3.64 AVERAGE

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
emotional reflective
emotional lighthearted tense medium-paced

Yes, it's beautiful. The characters are so fleeting in what they do, think and say that in all their unpredictability they are quite predictable in destroying what little they have to give. It's a sad story, it's relatable and it's not, the characters are somewhat likeable and certainly fascinating. The preface by Aciman makes it so much better! It's a short and quick read, just scratching the surface of what could be a long, long story. Gazarra - a Don Juan without the pleasure, living an existential and aesthetic life, unable to seize the day. 
maddi__'s profile picture

maddi__'s review

4.75
emotional reflective sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The book, like life, passes too quickly and you have read the last line hoping that you haven’t reached the end, but it ends as quietly as the day slipping into night. 

ncarba's review

3.75
reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
challenging reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
saturnsmoons's profile picture

saturnsmoons's review

3.75

a mix between call me by your name and catcher in the rye. an emotional read about a man who seems to live despite how deeply he wishes not to. passionate, strangely romantic, and overall crushing. a life like this certainly isn't the best one. unclear about the ending; it's really not my favorite narrative choice, but it felt somewhat accurate to the plot line. adored the part about looking for books with food crumbs in them, because it means they loved it enough to read it while eating. 

lilyjdist's review

4.5
dark reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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deadea's review

5.0
dark funny reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
gracepickford's profile picture

gracepickford's review

3.5
emotional reflective sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

What a beautiful, sad, weathered book