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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Well executed, but the project doesn't move me as much as it seems to move some people.
This was fun in a very particular “young Larry David takes Sebaldian walks around Spain and thinks about poetry” kind of way, with all the cringe comedy and moments of the sublime that would entail.
did not understand like 50% of the book which made the parts I did understand more difficult. Maybe there’s nuggets of goodness but booktok has lead me astray.
challenging
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
He went to Granada but didn’t see Alhambra.
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2021/08/17/review-1708-leaving-the-atocha-station/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2021/08/17/review-1708-leaving-the-atocha-station/
funny
lighthearted
reflective
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:
Complicated
This short novel, full of angst-filled ambiguity and interior dialogue, is well-written and thought-provoking.
Adam is a young poet adrift in Madrid, despite his prestigious fellowship. His aloneness, self-doubt, and lack of Spanish fluency, coupled with his escalating drug use, cause life around him to be nebulous and uncertain. He carefully composes his face for the world. Is he strictly a poser and a user? Or is even his fraudulence fraudulent?
Adam is a young poet adrift in Madrid, despite his prestigious fellowship. His aloneness, self-doubt, and lack of Spanish fluency, coupled with his escalating drug use, cause life around him to be nebulous and uncertain. He carefully composes his face for the world. Is he strictly a poser and a user? Or is even his fraudulence fraudulent?
The writing of this book was phenomenal. The style of writing was terrific, and helped us get into the head of Adam. I enjoyed how we came to understand Adam's world more as he understood more Spanish.
I will say, I loved the style of writing more than the characters portrayed. The narrator was flawed, so the narration was unreliable. I disliked and pitied the main character who is so detached from his reality, he has difficulty experiencing his art, relationships, and travel without the lens of his anger, mediocrity, and greed. At times Adam was hard to understand and process because he as a person is so underdeveloped and suffers from being in all senses, just mediocre.
I will say, I loved the style of writing more than the characters portrayed. The narrator was flawed, so the narration was unreliable. I disliked and pitied the main character who is so detached from his reality, he has difficulty experiencing his art, relationships, and travel without the lens of his anger, mediocrity, and greed. At times Adam was hard to understand and process because he as a person is so underdeveloped and suffers from being in all senses, just mediocre.