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trin's review against another edition
4.0
If you float around in certain semi-pretentious bookish circles, Javier Marías is one of those names you hear tossed around, usually coupled with a statement like, “is going to win the Nobel Prize for Literature!” As pretentious as I'm sure I myself can be at times, a statement such as this is actually not likely to make me rush out and want to read a writer's work. The Nobel Prize committee and I do not seem to have terribly similar tastes. Do I need to go off again about how much I hated [b:Blindness|2526|Blindness|José Saramago|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161054077s/2526.jpg|3213039]? No, I don't think I do.
So this guy Marías: I was suspicious. Especially because the previous work of his we'd carried was his epic [b:Your Face Tomorrow|254351|Your Face Tomorrow Fever And Spear|Javier Marías|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173169866s/254351.jpg|516776], which I've heard described as “1,000 pages detailing 10 minutes of espionage.” Further, when I peeked at the first volume's first page, it seemed to consist of a single paragraph and some infinitely long sentences. Not really my cuppa.
But then Bad Nature arrived, and it was of a much more manageable size, and it had an amusing subtitle (or With Elvis in Mexico). I opened it up and yup, there were those long, twisty sentences again, but suddenly I found them addictive and compelling—they grabbed me like an undertow and dragged me into this bizarre, hilarious, and wonderfully dark tale of Elvis' Spanish translator and the scary shenanigans he and the King get up to in Mexico while shooting a film. This short little book really is like a whirlpool: it's exhilarating to find yourself sucked in, tossed around—narrowly avoiding some sharp rocks—and then chucked back out again. I resort to metaphor because a large portion of the joy of this story is discovering it for yourself, being surprised by it. I for one was not expecting such humor and verve. If they're at all like this, then 1,000 pages detailing 10 minutes of espionage do not sound at all bad to me. Hell, go ahead and throw in that Nobel Prize.
So this guy Marías: I was suspicious. Especially because the previous work of his we'd carried was his epic [b:Your Face Tomorrow|254351|Your Face Tomorrow Fever And Spear|Javier Marías|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173169866s/254351.jpg|516776], which I've heard described as “1,000 pages detailing 10 minutes of espionage.” Further, when I peeked at the first volume's first page, it seemed to consist of a single paragraph and some infinitely long sentences. Not really my cuppa.
But then Bad Nature arrived, and it was of a much more manageable size, and it had an amusing subtitle (or With Elvis in Mexico). I opened it up and yup, there were those long, twisty sentences again, but suddenly I found them addictive and compelling—they grabbed me like an undertow and dragged me into this bizarre, hilarious, and wonderfully dark tale of Elvis' Spanish translator and the scary shenanigans he and the King get up to in Mexico while shooting a film. This short little book really is like a whirlpool: it's exhilarating to find yourself sucked in, tossed around—narrowly avoiding some sharp rocks—and then chucked back out again. I resort to metaphor because a large portion of the joy of this story is discovering it for yourself, being surprised by it. I for one was not expecting such humor and verve. If they're at all like this, then 1,000 pages detailing 10 minutes of espionage do not sound at all bad to me. Hell, go ahead and throw in that Nobel Prize.
btrz's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
capodoglio's review
2.0
Di Marías avevo già letto Mañana en la batalla piensa en mí, elogiato da più parti. Breve divertissement, in realtà offre alcuni spunti interessanti.
Sul set di Fun in Acapulco, Elvis richiede l’ausilio di un madrelingua spagnolo (di Spagna) per la sua pronuncia del castigliano. La vicenda è narrata in prima persona da quest’ultimo, tra la colorita fauna del set e l’entourage personale del Re. L’insaziabile desiderio di vita notturna di un iperattivo Elvis metterà in pericolo se stesso ed i suoi accompagnatori, in particolare il nostro narratore.
