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stolencompass's review against another edition
3.0
I have spent most of my adult life on the road, listening to people's stories. This book felt akin to such an experience. It was snowing outside when I finished this book, underneath a duvet in Strasbourg, France. Where madness feels brushed to the side - not entirely invisible, but as a backstage prop.
It took three days to work through this book. A few hours a night, cosy, intrigued, passively shocked. I have read, or watched, or lived things to startle most, so I was not particularly disturbed through the more grizzly scenes in this book. Oddly enough, it is almost as a homage to Bret Easton Ellis, who I devoured entirely as a fourteen or fifteen-year-old and refuse to touch ever since. The nihilism there managed to bore its way into me and refused to leave for a good while. I don't need that. Who does? Lindsay Lohan, perhaps.
I came across this book just after reading Stonehouse's Mountain Poems - an almost millennia-old Chinese hermit. Needless to say, there's quite the clash there in writing styles and contemplation. However, what I really enjoyed with Bret Easton Ellis and Other Dogs is its edibility. I could read and read and read. While its content gave me very little, I felt as if I was reading a real writer. Which is to say- someone who has worked on their craft and has not given into the whims of cliché or sensibility. I can well see how it can be likened, as on the back cover, to Bolaño, though no one will ever get close. In fact, it's quite disturbing, and always disappointing to read these comparisons, however they can be good marker sticks on the style. What would my dear friend Stonehouse have said of such work of Lina Wolff?
Oh, and what of the living? These humans, detached from the land they live in.
A mirror. I'll head back to the wilderness, now. But cheers for the meal,
It took three days to work through this book. A few hours a night, cosy, intrigued, passively shocked. I have read, or watched, or lived things to startle most, so I was not particularly disturbed through the more grizzly scenes in this book. Oddly enough, it is almost as a homage to Bret Easton Ellis, who I devoured entirely as a fourteen or fifteen-year-old and refuse to touch ever since. The nihilism there managed to bore its way into me and refused to leave for a good while. I don't need that. Who does? Lindsay Lohan, perhaps.
I came across this book just after reading Stonehouse's Mountain Poems - an almost millennia-old Chinese hermit. Needless to say, there's quite the clash there in writing styles and contemplation. However, what I really enjoyed with Bret Easton Ellis and Other Dogs is its edibility. I could read and read and read. While its content gave me very little, I felt as if I was reading a real writer. Which is to say- someone who has worked on their craft and has not given into the whims of cliché or sensibility. I can well see how it can be likened, as on the back cover, to Bolaño, though no one will ever get close. In fact, it's quite disturbing, and always disappointing to read these comparisons, however they can be good marker sticks on the style. What would my dear friend Stonehouse have said of such work of Lina Wolff?
Oh, and what of the living? These humans, detached from the land they live in.
A mirror. I'll head back to the wilderness, now. But cheers for the meal,
robotnic's review against another edition
3.0
I'm really torn about how to rate this book. I loved the prose, and the characters (for the first 2/3rds), and the tension and drama that existed between them. But it feels more like a stitched-together short story collection than a novel. There was no arc, no through-line, and the final third felt hijacked by a character I didn't want to hear from. The mundane details stretched to boring and it felt disjointed with only a few closing paragraphs to tie it all back together. As I read it, it didn't work, but I can also spin it in a way where it does work. When it's good, it's very very good. When it's bad, it's a slog. 3.5 I guess?
zepenguinmuffin's review against another edition
1.0
Honestly I couldn't finish this. Maybe it's better then I think, but I made to page 77 when a character, angry at a man and his wife, boils the man's cat alive. Sorry I can not with that. I was bored with the story before I got to that and was trying to give it the benefit of the doubt in hopes I'd care about someone or something happening, but that made me close the book and go "nope, I'm out"
chris09cfe's review
reflective
sad
medium-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
3.25
guuran62's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Denna bok, författad av Lina Wolff, och dess berättelse utspelar sig i till större delen i Barcelona. Boken börjar med att en kvinna och man besöker flera restauranger och barer. Mannen är övertygad om att uppleva den största kärleken i sitt liv. Kvällen avslutas dock med att kvinnan får ett besked som hon förmodligen inte viljat få.
