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untravel's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first novel I've finished in 3 months. I'm glad it was good. Here are the bullet points:
THE GOOD
-Masterful handling of the exposition problem. For example, two characters talking about science, while a third listens from another room. The third character is not a scientist and doesn't fully understand what is being discussed. Furthermore, he has been/wants to be in a romantic relationship with the others, and he feels jealous or hurt that he's being excluded from the conversation. All this characterization is just the setup for a page and a half of talk about quantum theory. In a lesser book, the two scientists would have simply lectured the third. Virtually all of the exposition in the book is handled in this subtle and layered way (except a bit at the end.)
-'World Building'. Artfully establishes the setting, as one might expect in a good SF treatment of an alien world. Except the world being 'built'
is Brazil (present, future, past--in that order). Adapting SF conventions to a contemporary setting is clever (reminded me of William Gibson's latest novels--which is a very good thing.)
-MINOR SPOILER: Treatment of 'parallel worlds' trope. To hear it described, you might think 'oh, I've seen that before'. But again, much subtler and more finely wrought. Especially where the different worlds 'bleed into' each other. For example, a proposed television show in one world is a show people actually watch on another. No attention is really called to that fact--you just have to notice that the titles are the same. And there are lots of these crossovers. The title is another one, but that's not explained until the very end.
--The books three protagonists are a TV producer, a street hustler, and a Jesuit. This sounds ridiculously cheesy but in the end completely works. This is one of those books where the craft of its execution is far greater than can be expressed by any summary, review, or blurb.
THE LESS GOOD
-An amount of sex/drugs/violence that some might find off-putting. Except for some bits toward the end, it's mostly referenced rather than depicted. Personally, this stuff doesn't really bother me, but I recognize that sentiment is not universal.
-Unravels a bit at the end. I guess McDonald wanted to have at least one point where he explains 'what it all means', in case a reader missed the earlier clues. Personally, I didn't think it was necessary and distracted from the overall tone, but I can see why he had to do it.
-Lots of Portuguese. There's LOTS of Portuguese vocabulary worked into the prose. Usually, you can work it out in context and there's a short glossary in the back, but not all the vocab is included. I thought it helped with the 'world-building', but I would totally understand if some people found it distracting.
THE SHORT
-Highly recommended if you are, like me, a fan of 'literary-grade' science fiction. I really liked the last book of McDonald's I read (Desolation Road). Having read Brasyl, he is now firmly on my must-read list. By 'must read', I mean 'must read when a new book is realized, ASAP', otherwise known as 'books I will purchase in hardcover'. Given my lack of resources, this is a very short list: William Gibson, Iain Banks (Culture novels only*), and now Ian McDonald. I still have some more of McDonald's back catalog to go through. Now if I could only read more than one novel every 3 months...
[*=I only read Iain Banks Culture novels not because the others aren't good, but because he's so prolific I wouldn't have time for anything else. Plus the 'hardbacks+poverty' problem.:]
THE GOOD
-Masterful handling of the exposition problem. For example, two characters talking about science, while a third listens from another room. The third character is not a scientist and doesn't fully understand what is being discussed. Furthermore, he has been/wants to be in a romantic relationship with the others, and he feels jealous or hurt that he's being excluded from the conversation. All this characterization is just the setup for a page and a half of talk about quantum theory. In a lesser book, the two scientists would have simply lectured the third. Virtually all of the exposition in the book is handled in this subtle and layered way (except a bit at the end.)
-'World Building'. Artfully establishes the setting, as one might expect in a good SF treatment of an alien world. Except the world being 'built'
is Brazil (present, future, past--in that order). Adapting SF conventions to a contemporary setting is clever (reminded me of William Gibson's latest novels--which is a very good thing.)
-MINOR SPOILER: Treatment of 'parallel worlds' trope. To hear it described, you might think 'oh, I've seen that before'. But again, much subtler and more finely wrought. Especially where the different worlds 'bleed into' each other. For example, a proposed television show in one world is a show people actually watch on another. No attention is really called to that fact--you just have to notice that the titles are the same. And there are lots of these crossovers. The title is another one, but that's not explained until the very end.
--The books three protagonists are a TV producer, a street hustler, and a Jesuit. This sounds ridiculously cheesy but in the end completely works. This is one of those books where the craft of its execution is far greater than can be expressed by any summary, review, or blurb.
THE LESS GOOD
-An amount of sex/drugs/violence that some might find off-putting. Except for some bits toward the end, it's mostly referenced rather than depicted. Personally, this stuff doesn't really bother me, but I recognize that sentiment is not universal.
-Unravels a bit at the end. I guess McDonald wanted to have at least one point where he explains 'what it all means', in case a reader missed the earlier clues. Personally, I didn't think it was necessary and distracted from the overall tone, but I can see why he had to do it.
-Lots of Portuguese. There's LOTS of Portuguese vocabulary worked into the prose. Usually, you can work it out in context and there's a short glossary in the back, but not all the vocab is included. I thought it helped with the 'world-building', but I would totally understand if some people found it distracting.