Marías torna quindi su di una figura secondaria, grigia (il protagonista di Mañana en la batalla piensa en mí era un negro, cioè un ghost writer) e lo inserisce questa volta in una situazione improbabile. La letteratura si alimenta degli interstizi della cultura popolare: il set di un film con Elvis Presley ed Ursula Andress. Ma le cose si fanno interessanti già a partire dall'ambientazione, dato che, come la stessa wikipedia spiega, Elvis non è mai stato ad Acapulco in vita sua...
(commento del 2006, recentemente riesumato)
Sul set di Fun in Acapulco, Elvis richiede l’ausilio di un madrelingua spagnolo (di Spagna) per la sua pronuncia del castigliano. La vicenda è narrata in prima persona da quest’ultimo, tra la colorita fauna del set e l’entourage personale del Re. L’insaziabile desiderio di vita notturna di un iperattivo Elvis metterà in pericolo se stesso ed i suoi accompagnatori, in particolare il nostro narratore.
Marías torna quindi su di una figura secondaria, grigia (il protagonista di Mañana en la batalla piensa en mí era un negro, cioè un ghost writer) e lo inserisce questa volta in una situazione improbabile. La letteratura si alimenta degli interstizi della cultura popolare: il set di un film con Elvis Presley ed Ursula Andress. Ma le cose si fanno interessanti già a partire dall'ambientazione, dato che, come la stessa wikipedia spiega, Elvis non è mai stato ad Acapulco in vita sua...
(commento del 2006, recentemente riesumato)
discomagpie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
I rated this book 5/5 stars on InsatiableBooksluts.com.
Review excerpt (from a Death Match post against [b:Varamo|341664|Varamo (Narrativas Hispanicas)|César Aira|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173894681s/341664.jpg|332032] by César Aira):
"Bad Nature is a day-in-the-life-gone-wrong tale that follows the narrator through the most life-changing day in his existence. ...“Roy Berry,” the name American coworkers gave the narrator to replace the hard-to-pronounce Ruibérriz, has been hired as a language coach for none other than Elvis Presley, who is to star in a film entitled Fun in Acapulco. Elvis, apparently, has decided that he wants a Spanish accent, a classy European accent, rather than a Mexican accent, and Elvis gets what Elvis wants. Roy, being from Spain, is tapped for the job, which includes six weeks in Acapulco alongside the King. This job sounds like heaven; unfortunately for Roy, things take a terribly wrong turn one night when a member of the Elvis entourage offends a Mexican gangster in a bar with some salacious (and hilarious) dancing. Roy is forced to translate the proceedings for both parties. The words 'fat f**got' may or may not come into play."
Read the full review at our site, and see who won the Death Match!
Review excerpt (from a Death Match post against [b:Varamo|341664|Varamo (Narrativas Hispanicas)|César Aira|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173894681s/341664.jpg|332032] by César Aira):
"Bad Nature is a day-in-the-life-gone-wrong tale that follows the narrator through the most life-changing day in his existence. ...“Roy Berry,” the name American coworkers gave the narrator to replace the hard-to-pronounce Ruibérriz, has been hired as a language coach for none other than Elvis Presley, who is to star in a film entitled Fun in Acapulco. Elvis, apparently, has decided that he wants a Spanish accent, a classy European accent, rather than a Mexican accent, and Elvis gets what Elvis wants. Roy, being from Spain, is tapped for the job, which includes six weeks in Acapulco alongside the King. This job sounds like heaven; unfortunately for Roy, things take a terribly wrong turn one night when a member of the Elvis entourage offends a Mexican gangster in a bar with some salacious (and hilarious) dancing. Roy is forced to translate the proceedings for both parties. The words 'fat f**got' may or may not come into play."
Read the full review at our site, and see who won the Death Match!
soulpopped's review against another edition
4.0
having just seen fun in acapulco, my friend suggested i read this. it's well-written and compelling, but somehow the real backstory (at least, according to the wiki) of what happened surrounding this shoot is even crazier than the fiction on display here.
wildcatrevival's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
christinejschmidt's review against another edition
3.0
I love me some Elvis, but this one left me wanting.
beth79's review
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.25
sbonifazi's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25