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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
No entendí nada. No me trajo nada. No me deja nada. Estoy muy triste que uno de los pilares de la literatura latinoamericana no me llegue, pero nos todos somos hechos para esto.
I had high hopes, but unfortunately, they didn't line up with the reality of reading this. It has all the elements that I enjoy -- language play, different types of writing, using the presentation of the page as part of the story, an unconventional reading order -- but the story itself was absolutely unbearable.
I know it was written in a different era (not that far back, but different anyway), and I should make allowances for the rampant misogyny and abuse of female characters... but god, the main character was actually just so repulsive, and his circle of friends was almost equally repulsive.
In Paris, every "action" seemed buried in 100 words of useless thought or description; in Buenos Aires, more absurdities than anything, but at least the plot moved. (I get it -- the writing represented Oliveira's life in both places. Great! It was still arduous to plow through.) And through the entire book, Oliveira just uses everyone around him and makes no apologies or takes any responsibility for how he affects people.
The treatment of the female characters was especially terrible -- and the author's repeated assumption that the "female-reader" only likes straightforward books with happy, tidy endings irritated the hell out of me. The treatment of people with mental illness was also a key element and incredibly off the mark.
2 stars only because of the elements that I liked, absolutely not for any of the story.
I know it was written in a different era (not that far back, but different anyway), and I should make allowances for the rampant misogyny and abuse of female characters... but god, the main character was actually just so repulsive, and his circle of friends was almost equally repulsive.
In Paris, every "action" seemed buried in 100 words of useless thought or description; in Buenos Aires, more absurdities than anything, but at least the plot moved. (I get it -- the writing represented Oliveira's life in both places. Great! It was still arduous to plow through.) And through the entire book, Oliveira just uses everyone around him and makes no apologies or takes any responsibility for how he affects people.
The treatment of the female characters was especially terrible -- and the author's repeated assumption that the "female-reader" only likes straightforward books with happy, tidy endings irritated the hell out of me. The treatment of people with mental illness was also a key element and incredibly off the mark.
2 stars only because of the elements that I liked, absolutely not for any of the story.
Cómo son los clásicos... Es impresionante cómo este libro, a pesar de ser uno de los más densos que he leído hasta la fecha, y a pesar de tener en repetidas veces la sensación de estar perdiéndome la mitad (o más) del contenido, sigue consiguiendo que sientas dentro de tí ese "click" que te hace entenderlo todo.
Que en realidad no has entendido nada, pero lo has entendido todo. Un poco como Horacio, supongo. Yo, por lo menos, creo que he alcanzado el Cielo.
Que en realidad no has entendido nada, pero lo has entendido todo. Un poco como Horacio, supongo. Yo, por lo menos, creo que he alcanzado el Cielo.
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm hovering around 4.7 with this book, because it was really difficult to get through at times and because I needed to really "make" myself get into it. Once I did, though, it was amazing. As is obvious from only reading the blurb, it's not a light read by all means and to really appreciate it, you need to take your time and think about the form, the conversations and thousands of references in them (which tends to be quite grueling) - but in the end, you really feel as if you've read something important. I don't know how else to put it, this book made me think about a number of different aspects of art, the way we communicate and how we relate to others, what we are searching for - Horacio's famous "center"... All in all, it's a worthwhile read to be sure and a modern classic by all standards, but I wouldn't recommend it to just any of my friends, if that makes sense.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
what a exceptional book. The writing is crazy and story is almost unnecessary to the poetic license he takes in shrouding the story. At times I didn't know what was happening but I was being guided by someone with a plan. I also read it jumping around(the real method? the preferred method? the lesser method?) and the tangential chapters are interesting inserts to the story at large.