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hundo_p's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
matt717's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
giulsloves's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
auntleona's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
colorofgrass's review
dark
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
armandilloh's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
drifterontherun's review
4.0
I have sung the praises of Archipelago Books before, the titles they select are always fascinating and the books themselves beautifully designed. "If You Kept a Record of Sins" is no exception.
This is a remarkably poignant book, one that evokes a great deal of emotion in its telling of the sorrowful relationship between a mother and son.
The story starts with the son, Lorenzo, learning that his mother, Lula, has died. When Lorenzo was a child, Lula had begun traveling from Italy to Romania for business. These trips became ever more frequent, and before long Lula, whose affair with her business partner — the slimy, overbearing Anselmi — she never made much attempt to hide, has moved permanently to Romania, leaving Lorenzo to be raised alone by his stepfather, a kind, brokenhearted man.
Lorenzo's relationship with his mother is complicated, to say the least. He worships her, and yet at the same time is all too aware that she abandoned him to live a more carefree life.
All these emotions are front and center in the story, which takes place entirely in Romania, though its tourism board will certainly not be distributing copies of this one. Romanians here come off as largely a crass people, and Bucharest as a cesspit only notable for its People's Palace and the legacy of Romania's executed dictator, Nicolai Ceausescu.
I spent a few days in Bucharest about ten years ago and I can't say I came away with warm feelings of the place either, which feels every step the ex-communist city it is, but Lorenzo is also lashing out at the country for having taken his mother from him, and behind his disgust at the vulgarity of the cities' inhabitants and the city itself is the unspoken accusation he wields at his mother — "you abandoned me for this? For them?"
Andrea Bajani is a wonderful writer, and he conjures up some lovely images here. Lula's chauffeur, Christian, is described by Lorenzo as having eyes "like candies in paper wrappers, wrinkles radiating from the edges" and he speaks of the souvenirs his mother would bring back to him from her business trips abroad, before she stopped visiting entirely, as coming from "every country, every corner on earth, my room, trip after trip, becoming the world map of your absence."
This is a very quick read, the words go down as sweetly as honey, but it also feels incomplete. This is, of course, one half of the story, and questions remain over the turn Lula's life took toward the end. As memorable as the descriptions here are, as lovely as the translation is, the whole thing feels impermanent.
The impression I got, even as I read, was that the whole thing was somewhat fleeting. Much like Lorenzo's mother, it's lovely when it's here but, when it's over, just how will it be remembered? Will these sweet words hold up over time?
This is a remarkably poignant book, one that evokes a great deal of emotion in its telling of the sorrowful relationship between a mother and son.
The story starts with the son, Lorenzo, learning that his mother, Lula, has died. When Lorenzo was a child, Lula had begun traveling from Italy to Romania for business. These trips became ever more frequent, and before long Lula, whose affair with her business partner — the slimy, overbearing Anselmi — she never made much attempt to hide, has moved permanently to Romania, leaving Lorenzo to be raised alone by his stepfather, a kind, brokenhearted man.
Lorenzo's relationship with his mother is complicated, to say the least. He worships her, and yet at the same time is all too aware that she abandoned him to live a more carefree life.
All these emotions are front and center in the story, which takes place entirely in Romania, though its tourism board will certainly not be distributing copies of this one. Romanians here come off as largely a crass people, and Bucharest as a cesspit only notable for its People's Palace and the legacy of Romania's executed dictator, Nicolai Ceausescu.
I spent a few days in Bucharest about ten years ago and I can't say I came away with warm feelings of the place either, which feels every step the ex-communist city it is, but Lorenzo is also lashing out at the country for having taken his mother from him, and behind his disgust at the vulgarity of the cities' inhabitants and the city itself is the unspoken accusation he wields at his mother — "you abandoned me for this? For them?"
Andrea Bajani is a wonderful writer, and he conjures up some lovely images here. Lula's chauffeur, Christian, is described by Lorenzo as having eyes "like candies in paper wrappers, wrinkles radiating from the edges" and he speaks of the souvenirs his mother would bring back to him from her business trips abroad, before she stopped visiting entirely, as coming from "every country, every corner on earth, my room, trip after trip, becoming the world map of your absence."
This is a very quick read, the words go down as sweetly as honey, but it also feels incomplete. This is, of course, one half of the story, and questions remain over the turn Lula's life took toward the end. As memorable as the descriptions here are, as lovely as the translation is, the whole thing feels impermanent.
The impression I got, even as I read, was that the whole thing was somewhat fleeting. Much like Lorenzo's mother, it's lovely when it's here but, when it's over, just how will it be remembered? Will these sweet words hold up over time?
mickeyyjr's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
es un libro lento. a veces suelta unas buenas líneas, y la prisa es buena, pero es difícil querer seguir leyendo. por alguna razón la mayoría de los capítulos tienen la misma cantidad de páginas (4 aprox.) lo que lo hace sentir repetitivo.
amozzoni's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
shankar's review
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
“𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙨, 𝙤𝙝 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙, 𝙤𝙝 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙, 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙?”
The story follows a young Italian man, Lorenzo, who goes to Bucharest for her mother’s funeral and to settle her part of the business there. Lorenzo's mother left him when he was a child so that she could be free herself to to become an entrepreneur with a more exciting partner in business and love.
Lorenzo’s boyhood memories of his beloved mother who travels forever and returns sporadically, the unusual business trips which drifts her away from him gradually, leaves a big empty hole in his life. Now, after many years, he learns about how his mother spent the end of her days alone and self destructed by the betrayal of her lover and business partner for a young Romanian woman.
The story alternates between the present day and Lorenzo’s past with her mother. Much of the narrative consists of Lorenzo considering his mother's role in his life. It is set in post-communist Romania where the globalisation has taken its root. There are many references to the oppressive reign of the dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu, especially the scene of a visit to the People’s Palace built by the dictator. There are pieces of racial comments by Italian master against Romanians workers, especially the Roma people who look like Indians. Overall, it is an astonishing powerful, profoundly moving portrayal of a mother-son relationship. The unsparing writing of Andrea Bajani is superb and flawlessly translated by Elizabeth Harris. Definitely read this book!