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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
This book is divided into three parts with each section becoming more appealing than the last. I was not impressed with the first - found it frustrating to read. The second section had moments of illumination. The final section would have made a lovely short story on its own. Yes, it ties into the previous two installments but it could certainly stand alone with little modification.
Thank you to NetGalley.com and to Random House for the ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
I enjoyed “the Life of Pi” very much, so I was very excited about reading this book. I clearly remember the author mentioning in the introduction that he was working on a novel set in Portugal in 1939 so I can only assume this was it.
Being set in Portugal added another layer of interest for me. It is always intriguing to see how the others depict my country, and what is the perception they have of us.
I will not dwell on the details of the synopsis as you can get that from the book’s summary, but it was divided into 3 parts, each of them set at a different time and with the common point being Trás-os-Montes (here depicted as the High Mountains of Portugal). I will also not dwell on the fact that literally Trás-os-Montes means behind the mountains as it has no significance to the story.
This was a sad and lovely book. It talked about grief, loss and love, religion, the way different people deal with pain, and the Portuguese countryside just added another layer of sweetness for me. But more importantly it talked about deep and profound love. It is, as Pi was, beautifully written, and the pages just flew by with ease. The number of new English words I learn when reading Yann Martel’s books is always impressive.
On another personal note, it related to me in many levels. All the depictions of São Tomé in the first story, the place where I long to go. On the second story there’s a love affair with the Agatha Christie’s novels, that I just started rereading again in publication order. And the third one is entirely spent in a small village in Trás-os-Montes, a place that I love so much.
I recommend it to everyone who likes a story well told, who can handle magical realism, and who likes to see reality with different perspectives.
Because when everything cherished by you in life has been taken away, what else is there to do but object?
Poverty is a native plant here. Everyone grows it, everyone eats it.
I enjoyed “the Life of Pi” very much, so I was very excited about reading this book. I clearly remember the author mentioning in the introduction that he was working on a novel set in Portugal in 1939 so I can only assume this was it.
Being set in Portugal added another layer of interest for me. It is always intriguing to see how the others depict my country, and what is the perception they have of us.
I will not dwell on the details of the synopsis as you can get that from the book’s summary, but it was divided into 3 parts, each of them set at a different time and with the common point being Trás-os-Montes (here depicted as the High Mountains of Portugal). I will also not dwell on the fact that literally Trás-os-Montes means behind the mountains as it has no significance to the story.
This was a sad and lovely book. It talked about grief, loss and love, religion, the way different people deal with pain, and the Portuguese countryside just added another layer of sweetness for me. But more importantly it talked about deep and profound love. It is, as Pi was, beautifully written, and the pages just flew by with ease. The number of new English words I learn when reading Yann Martel’s books is always impressive.
On another personal note, it related to me in many levels. All the depictions of São Tomé in the first story, the place where I long to go. On the second story there’s a love affair with the Agatha Christie’s novels, that I just started rereading again in publication order. And the third one is entirely spent in a small village in Trás-os-Montes, a place that I love so much.
I recommend it to everyone who likes a story well told, who can handle magical realism, and who likes to see reality with different perspectives.
Because when everything cherished by you in life has been taken away, what else is there to do but object?
Poverty is a native plant here. Everyone grows it, everyone eats it.
Wow. First of all, this book has beautiful writing, which helps the reader persevere when the book gets a bit slow. The book includes 3 parts, and while each seems to have an individual story, they all connect. Secondly, Martel presses into some serious themes of grief, family, love, loss. All in a way that gets you thinking without becoming a philosophy book. Highly recommend!
One of my favourite authors.
Animal allegory, reason and faith with a bit of magic realism thrown in.
Animal allegory, reason and faith with a bit of magic realism thrown in.
Extremely disappointing. In this book Martel's writing was terrible, a mix of the following: touristic-like references (yes, you know what "saudade" is in Portuguese, who doesn't?), boring descriptive actions (name of a street after name of a coffee place after name of a town), repetitions ad nauseam and ugly, uncalled for metaphors (one of my favourite examples being: "his beloved Lisbon gone too, scraped away like the leftovers of a meal off the plate").
