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jdscott50's review against another edition
3.0
In the Company of Angels is a story about how we deal with the violence we see all around us how we heal from violence.
Nardo has been a political prisoner, tortured, with loved ones that may have been killed, all for teaching poetry to children. He is in Denmark getting psychological help in order to heal. His doctor, even though he has the best intentions to help him, is severely affected by what he learns about how Nardo was tortured. The severity of the violence even affects his family, causing problems at home.
Michela is another character who has met with violence of an unfortunately more common kind, the abuse from her former husband and current boyfriend. We also see Michela’s father and her boyfriend Voss’s perspective in the story, demonstrating their weak character. This aids Michela’s perspective later in the book and is a critical point in her meeting and helping to heal Nardo. The book has many beautiful points about violence and healing, but it seems to fall a little short for me in story development.
We are not solely defined as a victim. I understand the point was to demonstrate the violence and healing but it seems to be its only purpose. I like to see more of a fleshing out otherwise it’s just an attempt to show the depravity of violence in contrast to the beauty of healing, of letting go of the pain. I think by overemphasizing that point, it can result in someone being too defined by that experience.
Best Passages:
"How much of a survivor, in fact survives? How much must remain of a survivor for him also to be called a man? Some of us who are still present and accounted for perhaps are desapareceido nonetheless, invisible pieces missing from the whole. You tell me to remember. All over again. To remember. Perhaps there is nothing left doctor. Perhaps it is all gone perhaps all that is left is the screaming. empty screaming to fill empty ears." P 13
"She knew what she would say now to him because it made sense to her suddenly, Made and Voss and the violence they let loose on her. It was not her weakness, it was theirs. It wasn't her fault, it wasn't Nardo's fault, it was the fear men had in their hearts, fear of themselves, of other men, of women who could see their fear if they did not stop them seeing with their fists. page 165
The angels apologized to him that they had to take him back again, but explained they had been allowed to show him this, to bring him out, as a promise, assurance that after a time he would again be free, that these things of beauty still existed, that he would again experience them, that he must remember this, to keep his strength." page 96
"Humankind is a mystery; even if a man spends his entire life trying to solve that mystery and fails, he will not have wasted his time."
Nardo has been a political prisoner, tortured, with loved ones that may have been killed, all for teaching poetry to children. He is in Denmark getting psychological help in order to heal. His doctor, even though he has the best intentions to help him, is severely affected by what he learns about how Nardo was tortured. The severity of the violence even affects his family, causing problems at home.
Michela is another character who has met with violence of an unfortunately more common kind, the abuse from her former husband and current boyfriend. We also see Michela’s father and her boyfriend Voss’s perspective in the story, demonstrating their weak character. This aids Michela’s perspective later in the book and is a critical point in her meeting and helping to heal Nardo. The book has many beautiful points about violence and healing, but it seems to fall a little short for me in story development.
We are not solely defined as a victim. I understand the point was to demonstrate the violence and healing but it seems to be its only purpose. I like to see more of a fleshing out otherwise it’s just an attempt to show the depravity of violence in contrast to the beauty of healing, of letting go of the pain. I think by overemphasizing that point, it can result in someone being too defined by that experience.
Best Passages:
"How much of a survivor, in fact survives? How much must remain of a survivor for him also to be called a man? Some of us who are still present and accounted for perhaps are desapareceido nonetheless, invisible pieces missing from the whole. You tell me to remember. All over again. To remember. Perhaps there is nothing left doctor. Perhaps it is all gone perhaps all that is left is the screaming. empty screaming to fill empty ears." P 13
"She knew what she would say now to him because it made sense to her suddenly, Made and Voss and the violence they let loose on her. It was not her weakness, it was theirs. It wasn't her fault, it wasn't Nardo's fault, it was the fear men had in their hearts, fear of themselves, of other men, of women who could see their fear if they did not stop them seeing with their fists. page 165
The angels apologized to him that they had to take him back again, but explained they had been allowed to show him this, to bring him out, as a promise, assurance that after a time he would again be free, that these things of beauty still existed, that he would again experience them, that he must remember this, to keep his strength." page 96
"Humankind is a mystery; even if a man spends his entire life trying to solve that mystery and fails, he will not have wasted his time."
ldv's review
3.0
I don't know what to make of this book. No complaints about the writing -- it was good, but nothing specific about it stood out to me. It's the story(s) that puzzle me. Five narrators interspersed, omitting only one significant character (the mother with dementia). Nardo was tortured in Chile and has to deal with his demons (real and/or imagined?); his therapist who seems to take on one of the demons (and the only character to narrate in first person); Michela who has relationship problems and has to care for two ailing parents; and Mikhal, her father, who has only a few longer chapters. There are themes of love and dealing with the past and brokenness, but I'm not sure what or if there was a larger point to the book that I missed. I don't think it's necessarily the book's fault; maybe this is one of those books that needs to be reread and studied to actually get.
Certainly different.
Certainly different.
featherbooks's review
2.0
This book started out well with the Chilean torture victim's survival tale and adjusting to life in Copenhagen but once the author spent time with the female character's dying parents and despicable boyfriend, I was through with it. These characters seem to be peripheral and do not add to the story. Skimmed through to see if anything changed, but was not encouraged to finish the book in spite of some good writing.
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