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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
I don't think I've ever read a book with a more engaging structure than "Rayuela." For context, this book is written such that you can start at chapter 1 and read straight through chapter 56, or you can hop between the first 56 chapters and those in the back of the book according to the instructions at the end of each chapter. I chose to hop around, and it's difficult to overstate how much better I think that decision made the book. Hopping back and forth after each chapter lent the reading experience a lot of energy and made it feel almost hypnotic in a way that I haven't experienced before.
In addition to the interesting format, I thought that the book had a fairly strong foundation. I liked how the story developed in both Paris and Argentina, and I thought that the two settings felt distinct enough from one another that you could really feel the shift when it changed. I also enjoyed the characters. I'd describe most of them as reasonably normal, well adjusted people, but some of them were pretty contemptible as well.
I think that the highest praise that I can offer this book is that I plan to reread it, which is something I do not do very often, once I have brushed up on my French. I would recommend it if you're interested in something a bit weird/off the beaten path.
In addition to the interesting format, I thought that the book had a fairly strong foundation. I liked how the story developed in both Paris and Argentina, and I thought that the two settings felt distinct enough from one another that you could really feel the shift when it changed. I also enjoyed the characters. I'd describe most of them as reasonably normal, well adjusted people, but some of them were pretty contemptible as well.
I think that the highest praise that I can offer this book is that I plan to reread it, which is something I do not do very often, once I have brushed up on my French. I would recommend it if you're interested in something a bit weird/off the beaten path.
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
reflective
slow-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
I really liked this book even though at times I wasn't sure if I would have said that in the moment. It's a challenging book in terms of technicalities. For example, this author loves long, run-on sentences; chapter 17 had one sentence that was literally over two pages long. Chapter 34 was challenging the mechanics of reading: testing the literary device. Chapter 69 was hard to read because he spells pretty much every single word in the chapter so weirdly (i.e. "...a man wurthi of atenshun and apreshiayshun"), so that short chapter took much longer to read than usual. Another thing that makes this a different kind of book, is that you read the first part like normal, but the second part of the book is like re-read of the first part but with extra chapters in between (constantly flipping back and forth), and there is much more detail. If you read it like how the author has it planned out, it ends up being a book that is just a bit over 900 pages, and some of the chapters are seriously tedious to read. Despite its challenges I really enjoyed this and I haven't read too many books that challenges the reader like this one did.
challenging
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
É um livro desafiador para um "leitor-fêmea" como eu.
O que me prendeu foi o fascínio pela narrativa de "antiromance" que fez muito sentido depois que peguei o jeito da coisa.
A escrita é brilhante e se tivesse lido há 25 anos teria achado genial. Mas o que eu veria como intelectualidade e profundidade nos personagens quando era jovem, hoje só me parece pedantismo e falta de louça pra lavar. Não acho que seja um demérito do autor, mas pessoas como eu, que vivem ou viveram vários tipos de escassez, tem dificuldade em alcançar certa iluminação intelectual mais natural em jovens que vão morar em Paris bancados pela família. Digo isso com inveja, quisera eu ter tempo pra sofrer procurando meu kibutz, "o centro" e não ter que me preocupar com a fatura do cartão.
Enfim, o livro é excepcionalmente bem escrito e gostei bastante de lê-lo, embora a leitura tenha sido cansativa em muitos momentos, e que eu tenha passado raiva querendo dar uns tapas nos personagens, (Horácio, principalmente).
Infelizmente sou o tipo de leitora que o autor meio que despreza, não tive nenhuma epifania, não mudou minha vida, não me fez chorar. Mas me divertiu. E, foi mal Julio, era só isso mesmo que eu queria. 🤷🏿♀️
O que me prendeu foi o fascínio pela narrativa de "antiromance" que fez muito sentido depois que peguei o jeito da coisa.
A escrita é brilhante e se tivesse lido há 25 anos teria achado genial. Mas o que eu veria como intelectualidade e profundidade nos personagens quando era jovem, hoje só me parece pedantismo e falta de louça pra lavar. Não acho que seja um demérito do autor, mas pessoas como eu, que vivem ou viveram vários tipos de escassez, tem dificuldade em alcançar certa iluminação intelectual mais natural em jovens que vão morar em Paris bancados pela família. Digo isso com inveja, quisera eu ter tempo pra sofrer procurando meu kibutz, "o centro" e não ter que me preocupar com a fatura do cartão.
Enfim, o livro é excepcionalmente bem escrito e gostei bastante de lê-lo, embora a leitura tenha sido cansativa em muitos momentos, e que eu tenha passado raiva querendo dar uns tapas nos personagens, (Horácio, principalmente).
Infelizmente sou o tipo de leitora que o autor meio que despreza, não tive nenhuma epifania, não mudou minha vida, não me fez chorar. Mas me divertiu. E, foi mal Julio, era só isso mesmo que eu queria. 🤷🏿♀️
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Mind-blowing. I had to read it twice, just to follow. Awesome.
I tried. I really tried. I did the hopscotching through the chapters and felt like the book was a chore to read. I liked the writing a lot and some of the chapters were engaging but not enough to keep me going through hundreds of pages. A little disappointed I had to put the book down before finishing it, but I've got a full shelf of to-read books that don't want to wait any longer.