Reviews

How to Order the Universe by María José Ferrada

ruthless_reader's review

adventurous lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

imicklav's review

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

g_occasionally_reads's review against another edition

2.0

I tried. Three times, but this book does not do it for me.

moonchildjuli's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

klaws500's review

4.5

How to Order the Universe: A wonderfully deep story, told with deceptive simplicity. There are so many themes woven expertly through this short novel. It's almost impossibly concise while at the same time containing so much of life. Somehow what the author hasn't written, the white space of the story which is evoked in the large amount of white space on the pages, shines as clearly as what she has written, making the whole much greater than the sum of its parts. It's a remarkably effective composition. M is a child traveling through Chile with her father, a traveling salesman. He keeps her out of school a lot and she considers their travels a sort of parallel education where she learns the tricks of a disappearing trade while people around them also disappear thanks to Pinochet. I loved How to Order the Universe and it will stay with me for some time.

mwaskom's review

reflective sad fast-paced

3.75

beautifully written, short and sweet

chillcox15's review

3.0

Ferrada straddles the line between YA and plain old A Fiction here, putting the narrative in the hands of a 7-year-old while ostensibly writing for adults. It all only sort of works for me, feeling simultaneously too mature for the perspective the novel is trying to speak from, while also lacking in the complexity of detail that I would usually seek out in writing for adults. I can see why some would be drawn to this, but it's not for me, ultimately.

frantasmagorica's review against another edition

5.0

Una linda historia sobre la relación de una hija con su padre que trabaja como vendedor viajero en los años de la dictadura militar.
Me encantó cómo la autora logró que una parte de la historia ocurriera “por delante” (muy inocente, narrada por una niña) y que otra parte ocurriera “por detrás” de la historia principal, donde se deja ver el contexto político, estando finalmente todo conectado.

ecsolius's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

alyssab_marie's review against another edition

mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5