Banquete no Paraíso by Donald Ray Pollock

3.99 AVERAGE

kbear4's review against another edition

Cane deserved better
dr_dick's profile picture

dr_dick's review against another edition

5.0
damn, this was fantastic! Donald Ray Pollock is a masterful storyteller. his vivid depictions of his characters, even the minor ones, is so entertaining i often had to chuckle. all his characters are either drunk, terrible, stupid, murderous, horny, confused or afraid, and often all at the same time. like the last novel of his that i read, [b:The Devil All the Time|10108463|The Devil All the Time|Donald Ray Pollock|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320561517s/10108463.jpg|15005760] this one is also dark to the point of being macabre. but never did i feel put upon or abused. Pollock skillfully turns our world upside down and we wind up asking; who are the bad people and who are the good? this gets my highest recommendation.

maxedout150's review against another edition

3.0
medium-paced
canarqen_defon's profile picture

canarqen_defon's review against another edition

1.0
It started out well enough; the story and its telling reminded me of Joe Hill's NOS4A2 -- dark, funny, just on the acceptable side of crass.

But at about 1/3 of the way through, whatever restraint Pollock had went straight out the window. Crass became vulgar: Women as just a bunch of filthy orifices, men as sex-obsessed or lice-ridden. No thank you.

Very disappointed.
bookguyeric's profile picture

bookguyeric's review against another edition

5.0
Although it contained plenty of murder and mayhem, this novel is a lot more light hearted, funny, and, well...BIG-hearted than either Knockemstiff or The Devil All the Time. You just can't hate most of the characters, even though they sometimes do rotten things. They're endearing, most of them.

I hope the Coen Brothers option this for a movie. I'd like to see what they do with it.

And I hope Pollock has more stories to tell about Jasper Cone, the sanitation inspector. He may be the most likeable of the lot
chaosofcold's profile picture

chaosofcold's review against another edition

4.25
dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
ateodozja's profile picture

ateodozja's review against another edition

4.5
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
This is not a book I could recommend to anyone with clear conscience, but at the same time I'm once again floored by Pollock's writing. This novel grabs you by the throat and forces you to witness all kinds of horror, while you can't look away - and there is something disturbingly funny and utterly human about it.
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burrowsi1's review against another edition

3.75
adventurous dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
delphinaris's profile picture

delphinaris's review against another edition

3.75
challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
this book was so goofy 😭😭

hkveit's review against another edition

5.0
dark medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
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