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amaia_guev's review
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
elena_mar_ramos's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
viridiantre's review
3.0
the author took the "you both guys so you can't be together" to a whole new level
therkive's review against another edition
4.0
4.5/5
In its simplest form, Brickmakers appears to be a retelling of Romeo & Juliet - there are two feuding fathers who happen to be neighbors, two feuding sons, and a star-crossed romance - except at second glance, it is so much more.
We start the story at the end - their sons, Pajaro and Marciano - are lying at their local fairgrounds, dying after a fatal fight between one another, for Marciano has found out about Pajaro's romance with his little brother, Angelito. As the lives of both men inevitably leave them, we follow the journeys of Oscar Tamai - Pajaro's father - and Elvio Miranda - Marciano's father as they first marry their respective wives, raise their children in a hypermasculine way, and run brickmaking shops all the while participating in a petty feud. This feud inevitably is passed down to Pajaro and Marciano, who begin as friends and end up as enemies.
Selva Almada weaves a rural tragedy, where the reader cannot help but note the similarities between the neighboring families, whose rivalry began because of a petty fight over a dog. And in this rural tragedy, you cannot help but pity the families of these Oscar and Elvio, who, in their best form are two-sides of the same coin - living examples of machisimo culture. Where Almada lacks in prose, she makes up in dialogue, passion evident within everything these characters do and say. And as such, Brickmakers leaves behind a lasting impression of its imagery, a film playing out as you are brought back, in the end, to Pajaro and Marciano's dying bodies.
In its simplest form, Brickmakers appears to be a retelling of Romeo & Juliet - there are two feuding fathers who happen to be neighbors, two feuding sons, and a star-crossed romance - except at second glance, it is so much more.
We start the story at the end - their sons, Pajaro and Marciano - are lying at their local fairgrounds, dying after a fatal fight between one another, for Marciano has found out about Pajaro's romance with his little brother, Angelito. As the lives of both men inevitably leave them, we follow the journeys of Oscar Tamai - Pajaro's father - and Elvio Miranda - Marciano's father as they first marry their respective wives, raise their children in a hypermasculine way, and run brickmaking shops all the while participating in a petty feud. This feud inevitably is passed down to Pajaro and Marciano, who begin as friends and end up as enemies.
Selva Almada weaves a rural tragedy, where the reader cannot help but note the similarities between the neighboring families, whose rivalry began because of a petty fight over a dog. And in this rural tragedy, you cannot help but pity the families of these Oscar and Elvio, who, in their best form are two-sides of the same coin - living examples of machisimo culture. Where Almada lacks in prose, she makes up in dialogue, passion evident within everything these characters do and say. And as such, Brickmakers leaves behind a lasting impression of its imagery, a film playing out as you are brought back, in the end, to Pajaro and Marciano's dying bodies.
achro's review
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
gayabetic's review against another edition
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
flormai's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
gatiterror's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5