Reviews

first, the translator did an amazing job because the text is incredibly funny and witty while also being beautiful and reeeeally quotable, so nice to read..
the story touched me, at first i was very sceptical because it’s hard for me to get into something like as ‘unrelatable’ and i’m sensitive to the feminist topics which prostitution is definitely one of and which is a total mess here. but the brilliant writing - i guess the translator didn’t do such a titanic job because well it’s just french to english - fantastic charming characters, and well just the plot, even though somebody said there’s not much of it, i disagree, there is…much… anyway yes, it’s a beautiful text, makes you feel a lot and i repeat there’s a lot of quotes you’ll want to write down somewhere.
i loved the themes - a very strong take on the euthanasia issue, poetic and real-raw argument. the leitmotifs such as the main character’s upside down descriptions of the world things where life is suffering and evil and death is freedom and good, where happiness is drugs therefore a thing to stay away from, the whole simple but effective idea of ‘if you’re hurting it’s proof you’re alive’. it’s masterful how the author shows people of different religions and various backgrounds live together and care for each other, not always noticing how all that traditional fluff doesn’t really matter no matter how much they try to make it…
when momo turned out to be older - there are clues to that as well! - and when you realize he understands everything that’s happening with perfect clarity and his peculiar way of expressing his thoughts is just that, well it truly impressed me… the after the war jewish theme is something i can’t say much about because i’m not really knowledgeable was still shown in a really touching way, i felt it as much as i could… a lot of good stuff in this book.
the only criticism was already mentioned briefly, it’s the tragic lack of author’s understanding what a woman in general and a woman in prostitution is. and while a woman in general is nothing that different from a man but with a vagina, a woman in prostitution is the oldest and the gravest failure of human civilization. the author does understand that it’s a problem and that it’s a tragic fate for most to have, especially since the mc madam rosa is holocaust survivor thus got into this because she must have had no other choice. still, for 1975 it’s not a good portrayal…
yes it’s from the child’s, who’s a product of his time, perspective, but there's a line between making a deliberate choice to portray this kid with his thoughts as a character moment or slip into the self-insert territory and begin broadcasting your own opinions but making them look like it's just the truth coming from a baby's mouth. there's things like thinking that 'peddling ass' is a legit woman's job while it strips a man from his dignity. there's an honest desire to help prostitutes in need without critiquing the system which practically enslaves them from young age, and then there's a sudden 'genitals don't matter' rhetoric and admiring a male prostitute and putting him above tons of women who are not as cool (because they can't defend themselves, not a bower, sorry), and this guy was 'unhappy as a man' but apparently is living his best life as a prostitute, conveniently selling the 'profession' as a normal, regular, appropriate one. the argument about something not being natural not meaning it’s bad is a tricky one and it works for and against beautiful liberal values of our time… can confuse a lot of people. the idea that this guy wants to have children, oh shame he can’t, he would be the best mother - it’s reeeeally unethical to say the least. this guy doesn’t get raped 20 times a day because he can’t do anything else being a weak ass woman, it really is a poor and difficult but choice. it’s something a privileged man chooses when he gets bored or unhappy to live ‘as a man’, but thinking about how so many women around him live a life of utter suffering and have no control over… it’s not good.
anyway. i loved reading this book and it made me think and feel and stuff and that’s worth a lot. what else to say..idk

puig's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

More...