Having read a long time ago The life of Pi and being Portuguese, I was very excited about this book, which I saw praised everywhere. The quality of the writing made it almost impossible to read the first story completely, the worst of the three. The second one I read more easily, due to the fact that is mostly a reflection/re-tale of Christianity with a touch of the fantastic. The third story had a good beginning that quickly vanished as the tiresome writing went on. Maybe if the three stories were made to be actual short stories they would benefit from it. Maybe Martel's just not a talented writer.
The way he tries to tackle grief felt unsincere and cliché. Every time he tried to speak about Portuguese culture and life through the alleged Portuguese characters and depictions it was as if we were before a bad comedian or an over-excited tourist. The only place where the Portuguese references felt authentic was in the third tale, coincidently the one that adopts the point of view of a foreigner, with little to no connection to Portugal, who moves in a small village in the north. Not even the connections between the three tales, made to be discovered as a precious link by the reader, could save this unsavory book.
I would not recommend it.
Having read a long time ago The life of Pi and being Portuguese, I was very excited about this book, which I saw praised everywhere. The quality of the writing made it almost impossible to read the first story completely, the worst of the three. The second one I read more easily, due to the fact that is mostly a reflection/re-tale of Christianity with a touch of the fantastic. The third story had a good beginning that quickly vanished as the tiresome writing went on. Maybe if the three stories were made to be actual short stories they would benefit from it. Maybe Martel's just not a talented writer.
The way he tries to tackle grief felt unsincere and cliché. Every time he tried to speak about Portuguese culture and life through the alleged Portuguese characters and depictions it was as if we were before a bad comedian or an over-excited tourist. The only place where the Portuguese references felt authentic was in the third tale, coincidently the one that adopts the point of view of a foreigner, with little to no connection to Portugal, who moves in a small village in the north. Not even the connections between the three tales, made to be discovered as a precious link by the reader, could save this unsavory book.
I would not recommend it.
Não é o meu tipo de livro. Três contos, ligados por apenas alguns fios esparsos. Pessoalmente não gosto do tipo de livro que mistura momentos pouco plausíveis de quase-fantasia com uma história plausível. O vocabulário denota falta de conhecimento da geografia portuguesa. Não me digam que o autor decidiu propositadamente chamar Nordeste ou Altas Montanhas de Portugal a uma região que não tem nenhum dos nomes para um português. Temos de começar por adivinhar de que é que ele está a falar. Acabei por gostar de algumas passagens ou momentos, mas a impressão não deixa de ser a de que são três contos soltos e particularmente reduzidos a momentos e situações muito específicas. Algumas passagens particularmente descritivas e longas correm o risco de ser até maçadoras, num livro de tão reduzida dimensão.
Not my type of book. Three short stories, interconnected by just a few threads. I personally dont't like the type of book that mixes unplausible/almost fantasy moments with a plausible story. The vocabulary denotes a lack of knowledge of the Portuguese geography. Don't tell me the author choose on purpose to call Northeast - Nordeste, on the Portuguese version - or the High Mountains of Portugal to a region that has neither of those names to any portuguese person. You have to guess at first what he is talking about. I ended up liking some passages or moments, but my feeling is that they are, overall, three loose stories and stories particullarly reduced to a moments and situations very specific. There are some passages particularly descriptive and long that are at risk of being boring in such a small book.
Not my type of book. Three short stories, interconnected by just a few threads. I personally dont't like the type of book that mixes unplausible/almost fantasy moments with a plausible story. The vocabulary denotes a lack of knowledge of the Portuguese geography. Don't tell me the author choose on purpose to call Northeast - Nordeste, on the Portuguese version - or the High Mountains of Portugal to a region that has neither of those names to any portuguese person. You have to guess at first what he is talking about. I ended up liking some passages or moments, but my feeling is that they are, overall, three loose stories and stories particullarly reduced to a moments and situations very specific. There are some passages particularly descriptive and long that are at risk of being boring in such a small book.
