and ideological violence of the scenes more pressing, more close. What some may see as distance, I would argue is a stripping down of language to convey the way that violence strips down one's humanness. Highly recommend.
grahamiam's review
4.0
I love reading books like this - preambles to other works that I've fallen in love with. Like Lipsky's Three Thousand Dollars and Debra Monroe's Source of Trouble, War by Candlelight is a portent of things to come. That's not to say the collection doesn't hold up on its own. After all, it includes lines like the following, which knocked me over:
"I should call Elie and tell her I'm dead."
--
"I'd be a good father," he said.
"For how long?" she asked.
However, it doesn't quite have the full-fledged voice or self-editing cuts that Lost City Radio does. In some spots, this collection sounds like Alarcón trying to sound like Hemingway. In others, the prose begs for less. An example: the opening lines to the last story in the collection, "A Strong Dead Man."
"Rafael's father started to die in March. By summer, it was nearly complete. It came upon him all at once, a summer storm brewed from a cloudless sky, and rendered him--in quick and cold fashion--a ghost, a negative image, weak and formless, a fourth cup from a single bag of tea."
Too much going on, which makes it lose any punch it has. The conflicting nature of "started to die"+"it was nearly complete" with "It came upon him all at once" only makes the string more difficult.
These problems were resolved in his first novel. Now, with his second one coming out soon, I'm looking forward to what further steps his craft has taken.
"I should call Elie and tell her I'm dead."
--
"I'd be a good father," he said.
"For how long?" she asked.
However, it doesn't quite have the full-fledged voice or self-editing cuts that Lost City Radio does. In some spots, this collection sounds like Alarcón trying to sound like Hemingway. In others, the prose begs for less. An example: the opening lines to the last story in the collection, "A Strong Dead Man."
"Rafael's father started to die in March. By summer, it was nearly complete. It came upon him all at once, a summer storm brewed from a cloudless sky, and rendered him--in quick and cold fashion--a ghost, a negative image, weak and formless, a fourth cup from a single bag of tea."
Too much going on, which makes it lose any punch it has. The conflicting nature of "started to die"+"it was nearly complete" with "It came upon him all at once" only makes the string more difficult.
These problems were resolved in his first novel. Now, with his second one coming out soon, I'm looking forward to what further steps his craft has taken.
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