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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
Video review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWP9bO68_tw&feature=youtu.be
Por mucho tiempo pensé que las buenas historias estaban fuera de mi país, pero después de leer a J. G. Vasquéz, siento cierto remordimiento, por haber esperado tanto para enterarme en detalle de sucesos tan importantes como el bogotazo y la muerte del General Uribe. Excelente lectura.
Een samenzweringstheorie 500 bladzijdes volhouden is knap. Het is, zonder dat je erg veel inkijk krijgt in de personages, toch spannend. Ook is het heel beangstigend en leerzaam. Ik ben - opgegroeid in een redelijk werkende rechtstaat - zo verwend dat ik toch verbijsterd lees hoe anders het kan gaan. Rechteloosheid, onrecht, geweld, tegenwerking, willekeur, corruptie en machtsmisbruik; het individu tegen de macht. De waarheid van de enkeling tegenover de belangen van de elite. Voor ons is dat een spannend gevecht waarvan we hopen en verwachten dat de waarheid overwint. Voor iemand uit Colombia is dat heel anders. De waarheid maakt alleen een kans als de zittende macht daar belang bij heeft. Als je er als individu voor vecht wordt je vanzelf een don quichote.
challenging
Timely book about the obsession with conspiracy theories and how public historical events can become personal. I found the detail about the historical events at times to be repetitive and a bit drawn out. Also, there was a back story about the children of one of the main characters that deserved more attention and may have provided an interesting contrast to the investigations. Well written regardless.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a book that draws parallels between many events. It hints at mysterious figures directing the action. And tells us that we can't ever really know the past.
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Murder
Moderate: Torture, War
Minor: Medical content, Pregnancy
Do you ever like the idea of a book more than the book itself? The Shape of the Ruins falls squarely in that category. Objectively, I should love it. But something about it does not work for me. I had to force myself to finish reading it. I think the most frustrating thing about it is that the first and last chapter are fantastic. When you realise Carballo's motivations, I think the entire book makes much more sense, but to get to that sort of catharsis you have to muddle through almost 500 pages that read like someone's undergraduate dissertation about two important moments in Colombian history.
The Shape of the Ruins reminded me of James Wood's review of Emma Cline's "The Girls." In his review, Wood praises Cline's style but questions if there was really a reason for the book's existence. I don't ascribe to the idea that a book needs a larger reason to exist (political, historical or otherwise), but the Wood's question morphed in my mind to something different: is there anything in The Shape of the Ruins that could not have been written by someone else? I mean, this book is just a narrative history with some personal history thrown in.
And the problem is not just the generic nature of the book itself, is that Vásquez succumbs to the blandest clichés in his writing, both with regards to the framing of the book and its prose style. For example, I was wrote down some notes about the book during my reading, including one where I mentioned that the larger argument seemed to be that Colombia's violent past seeps into its present and lo and behold, a few hundred pages later Vásquez uses a very similar phrasing to express the exact same idea. And this one of many instances where Vásquez relies on linguistic cliches and imagery to put describe the violence that Colombians have inherited because of their fraught history.
I guess my final verdict for this book can be resumed in one word: underwhelming.
The Shape of the Ruins reminded me of James Wood's review of Emma Cline's "The Girls." In his review, Wood praises Cline's style but questions if there was really a reason for the book's existence. I don't ascribe to the idea that a book needs a larger reason to exist (political, historical or otherwise), but the Wood's question morphed in my mind to something different: is there anything in The Shape of the Ruins that could not have been written by someone else? I mean, this book is just a narrative history with some personal history thrown in.
And the problem is not just the generic nature of the book itself, is that Vásquez succumbs to the blandest clichés in his writing, both with regards to the framing of the book and its prose style. For example, I was wrote down some notes about the book during my reading, including one where I mentioned that the larger argument seemed to be that Colombia's violent past seeps into its present and lo and behold, a few hundred pages later Vásquez uses a very similar phrasing to express the exact same idea. And this one of many instances where Vásquez relies on linguistic cliches and imagery to put describe the violence that Colombians have inherited because of their fraught history.
I guess my final verdict for this book can be resumed in one word: underwhelming.
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The description of the political environment following Gaitan's murder and general Bogotá is great. The final half about Rafael Uribe Uribe written with the most stingy reserve of line breaks was nearly impossible to bear (for me)
As I read more Colombian fiction, I've realized that I really dislike reading Colombian fiction. The first half is always great, but at the halfway point, it always becomes a chore to read.
(Read on the way through Salento as well as Bogotá. Walking around Parque Bolivar with this book (digitally) in hand is quite the experience. It would've been 5 stars for me if not for the rambling diatribes in the Uribe Uribe section)
As I read more Colombian fiction, I've realized that I really dislike reading Colombian fiction. The first half is always great, but at the halfway point, it always becomes a chore to read.
(Read on the way through Salento as well as Bogotá. Walking around Parque Bolivar with this book (digitally) in hand is quite the experience. It would've been 5 stars for me if not for the rambling diatribes in the Uribe Uribe section)