Quick review for those with little patience:
After I adjusted to the transitions between chapters, I found this book a delightful but maddening story of loss, cultural revolution, and the intertwining of lives around the world. I felt that the author beautifully, if not brilliantly, made connections between three distinct people in creative and unexpected ways. The writing is elegant. I highly recommend it.
For those with more time:
I loved the first chapter of this book. I became attached to the protagonist, who experienced what seemed like infinite sorrows. I loved the elevated writing, the style of the prose. I was in awe at experiences with technology I had never imaged: instead of admiration, the protagonist experienced hatred and violence. To say the least, I was hooked.
But when I hit the second chapter, I was confused. Not only was it a jarring separation from the first chapter, with an entirely new protagonist in a strikingly different setting, but it was difficult to make the connection to the first chapter. Writing style and voice aside, it could have been an entirely different book. After I got the feel for our new protagonist, I felt more comfortable and adjusted. It also made more sense toward the end of the chapter, which was undeniably obscure, when a feeble connection was made to the protagonist of the first.
Finally, the third chapter was written with the same solidity as the first. There was much less that was mystical or metaphoric. The protagonist was easy enough to relate to, his relationship with his ape was tough to swallow--but written in a way that I could grasp it without doubts or insecurities. This chapter was also the wrap-around. I think of this book much in the same way I think of those movies, like Love Actually, that have several different plot lines that appear unrelated but are deeply intertwined. In the final chapter, we learned how the first man's behaviors and a fatality he caused were directly related to the experience of the second man with the dissecting of a body and the culture in the town where the third man finds himself living with an ape, many, many years after his ancestors have passed. (Do I sound crazy yet?)
In fewer words, this book will confuse, enthrall, and excite many parts of you. You should read it.
After I adjusted to the transitions between chapters, I found this book a delightful but maddening story of loss, cultural revolution, and the intertwining of lives around the world. I felt that the author beautifully, if not brilliantly, made connections between three distinct people in creative and unexpected ways. The writing is elegant. I highly recommend it.
For those with more time:
I loved the first chapter of this book. I became attached to the protagonist, who experienced what seemed like infinite sorrows. I loved the elevated writing, the style of the prose. I was in awe at experiences with technology I had never imaged: instead of admiration, the protagonist experienced hatred and violence. To say the least, I was hooked.
But when I hit the second chapter, I was confused. Not only was it a jarring separation from the first chapter, with an entirely new protagonist in a strikingly different setting, but it was difficult to make the connection to the first chapter. Writing style and voice aside, it could have been an entirely different book. After I got the feel for our new protagonist, I felt more comfortable and adjusted. It also made more sense toward the end of the chapter, which was undeniably obscure, when a feeble connection was made to the protagonist of the first.
Finally, the third chapter was written with the same solidity as the first. There was much less that was mystical or metaphoric. The protagonist was easy enough to relate to, his relationship with his ape was tough to swallow--but written in a way that I could grasp it without doubts or insecurities. This chapter was also the wrap-around. I think of this book much in the same way I think of those movies, like Love Actually, that have several different plot lines that appear unrelated but are deeply intertwined. In the final chapter, we learned how the first man's behaviors and a fatality he caused were directly related to the experience of the second man with the dissecting of a body and the culture in the town where the third man finds himself living with an ape, many, many years after his ancestors have passed. (Do I sound crazy yet?)
In fewer words, this book will confuse, enthrall, and excite many parts of you. You should read it.
Disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The question I had as I read this book was: What will fans of The Life of Pi think of this book? This book has all of the philosophy and allegory of the first, but The Life of Pi, for all of its allegory has a much more straightforward story. The majority of the book is a fantasy journey across the sea, and the end basically explains to you the reality and why it was presented as a fantasy.
The High Mountains of Portugal, on the other hand, does not distinguish between fantasy and reality. Situations both fantastic and real are blended and the most surreal moments are never explained.
You can read my full review here: http://portable-magic.com/2016/02/17/review-the-high-mountains-of-portugal/
The question I had as I read this book was: What will fans of The Life of Pi think of this book? This book has all of the philosophy and allegory of the first, but The Life of Pi, for all of its allegory has a much more straightforward story. The majority of the book is a fantasy journey across the sea, and the end basically explains to you the reality and why it was presented as a fantasy.
