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shai631's review against another edition
2.0
I read this book in English and perhaps it lost some of its greatness in translation? I found it to be bogged down by too many long-winded, unimportant descriptive details about characters that don’t even play an important part in the story.
We are lead into a “thriller” situation where the main character is keeping tabs on a serial killer, but by the time the book wraps up, we are left with an ending that was lackluster at best.
Very disappointing.
We are lead into a “thriller” situation where the main character is keeping tabs on a serial killer, but by the time the book wraps up, we are left with an ending that was lackluster at best.
Very disappointing.
jvillanueva8's review against another edition
3.0
This book wandered too much. Very little happened, and none of the characters felt developed. The best feature of the novel was a blurry reflection of the psychological fallout of life in Pinochet’s Chile.
selaginello's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
altern_realiti's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
cuckmulligan's review against another edition
4.0
Poetry and fascism. Sprawling for how short it is. Like a labyrinthine pulp detective novel whose players just happen to be poets. I don't know shit about Chilean poetry, so I don't get the nuances of the various jabs/satire, though I just *know* they're funny as hell in ways I'm unable to appreciate. Most of the namedrops are real, from what I can tell, though at least a couple I googled only to be pointed back in the direction of this book. Cheeky!
Its digressions delighted me, the tale of the armless suicidal gay artist especially: "In the current sociopolitical climate, he said to himself, committing suicide is absurd and redundant. Better to become an undercover poet."
Its digressions delighted me, the tale of the armless suicidal gay artist especially: "In the current sociopolitical climate, he said to himself, committing suicide is absurd and redundant. Better to become an undercover poet."
jv42's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Stunning.
markeefe's review against another edition
3.5
Though a slim novel, this would have packed more punch as a novella. This strange tale, set around Pinochet's 1973 military takeover of Chile, is probably the oddest work of Bolaño's that I've read. But is it about what happens to the narrator's circle of young poets and their instructors under military rule? Or is it about an enigmatic poet/air force pilot/serial killer and how his actions affect the life of the narrator and his close friend? The latter, to me, was the far more compelling of the plot lines in Distant Star. When Bolaño digresses into the post-Pinochet lives of the narrator's two poetry instructors, the story loses steam. But the beginning and end of the book render it quite worthwhile, overall.
lorenagargom's review against another edition
mysterious
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
3.5