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erickibler4's review against another edition
5.0
Just super! She ranks with Hemingway and Carver as a short story writer. Painfully and uproariously honest and autobiographical. She lived an interesting life all over the Americas, from Idaho to Chile, went through addiction and recovery, battled scoliosis and cancer, loved numerous men, had four sons, survived childhood abuse, worked many occupations, and was a gregarious woman with friends in high and low places.
kalliegrace's review against another edition
challenging
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
These are incredibly written short stories, about a lifetime of topics and emotions and circumstances. You can feel the character and strength emanating from each story. I think any one of them would be a good entrance into her work. There are several characters she returns to in later stories, and I was always happy to see them again.
sol_13's review against another edition
5.0
Lucía Berlín tiene una forma de escribir cruda. Todo este libro son historias cortas, retazos de vida en un orden desordenado, que bien se van conectando y siguen siendo independientes. Hay un punto en el que las páginas avanzan y empiezas a darte cuenta que todas esas cosas son una persona, pero al las historias no tener un orden temporal la evolución personal queda disimulada por las realidades externas a las que se enfrenta.
A pesar de estar escrita en primera persona y sus vivencias personales no tiene un estilo de diario sino un estilo narrativo como pudiera tener una novela, al propio estilo norte-americano, en la que lo que te acaba calando y transmitiendo es las realidades de una mujer, el alcoholismo, E.E.U.U, la maternidad, relaciones familiares, soledad y lo grande que se convierte un mundo con todas las personas que aparecen en el camino.
A pesar de estar escrita en primera persona y sus vivencias personales no tiene un estilo de diario sino un estilo narrativo como pudiera tener una novela, al propio estilo norte-americano, en la que lo que te acaba calando y transmitiendo es las realidades de una mujer, el alcoholismo, E.E.U.U, la maternidad, relaciones familiares, soledad y lo grande que se convierte un mundo con todas las personas que aparecen en el camino.
carolinamm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
_ximini_'s review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Gran manera de contar relatos cortos, muy descriptiva y emotiva. Siento que la conocí y me duele que ya no esté.
eunicek82's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
5.0
What an amazing collection of short stories. To be honest, I had a false start with this. I tried reading this cover to cover a few years ago, got stuck and ultimately put it aside. I had to opportunity to buddy read this with a friend, taking it 1 story/week and that was definitely the way to do it. Over nearly 9 months, we made our way through this collection, laughing and crying together with these characters, many that seem plucked out of Berlin’s own life. These are raw and honest stories full of grit and life. I’m sad that it’s over.
sarahwalton429's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
enue's review against another edition
5.0
¿Donde uno tiene que estar o vivir, o sentir para escribir cómo Lucía? Es cierto que no todos los cuentos me engancharon pero esa manera muy suya de hacerse de palabras que tienen un ritmo impecable.
Me encantó la manera de narrar la muerte de una manera poética – creo yo. De hacerte sentir con hechos sencillos, lo que es el duelo, la perdida.
Me encantó la manera de narrar la muerte de una manera poética – creo yo. De hacerte sentir con hechos sencillos, lo que es el duelo, la perdida.
julianananana's review against another edition
3.5
This is a collection of overlapping stories written and seemingly re-written over 30 years of Berlin's life. She writes from her own experiences as a struggling writer, living in various Latin American and US cities, fighting alcoholism, and single motherhood. Some stories appear autobiographical, while others are fictionalized but still draw from her experiences. In these ways, the stories are visceral – dark themes of struggle, poverty, and alcoholism weave in and out of each other and completely captured my attention while exposing the ugly things people go through. This book forced me to confront my privilege as I consumed these themes from so afar.
One thing that tripped me up about this book is that some characters seem to be recurring in different stories, but after vigorous dog-earing and comparisons it looks more like Berlin simply wrote over and over about the same stories with different angles, names, variables. She even re-uses the same names a lot. Once I realized that, I felt even more like I was trapped in her mind, or my perception of it – frantically writing and re-writing through the same stories to process, process, process. The mania! The obsession! The questions! I have no idea if that was merely my perception, but that's what it felt like.
This book will force you to look at what you don't always want to see.
One thing that tripped me up about this book is that some characters seem to be recurring in different stories, but after vigorous dog-earing and comparisons it looks more like Berlin simply wrote over and over about the same stories with different angles, names, variables. She even re-uses the same names a lot. Once I realized that, I felt even more like I was trapped in her mind, or my perception of it – frantically writing and re-writing through the same stories to process, process, process. The mania! The obsession! The questions! I have no idea if that was merely my perception, but that's what it felt like.
This book will force you to look at what you don't always want to see.