The High Mountains of Portugal, on the other hand, does not distinguish between fantasy and reality. Situations both fantastic and real are blended and the most surreal moments are never explained.
You can read my full review here: http://portable-magic.com/2016/02/17/review-the-high-mountains-of-portugal/
This book is part of the challenge What’s in a Name hosted by Wormhole, the first entry being a country in the title. It is also part of the challenge Full House Reading Challenge 2016 hosted by Book Date, relating to a book published in 2016.
A couple of weeks ago I went to Passa Porta here in Brussels to meet up with Yann Martel. He was here to promote his new novel The High Mountains of Portugal. I wrote about the very interesting interview in an earlier post (see link under name).
I have now finished his new book. I was not overenthusiastic about his Life of Pi, even if I might see it differently now, after hearing him talk about his writing, his thoughts and his way of seeing the world. Maybe I would have read and interpreted his new book differently if I had not heard his ideas behind the stories. Nevertheless, I loved his new book.
The novel is divided into three parts, taking place in 1904, 1939 and 1989. They are about three persons, in different times, with the stories coming together in the end. Although you know the stories are somehow connected, it is not obvious how when reading them. The three persons, men, have lost someone they loved and are trying to cope with the world without their loved ones. They do it in different ways, but the common theme is that they somehow end up in the high mountains of Portugal. Each story is very engaging, and not clear from the start where it will end.
During the interview he told us about his theory that an Agatha Christie story and the Gospels have a lot in common. This is part of the second story in the book, and it is a very interesting point of view. The third story involves a chimpanzee, and as we know from Life of Pi, Martel has a special relationship with animals. He thinks they are living in the present and anything past and future is not important for them. This is especially obvious in the last story and gives you something to think about when it comes to priorities in our lives.
I really loved these stories. They are told in a loving way, rather funny in between the more serious parts. It was like going on a trip, being a silent observer, and part of the stories. I could identify myself with the characters, their sufferings and their final destiny. A somewhat different book that stays with you long after it is finished.
Review from my book blog thecontentreader.blogspot.com
A couple of weeks ago I went to Passa Porta here in Brussels to meet up with Yann Martel. He was here to promote his new novel The High Mountains of Portugal. I wrote about the very interesting interview in an earlier post (see link under name).
I have now finished his new book. I was not overenthusiastic about his Life of Pi, even if I might see it differently now, after hearing him talk about his writing, his thoughts and his way of seeing the world. Maybe I would have read and interpreted his new book differently if I had not heard his ideas behind the stories. Nevertheless, I loved his new book.
The novel is divided into three parts, taking place in 1904, 1939 and 1989. They are about three persons, in different times, with the stories coming together in the end. Although you know the stories are somehow connected, it is not obvious how when reading them. The three persons, men, have lost someone they loved and are trying to cope with the world without their loved ones. They do it in different ways, but the common theme is that they somehow end up in the high mountains of Portugal. Each story is very engaging, and not clear from the start where it will end.
During the interview he told us about his theory that an Agatha Christie story and the Gospels have a lot in common. This is part of the second story in the book, and it is a very interesting point of view. The third story involves a chimpanzee, and as we know from Life of Pi, Martel has a special relationship with animals. He thinks they are living in the present and anything past and future is not important for them. This is especially obvious in the last story and gives you something to think about when it comes to priorities in our lives.
I really loved these stories. They are told in a loving way, rather funny in between the more serious parts. It was like going on a trip, being a silent observer, and part of the stories. I could identify myself with the characters, their sufferings and their final destiny. A somewhat different book that stays with you long after it is finished.
