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carlatemis's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
4.75
ja3m3's review against another edition
3.0
I have been reading [b:At Night We Walk in Circles|17707709|At Night We Walk in Circles|Daniel Alarcón|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1369158759s/17707709.jpg|24757239] off and on for the last month. The novel tells the story of two men, Henry a playwright who will be imprisoned for a play that he wrote and Nelson an actor who will be part of the revival of that same play 20 years later. Throughout the book you know that something horrible is going to happen to Nelson, but when it finally arrives on the last 6 pages it is rather anticlimactic and left me feeling huh?
I did enjoy the sense of time and place that Alacron has written almost effortlessly and beautifully. I felt he really knew the location (even if, as readers, we are never given that information) which made the book come alive with the people and turmoil of South America.
The story is told in the first person and I kept waiting for the big revelation of who the person is telling the story. I think Alarcon is too because just when I think the story will really unfold it hesitates almost as if Alarcon has changed his mind on what direction he wants to go and how the story will end.
On the last page someone asks the narrator, “Do you understand?”
The narrator replies, “I do.” But I didn’t.
I did enjoy the sense of time and place that Alacron has written almost effortlessly and beautifully. I felt he really knew the location (even if, as readers, we are never given that information) which made the book come alive with the people and turmoil of South America.
The story is told in the first person and I kept waiting for the big revelation of who the person is telling the story. I think Alarcon is too because just when I think the story will really unfold it hesitates almost as if Alarcon has changed his mind on what direction he wants to go and how the story will end.
On the last page someone asks the narrator, “Do you understand?”
The narrator replies, “I do.” But I didn’t.
meghan111's review against another edition
3.0
The story of a Peruvian political theater troupe called Diciembre and their traveling performance of a play called The Idiot President in the early 2000s. It's the story of Henry, the playwright, who plays the President, and was briefly jailed for terrorism for Diciembre's activities many years ago and Nelson, the theater student in his early 20s, who plays the President's son. Every sentence of this felt crisp and perfectly clear, but the story was told in a very impassive way and I only felt brief moments of empathy for the characters. The descriptions of the prison and the small mountain towns were interesting to read. I connected most to a passage near the end where Nelson's mother knows her son is back in the city, his tour has ended, and yet he hasn't contacted her - her realization that she has been telling herself a story that she knows what his life is like, while lying on his neatly made bed, while he is out living his life elsewhere and not giving her a thought.
margotreadsbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Occasionally there's a book that moves you to your toes and you immediately want to read it again to find the pieces you missed. This was one of those. A story of what it means to be human and what it means to live your life and do more than exist. Beautiful.
lizaroo71's review against another edition
4.0
The story circles around three main characters. First is Nelson, a young man just out of the Conservatory and ready to tackle his first role as an actor. Henry gives him this opportunity. He is a playwright that has spent some time in prison for being a "terrorist" and is encouraged by his old friend and fellow actor to take his old troupe Diciembre on tour with his play, "The Idiot President." Patalarga is Henry's friend and contemporary. The two toured once before when Diciembre was at its height of fame and Patalarga proved a true friend when he visited Henry while he was imprisoned.
As the three set out, Nelson is merely an admirer of Henry, but as the performances unfold and the men travel as a trio, they grow closer and begin to learn more and more about one another. We find out all three men have lives that have various levels of regret and despair. The threads of the stories weave together with a tension that indicates something will change their course, we just aren't sure how or when.
There is a languid tone to the novel that I love. There is nothing rushed about the pacing of the story. I love books that can unfold in an organic way and hold the reader captive, which this definitely does. I felt myself rushing headlong toward an uncertain ending and I loved the anticipation of what I would learn about the characters. In the end, the climax is a bit of a let down. I was expecting more of an explanation, but perhaps that is Alarcon's point: to leave us thinking about the several possibilities of our narrator's final discovery.
The ending is a bit ambiguous, but I feel that is the point. I sat for a minute after reading the last page and then I closed the book to think about what it all meant. I am still thinking about it, which I think is a marker for a book well written and one that I am finding difficult to define.
As the three set out, Nelson is merely an admirer of Henry, but as the performances unfold and the men travel as a trio, they grow closer and begin to learn more and more about one another. We find out all three men have lives that have various levels of regret and despair. The threads of the stories weave together with a tension that indicates something will change their course, we just aren't sure how or when.
There is a languid tone to the novel that I love. There is nothing rushed about the pacing of the story. I love books that can unfold in an organic way and hold the reader captive, which this definitely does. I felt myself rushing headlong toward an uncertain ending and I loved the anticipation of what I would learn about the characters. In the end, the climax is a bit of a let down. I was expecting more of an explanation, but perhaps that is Alarcon's point: to leave us thinking about the several possibilities of our narrator's final discovery.
The ending is a bit ambiguous, but I feel that is the point. I sat for a minute after reading the last page and then I closed the book to think about what it all meant. I am still thinking about it, which I think is a marker for a book well written and one that I am finding difficult to define.
allsmile's review against another edition
4.0
I really did love almost everything about this book, I just couldn't quite call it a 5 star read. The writing was just stunning in some places, I especially loved the descriptions of the city versus the small towns. The characters all felt real to me, and even though a bad ending was heavily hinted at throughout I just couldn't help but root for Nelson.
andressatheotonio's review against another edition
5.0
Um livro cheio de reviravoltas e que brinca com o leitor em diversos momentos. Daniel tem uma escrita muito boa, abrindo e fechando parêntesis quando eles realmente precisam ser fechados. Leitura incrível, só precisa insistir um pouco no começo pra engajar.
isamerel's review against another edition
4.0
Extremely well-written and explores an interesting perspective of Latin America's struggles with corruption, war, dictatorships, and poverty. I enjoyed reading it and ended up finishing it in about four days, but I don't think I'd recommend it to my peers as a quick or have-to novel. To my parents and other adults, yes, but I think it is a bit too adult for students my age both in language and subject. (I'm 16)