Scan barcode
alwaysbored's review
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
astroneatly's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lori_librarian's review
3.0
Book set in pre-Castro Cuba during the heyday of the nightclub scene. All the characters are connected in some way to the club world or are artists of some type, and most take turns telling his or her story. Infante plays with words, creates puns and dialogue that has you laughing or shaking your head and wondering how someone can be so clever. And this is a translation from Spanish. Recommended for anyone who loves Cuban culture and non-linear stories.
I would rate it higher, but it was an exhausting read---and I could understand the Spanish/Spanglish and references to Cuban writers, etc. There is a very small audience for this book, and it does go on and on---it's often called the Spanish Ulysses, although I think that's doing it an injustice. It should stand on its own.
I would rate it higher, but it was an exhausting read---and I could understand the Spanish/Spanglish and references to Cuban writers, etc. There is a very small audience for this book, and it does go on and on---it's often called the Spanish Ulysses, although I think that's doing it an injustice. It should stand on its own.
kingfan30's review
1.0
On starting this book I wondered what on earth was going on. I then got to a point where I could follow the story although was still not sure what the book was all about. Then the book took another route and I could not work out if this was a new story with new characters of if I had just missed something and it was still the original characters. I got over three quarters of the way through before I gave up, I just did not have a clue what was going on.
lauli's review against another edition
4.0
Es difícil describir la experiencia de lectura de Tres Tristes Tigres. Como el título, la novela parece a simple vista un enorme trabalenguas, ya que está plagada de juegos de palabras, conversaciones que son puro nonsense y dialectos cubanos transcriptos de forma tal que uno pueda oír la dicción de los personajes. Por otra parte parece ser un rompecabezas, ya que al principio cada sección parece ser independiente de la siguiente, como una colección de retazos y viñetas, pero a medida que uno avanza todos esos fragmentos van encajando de forma tal que podemos reconstruir el sentido y la conexión de cada una de las piezas. La sección en donde se narra el asesinato de Trotsky desde la pluma de cada uno de los escritores cubanos consagrados es una lección magistral del oído refinado que tiene Cabrera Infante para las idiosincrasias del idioma particular de cada individuo. También es brillante la mala traducción del relato del escritor norteamericano, donde el español refleja todas las estructuras del inglés mal trasladadas. Es una novela brillante, deslumbrante, pero difícil de a ratos. Pero hay que tenerle paciencia, porque armar el rompecabezas vale la pena.
onerodeahorse's review
4.0
A picaresque trawl through the bars and clubs of pre-revolutionary Havana. It's La Dolce Vita in Latin America, a whirligig of language, jokes, anagrams and puns - it's a humid Cuban fever dream of sex and jazz.
thepoisonwoodreader's review
challenging
funny
slow-paced
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
More...