Review from my book blog thecontentreader.blogspot.com
Read full review HERE
Hmmm, you know when you finish a book and all you can think is “WHAT THE F**K DID I JUST READ?!“. Yeah… so… this was like that for me. I’ll admit that I requested this book solely because it is set in Portugal, and being written by the author of Life of Pi and all – not that I read it, but it was this huge deal, right? – I thought, “why not?” and requested it. And even though I rated it low, I don’t regret reading it, even though I don’t see myself picking one of his books again… like EVER! Moving on…
First of all let me tell you that the writing of this book is absolutely gorgeous. No matter what other problems I had, even being overly descriptive, the writing style is beautiful and engaging.
As the blurb says, the story is divided in 3 parts, each set in a different time period and revolving around the High Mountains of Portugal. I’m going to speak of each story and my issues with each one, and then I’ll wrap it up.
The first part was by far the most difficult to get through. It’s about Tomás and his journey to find a relic from the 17th century, that is somewhat lost in a church in the High Mountains of Portugal, and so he starts a journey, on his uncle automobile, from Lisbon to there.
This story starts out funny and heart-breaking. Tomás is a funny guy, plagued by lost – having lost his lover, child and father within the space of a week – and so, to protest against God, he decides to walk backwards. Yep, you read that right!!! This was all fun and good, my main problem with this story was the incredible slow pace and the highly detailed descriptions. I DON’T NEED TO KNOW HOW AN AUTOMOBILE FROM THE 1900’S WORKS! And I mean everything is described. It’s exhausting. I also didn’t need to know all the streets between Alfama and Lapa in Lisbon… just saying…
Another huge problem I had with it was all the mentions to slavery and animal poaching in África. I’m aware that these things happened, but while the mentions of slavery were justified, the amount of animal skins, stuffed wild animals or ivory pieces were not. Maybe I’m too sensible to this – half my family living in Angola and all – but I hated this.
Here I started to have issues with the religious aspects of this book, but I’m aware that it’s a purely personal problem of having no interest in dealing or reading about religion.
The second story was more engaging and totally bonkers. It’s about this pathologist talking to his wife and then performing an autopsy. I was actually pulled to all the Agatha Christie and Jesus talk, and I thought it was mostly hilarious. But then it just got weird, and there’s about 2-3 pages describing an autopsy…. I mean, I have no problem with it, I know the drill, but do we really need that explanation? My guess is no. And the ending? What even?!
The third story is almost cute, but that is mostly due to Odo, the chimp. My main problem with this story was the length, because reading about Odo was kind of entertaining. I hated the ending though.
All these stories are somewhat intertwined, and all have similar elements, such as the loss of loved ones, dealing with pain, chimpanzees and portuguese rhinoceros, and obviously the High Mountains of Portugal. Oh, almost forgot, and people walking backwards! (although when you reach the end
Now, I’m sure I missed the whole purpose of this book, and if someone want to explain it to me, please do!!!! But to be honest, what even was that? The mixing of faith, religion, science and magical realism was too much. What’s the message? We should have faith? We put our faith into the wrong things? We should live more in the moment? We should appreciate love and life for what it is? Chimps are better than us? WHAT EVEN?????!!!!
Besides this, being from Portugal and all, I had A LOT of issues with this book:
- What even are the High Mountains of Portugal? I’m assuming here that this book takes place in Trás-os-Montes, which so you know translates literally to behind the hills. But what bothers me is that in the book you have portuguese people calling it As Altas Montanhas de Portugal. WHAT? NOOOOOOOO.
- If you’re adding the portuguese language to your book, do it right. This and That are demonstrative pronouns, and translate to Isto and Isso. So, if you want to say This is home, the correct translation is Isto é (a minha) casa, and not Isso é a minha casa. Unless of course you learned portuguese in Brazil, then don’t set the book in Portugal.
- What the connection between Portugal, Chimpanzees and Rhinoceros is, is beyond me – and I lived there most of my life.
