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katesant's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol and Sexual content
kappafrog's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The writing style really drew me in at first. It's very visceral. But I ended up just feeling nothing for the characters in this book. The relationship was a disaster from the beginning, and it was hard watching the MC just move passively through the world. The only bright spot was her relationship with her daughter. The way that Samsa gets biologically essentialized was kind of weird. Overall, beautiful writing but dull.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Infidelity, and Cursing
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Medical content, and Body horror
Minor: Vomit and Classism
vcriveros's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Muy bien escrito y con exploraciones interesantes de las dinámicas de pareja, expectativas y deseo en contexto queer. La voz de la narradora está muy bien lograda, al decir sin tapujos “todo lo que no se debe ni pensar” cuando viene a la normatividad esperada de relaciones de pareja. Creo que sin decirlo, ofrece una reflexión muy interesante sobre el patriarcado y sus impactos en personas queer.
Lo único que me pasó, es que el libro se siente tremendamente Europeo en ciertos puntos, y desde ahí, el uso de Chile, como lugar metafóricamente alejado de todo en que se vienen a encontrar, se me hizo un poco difícil como chilenx. Pero me parece, de todas formas, que tener estas historias profundamente contextuales y estas representaciones simbólicas de lugares está bien; es más un efecto personal que me hizo demorarme un poco en poder pasar las primeras paginas.
Sin duda seguiré leyendo a Baltasar después de este tremendo libro.
Lo único que me pasó, es que el libro se siente tremendamente Europeo en ciertos puntos, y desde ahí, el uso de Chile, como lugar metafóricamente alejado de todo en que se vienen a encontrar, se me hizo un poco difícil como chilenx. Pero me parece, de todas formas, que tener estas historias profundamente contextuales y estas representaciones simbólicas de lugares está bien; es más un efecto personal que me hizo demorarme un poco en poder pasar las primeras paginas.
Sin duda seguiré leyendo a Baltasar después de este tremendo libro.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Sexual content
wrenisreading's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book is one of the most beautifully written I've ever read. Moving, visceral, unsettling and at times disturbing Eva Baltasar creates complex queer characters who feel fully human.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
atoft's review
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I'm not sure whether I like this book or not. Certainly I found myself with a lot of reservations about the unnamed protagonist, who acquires the moniker of Boulder from her partner Samsa. Starting the story isolated, as a lone cook on a cargo freighter, she finds connection with Samsa. From the start however, she struggles to reconcile Samsa's desire to settle down with her own fierce independence. This contrast in goals and worldviews is interesting and valid, but what's frustrating about Boulder is her tendency to objectify others at the expense of empathising with them. It's great to be physically attracted to someone, but a long term relationship needs to be built on more than that alone. We see this as Boulder and Samsa drift apart. Boulder's commitment to help raise a child seems ill-advised given her own disinterest, and is ultimately not enough to keep their relationship intact . At the same time, Samsa seems unable or unwilling to acknowledge that her needs and Boulder's clearly do not align.
The book's prose is heavy with metaphor and evocative imagery. It's often beautiful, although occasionally the metaphor becomes a little overplayed and meandering, perhaps a consequence of the translation. On the whole though, the book works hard at evoking Boulder's emotional states through visuals and analogy, and its concise form makes this not too overwhelming.
Due to the book being written entirely from Boulder's POV, I feel that we often struggle to get insights into other characters, mainly Samsa. In the first half of the book, it takes a long time to learn any details about her at all, beyond her physical attractiveness. It's hard to get a grasp on her personality through Boulder's often conflicted sketches of her. Of course it can be argued that this is a strength of the book as a character study of Boulder, but it does make the world of the novel feel very isolated.
On the whole I found Boulder to be an interesting work. I found value in the prose, imagery, and sense of place. I think I need more time to understand what message to take away from it, and what to make of its flawed characters.
The book's prose is heavy with metaphor and evocative imagery. It's often beautiful, although occasionally the metaphor becomes a little overplayed and meandering, perhaps a consequence of the translation. On the whole though, the book works hard at evoking Boulder's emotional states through visuals and analogy, and its concise form makes this not too overwhelming.
Due to the book being written entirely from Boulder's POV, I feel that we often struggle to get insights into other characters, mainly Samsa. In the first half of the book, it takes a long time to learn any details about her at all, beyond her physical attractiveness. It's hard to get a grasp on her personality through Boulder's often conflicted sketches of her. Of course it can be argued that this is a strength of the book as a character study of Boulder, but it does make the world of the novel feel very isolated.
On the whole I found Boulder to be an interesting work. I found value in the prose, imagery, and sense of place. I think I need more time to understand what message to take away from it, and what to make of its flawed characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Pregnancy
savvylit's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
4.0
The most arresting thing about this vibe-heavy novel was Baltasar's gorgeous sentences. Take this for instance, "Maybe love is unfurling above us like an enormous branch that bends and touches all the most sensitive, reticent parts of us." Stunning. There were so many moments where I'd read a sentence like that one and then pause to just absorb its beauty. This is also a testament to Julia Sanchez's skill as a translator.
Beyond the sentence-level craft, Boulder is an emotional and reflective slice of life. Boulder and Samsa's relationship, though portrayed from only one side, was palpable and realistic. This novel often felt like a memoir - that's how immersive and believable it was.
Beyond the sentence-level craft, Boulder is an emotional and reflective slice of life. Boulder and Samsa's relationship, though portrayed from only one side, was palpable and realistic. This novel often felt like a memoir - that's how immersive and believable it was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
jayisreading's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.5
This was such an interesting dive into a queer woman's mind and negative feelings about children and motherhood. I feel that society still often expects women to have maternal instincts, and for the narrator to so blatantly push back against that is incredibly refreshing. In such a short book, Baltasar unravels her characters to reveal numerous flaws and vulnerabilities, as well as creating a well-crafted claustrophobic tension to reflect the feelings of the titular character (Boulder being a nickname).
I'm looking forward to reading Baltasar's other works, because Boulder scratched an itch for a good character study.
I'm looking forward to reading Baltasar's other works, because Boulder scratched an itch for a good character study.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
bookishcori's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Sexual content
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Infertility
afion's review
No idea how to rate this lol but the prose was nice
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Infidelity, and Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse and Infertility