THE SHORT
-Highly recommended if you are, like me, a fan of 'literary-grade' science fiction. I really liked the last book of McDonald's I read (Desolation Road). Having read Brasyl, he is now firmly on my must-read list. By 'must read', I mean 'must read when a new book is realized, ASAP', otherwise known as 'books I will purchase in hardcover'. Given my lack of resources, this is a very short list: William Gibson, Iain Banks (Culture novels only*), and now Ian McDonald. I still have some more of McDonald's back catalog to go through. Now if I could only read more than one novel every 3 months...
[*=I only read Iain Banks Culture novels not because the others aren't good, but because he's so prolific I wouldn't have time for anything else. Plus the 'hardbacks+poverty' problem.:]
survivalisinsufficient's review
3.0
This was on lots of best-of scifi lists last year, but I thought it started slow and never really recovered. Also, I have tried it in many forms, but I just can't really get into cyberpunk (Neal Stephenson excepted).
svenseven's review against another edition
3.0
this is an imaginative tail tying three different era's to tell one story. I enjoyed how the three story lines came together in the end. an mcdonald is one of the best sci fi writers of our era. Unfortunately this book wasn't so good to keep me riveted till the end. It is a good change of pace book but not a classic.
minsies's review against another edition
3.0
Been a while since I finished this, so I've forgotten the detail of any salient points I would have made.
It's not that different from River of Gods - set in another country, obviously, and spanning three time periods - but there's still the quantum fuckery, etc.
Not bad, not wonderful.
It's not that different from River of Gods - set in another country, obviously, and spanning three time periods - but there's still the quantum fuckery, etc.
Not bad, not wonderful.
katspectre67's review against another edition
4.0
Who knew quantum physics could make such a good read. Slipping effortlessly as a Q-blade between the eighteenth century, an approximate present day and thirty years hence, this book is a great trip of sharp, riffing prose and well-rendered worlds (or should I say realities). Very much nestled in a S-F kind of tradition, and an enjoyable read. My only reservation is that I found the denoument did not quite live up to the impressive beginnings.
hopeevey's review against another edition
4.0
Ian McDonald's Braysyl takes place in Brazil, but in three different time lines - 2006, 2032, and and 1732. The separate story-lines don't so much come together, as you discover they were never actually separate.
I love the book, but I can't recommend it to just anyone. If you know something about Brazil, if you're prone to being seduced by outstandingly well-written characters, and if you can keep track of three distinct story-lines, you may come to love Braysyl like I do. Or you might hate it. It's a difficult read. I didn't much care for it at first. I only got excited about reading it as the characters came to life for me.
The story is very set in Brazil. Especially at first, I felt like I needed a primer on Brazilian culture and history. The text is littered with Portuguese words, because there simply aren't good English equivalents. The glossary is a big help with that, but it's confusing until you get used to to the bilingualism of the story. It also seems to presuppose familiarity with Brazil, but I managed to pick up enough from context to get by. The story hops from time-line to time-line, without a clear reason for why or when it switches, which just adds to the confusion.
But it's a great story, if you can get to it. I don't think it could be told any other way. For me, the pay-off was well worth the effort, but your mileage will vary.
I love the book, but I can't recommend it to just anyone. If you know something about Brazil, if you're prone to being seduced by outstandingly well-written characters, and if you can keep track of three distinct story-lines, you may come to love Braysyl like I do. Or you might hate it. It's a difficult read. I didn't much care for it at first. I only got excited about reading it as the characters came to life for me.
The story is very set in Brazil. Especially at first, I felt like I needed a primer on Brazilian culture and history. The text is littered with Portuguese words, because there simply aren't good English equivalents. The glossary is a big help with that, but it's confusing until you get used to to the bilingualism of the story. It also seems to presuppose familiarity with Brazil, but I managed to pick up enough from context to get by. The story hops from time-line to time-line, without a clear reason for why or when it switches, which just adds to the confusion.
But it's a great story, if you can get to it. I don't think it could be told any other way. For me, the pay-off was well worth the effort, but your mileage will vary.
led's review
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
dav's review
3.0
This is a wild, ambitious novel that focuses on two of my favorite things: Brasil and Quantum Physics. I would like to give it 4 stars because I enjoyed much of it immensely, but it had a rambling overly wrought tendency that never cohered into a satisfying story. I think he was just trying too hard. Toward the end it really just went off the rails for me.
I read a lot of it while lying in bed feverish and, when too tired to hold up a book, mixed in with periods of listening to the audio format of the somewhat trippy [b:What Technology Wants|7954936|What Technology Wants|Kevin Kelly|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1285122152s/7954936.jpg|11619217]. I think this enhanced the pleasure somewhat although it didn't help with lack of the coherence.
I read a lot of it while lying in bed feverish and, when too tired to hold up a book, mixed in with periods of listening to the audio format of the somewhat trippy [b:What Technology Wants|7954936|What Technology Wants|Kevin Kelly|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1285122152s/7954936.jpg|11619217]. I think this enhanced the pleasure somewhat although it didn't help with lack of the coherence.
dgold's review
5.0
What an astonishing, wonderful book. Simply the best sf I've read in months. Quite extraordinary.