Berättelsen fortsätter med att skildra det liv som en ung kvinna har tillsammans med sin mor. De framlever sina liv i en lägenhet i Barcelona. De har väl inte så mycket pengar så de får snåla på sina inköp. De har ett ganska händelsefritt liv fram tills den dag de får en ny granne. Allt eftersom som berättelsen utvecklar sig får vi känna allt fler människor.
Detta är väl en sådan bok där man får vänta fram tills slutet för att se hur allt hänger ihop. Jag kan säga att jag snabbt fastnade i berättelsen och hade svårt att lägga ifrån mig boken när jag väl öppnat den från där jag senast lade den ifrån mig.
iancarpenter's review against another edition
3.0
Went all over the place with this book. Absolutely loved the first 200 pages and then I was up and down continuously.
callies's review against another edition
5.0
A charming novel with beautiful prose that weaves together the tales of several women deftly, giving an artful portrayal of their lives. The narrator writes while largely leaving herself out out of the plot, which means that she remains a mystery. So too do the motivations of all the women. It is only the men who are seen in stark contrast, but none of these portraits are flattering.
What links the tale together is the charismatic Alba Cambó. She is an alluring figure but manages to remain elusive even after 297 pages. And that seems to to be the point; women have more to them than the men surrounding them give them credit for.
Subtle and revealing, this is a stunning portrayal of the life of the five women from very different backgrounds with very different ideas. A joy to read.
What links the tale together is the charismatic Alba Cambó. She is an alluring figure but manages to remain elusive even after 297 pages. And that seems to to be the point; women have more to them than the men surrounding them give them credit for.
Subtle and revealing, this is a stunning portrayal of the life of the five women from very different backgrounds with very different ideas. A joy to read.
kate66's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
Once in a while a bit of strange comes along. Bret Easton Ellis and The Other Dogs is definitely a bit of strange.
I listened to the audio and the narrator had very definite ideas about how some of the men sounded. It was quite jarring at times but definitely gave you a sense of that person's character.
The story (and the eponymous dogs barely get a mention) is ostensibly about Araceli who lives in an apartment with her mother above a dying woman called Alba Cambo who writes strange short stories.
Alba's short stories are interspersed with Araceli's story making the whole become quite tangled at times. It seems on later inspection that the stories are all versions of Alba's own life.
We are also introduced to several men/lovers of Alba's acquaintance who also tell their stories.
This is one of those books that doesn't really go anywhere but feels like it says a lot. I found it challenging and interesting and the narration was clear and engaging.
Once in a while a bit of strange comes along. Bret Easton Ellis and The Other Dogs is definitely a bit of strange.
I listened to the audio and the narrator had very definite ideas about how some of the men sounded. It was quite jarring at times but definitely gave you a sense of that person's character.
The story (and the eponymous dogs barely get a mention) is ostensibly about Araceli who lives in an apartment with her mother above a dying woman called Alba Cambo who writes strange short stories.
Alba's short stories are interspersed with Araceli's story making the whole become quite tangled at times. It seems on later inspection that the stories are all versions of Alba's own life.
We are also introduced to several men/lovers of Alba's acquaintance who also tell their stories.
This is one of those books that doesn't really go anywhere but feels like it says a lot. I found it challenging and interesting and the narration was clear and engaging.
thishannah's review against another edition
This was a compelling read--more like a collection of linked stories than a novel, but I liked that they were presented as a whole and not as standalones. Each piece was interesting and readable in its own way and felt cohesive even though the through line was pretty loose. I did feel pretty misled by the title and the book summary. It looks like the Goodreads copy has been updated to better reflect the actual contents, though the copy on the print version and on the publisher's website still claims that this book is about a brothel and their dogs. In reality, the brothel and dogs are just a blip in the story, and the narrator, Araceli, has a bigger role in keeping the whole thing together than the copy would lead you to believe. The title did catch my attention, but it didn't feel like an honest representation of the book and sometimes even felt like a gimmick. Still, it worked on me, and I'm glad I read this book regardless.
applesodaperson's review against another edition
This book was extremely misrepresented in all of the blurbs that I read, including the one on the back of the physical book. I was actually expecting it to be about the brothel women and their dogs, like the cover and title also imply. But it wasn't at all. The brothel story line is barely a side story, and doesn't even appear until the last quarter of the book (I skimmed the rest after stopping). And the actually story just isn't as interesting. I mean the main character's name isn't even mentioned in the blurb. My dislike for this book really just comes down to how misrepresented it was and how vastly different my expectations were from the actual reality of this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia