Reviews

Barcelona Dreaming by Rupert Thomson

the_readingcorner's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

anastasia86's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

esther_habs's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

trixiew's review against another edition

3.0

I’m usually horrible about using Goodreads but I want to be better this year. So starting with the first book I finished this year which I actually started a few weeks ago in 2022. It was ok but nothing special. I was looking forward to feeling closer to Barcelona through Thompson’s writing as it’s one of my favorite cities. But instead I felt I was fed mediocre characters and storylines. I didn’t think the actual writing was bad though and I started to like the last story towards the end. It took a while though for things to get interesting. I think I liked this story the most because I relate to Jordi the most. He’s sort of lost and wanting more. He tends to get invested in the happenings of others lives rather than his own (both fictional and real). I hated “The King” he felt womanizer adjacent and was just bland overall. Not really understanding how Montse became the through line in all these stories because nothing ends up happening with her that’s overwhelmingly relevant. I think there are books more successful at doing what this book tried to. I enjoyed it as an easy read that I wasn’t over invested in. Otherwise I think the cover is wonderful and what originally attracted me to the book. Unashamedly I will judge a book by the cover. Oh also I loved the giant and the other surreal elements probably why it’s a 3 and not 2 stars imo.

aizhonyy's review

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

1.5

lauraowen's review

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

sharktownwoman's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I enjoyed this book. Since the characters reappear in each other's stories, I wish I had read it all closer together, so that I could better remember who everyone was. These stories are very grounded in sense of place; Barcelona and its surroundings played a central role in the mapping of the stories. It was fun to read something so attentive to setting, and to recognize the city as it showed up in these characters' lives. Overall, it was an engaging "slice of life" read.

lalalaluziie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

2.0

why did I read this

the last story was the best but they were all pretty weird and unnecessary and strange (not in a good way) and very clearly written by a man and this was a waste of my time even twilight was more of a literary masterpiece than this. 

i had really hoped for Barcelona as a city/place to play more of an active role here and take on a sense of character in itself. Instead he just mentioned a few places in the city and left it at that. There was little sense of place and it could've taken place in any other city. I wanted to experience Barcelona and feel the heat, the smells, the sounds seep through the pages. But, alas. None of that. I'm not angry I'm just disappointed. 

i tagged it "adventurous" and "challenging" in the sense that you never knew what kind of fucked up shit he would start mentioning next and that I found it very challenging to finish and not dnf it. 

The first story felt orientalist and all of them a bit strangely misogynistic but I can't put my finger on why quite yet. It felt like the characters and by extension the author think too highly of themselves. 

professional_sleeping_beauty's review

dark reflective sad medium-paced

3.75

alleyboop's review against another edition

4.0

I won't say this is the most riveting or best book I've read this year, but I have to give it to the author for the prose. It follows three interlocking stories and each leaves you with a sense of finality, but also a sense of change for each character. It could be because it takes place in Barcelona, but it reminded me of Carmen Laforet's Nada - like a homage to that book but in the future of Barcelona. There is this lovely ache about Barcelona and he captures this with his diverse cast of characters who range from English, Moroccan, Brazilian, to Catalan. Barcelona often feels like it's own place separate of Spain and I really felt that in this novel. And of course, the wanderlust has returned full swing and how I'd love to eat in a restaurant on the Barceloneta or walk down Passeig de Gracia again.