So, I’m done. I think this is a book you either love or hate, there’s no middle ground here. If you like highly transcendent books, that mix religion, science and some highly magical-realism, maybe you’ll like this one. It just wasn’t my thing. :(
I have to say though, that the anthropologist and scientist in me liked the role of the chimps in these stories…
Hmmm, you know when you finish a book and all you can think is “WHAT THE F**K DID I JUST READ?!“. Yeah… so… this was like that for me. I’ll admit that I requested this book solely because it is set in Portugal, and being written by the author of Life of Pi and all – not that I read it, but it was this huge deal, right? – I thought, “why not?” and requested it. And even though I rated it low, I don’t regret reading it, even though I don’t see myself picking one of his books again… like EVER! Moving on…
First of all let me tell you that the writing of this book is absolutely gorgeous. No matter what other problems I had, even being overly descriptive, the writing style is beautiful and engaging.
As the blurb says, the story is divided in 3 parts, each set in a different time period and revolving around the High Mountains of Portugal. I’m going to speak of each story and my issues with each one, and then I’ll wrap it up.
The first part was by far the most difficult to get through. It’s about Tomás and his journey to find a relic from the 17th century, that is somewhat lost in a church in the High Mountains of Portugal, and so he starts a journey, on his uncle automobile, from Lisbon to there.
This story starts out funny and heart-breaking. Tomás is a funny guy, plagued by lost – having lost his lover, child and father within the space of a week – and so, to protest against God, he decides to walk backwards. Yep, you read that right!!! This was all fun and good, my main problem with this story was the incredible slow pace and the highly detailed descriptions. I DON’T NEED TO KNOW HOW AN AUTOMOBILE FROM THE 1900’S WORKS! And I mean everything is described. It’s exhausting. I also didn’t need to know all the streets between Alfama and Lapa in Lisbon… just saying…
Another huge problem I had with it was all the mentions to slavery and animal poaching in África. I’m aware that these things happened, but while the mentions of slavery were justified, the amount of animal skins, stuffed wild animals or ivory pieces were not. Maybe I’m too sensible to this – half my family living in Angola and all – but I hated this.
Here I started to have issues with the religious aspects of this book, but I’m aware that it’s a purely personal problem of having no interest in dealing or reading about religion.
The second story was more engaging and totally bonkers. It’s about this pathologist talking to his wife and then performing an autopsy. I was actually pulled to all the Agatha Christie and Jesus talk, and I thought it was mostly hilarious. But then it just got weird, and there’s about 2-3 pages describing an autopsy…. I mean, I have no problem with it, I know the drill, but do we really need that explanation? My guess is no. And the ending? What even?!
The third story is almost cute, but that is mostly due to Odo, the chimp. My main problem with this story was the length, because reading about Odo was kind of entertaining. I hated the ending though.
All these stories are somewhat intertwined, and all have similar elements, such as the loss of loved ones, dealing with pain, chimpanzees and portuguese rhinoceros, and obviously the High Mountains of Portugal. Oh, almost forgot, and people walking backwards! (although when you reach the end
Now, I’m sure I missed the whole purpose of this book, and if someone want to explain it to me, please do!!!! But to be honest, what even was that? The mixing of faith, religion, science and magical realism was too much. What’s the message? We should have faith? We put our faith into the wrong things? We should live more in the moment? We should appreciate love and life for what it is? Chimps are better than us? WHAT EVEN?????!!!!
Besides this, being from Portugal and all, I had A LOT of issues with this book:
- What even are the High Mountains of Portugal? I’m assuming here that this book takes place in Trás-os-Montes, which so you know translates literally to behind the hills. But what bothers me is that in the book you have portuguese people calling it As Altas Montanhas de Portugal. WHAT? NOOOOOOOO.
- If you’re adding the portuguese language to your book, do it right. This and That are demonstrative pronouns, and translate to Isto and Isso. So, if you want to say This is home, the correct translation is Isto é (a minha) casa, and not Isso é a minha casa. Unless of course you learned portuguese in Brazil, then don’t set the book in Portugal.
- What the connection between Portugal, Chimpanzees and Rhinoceros is, is beyond me – and I lived there most of my life.
So, I’m done. I think this is a book you either love or hate, there’s no middle ground here. If you like highly transcendent books, that mix religion, science and some highly magical-realism, maybe you’ll like this one. It just wasn’t my thing. :(
I have to say though, that the anthropologist and scientist in me liked the role of the chimps in these stories…