Scan barcode
paigebacon's review against another edition
4.0
As difficult as it was to share time with the narcissistic and down right cruel Rosa, I couldn't put this book down. No sappy ending, no loose strings neatly tied. But open to any page and read any paragrph and you will find yourself intrigued if not chuckling.
anneschuessler's review against another edition
4.0
Im Bücherschrank gefunden, "Och ja, why not?" gedacht und nicht enttäuscht worden, im Gegenteil. Erzählt wird die Geschichte von Rosa, einer Tartarin, die fast alle um sie herum für Idioten hält, allen voran ihr Mann und ihre unscheinbare Tochter Sulfia. Dann wird Sulfia schwanger, die Abtreibung auf dem Küchentisch misslingt und Rosas Enkelin Aminat kommt auf die Welt, das schönste, beste und klügste Kind, das sich Rosa je erträumen könnte, so dass sie die Erziehungspflicht ganz bei sich sieht, denn niemand anders könnte es besser als sie. Doch das Leben will nicht immer so wie Rosa und Sulfia will auch nicht immer so wie Rosa, und überhaupt kommt alles immer wieder anders, bis Rosa ihre Chance darin sieht, Sulfia mit einem Deutschen zu verkuppeln, um endlich mit ihr und Aminat in den Westen zu kommen. Aber auch dieser Plan hat seine Tücken. Am Ende ist dann alles anders, nichts so, wie es sein sollte und trotzdem irgendwie auch gut.
Das liest sich wunderbar flott, mit Schärfe und Humor. Vor allem ist Rosa eigentlich eine unerträgliche Frau, voller Spott und Überheblichkeit, gleichzeitig Heldin und Antiheldin, aber vor allem auch nur ein Mensch, der das Glück sucht und dabei eben Fehler macht.
Das liest sich wunderbar flott, mit Schärfe und Humor. Vor allem ist Rosa eigentlich eine unerträgliche Frau, voller Spott und Überheblichkeit, gleichzeitig Heldin und Antiheldin, aber vor allem auch nur ein Mensch, der das Glück sucht und dabei eben Fehler macht.
marytony's review against another edition
4.0
Al principio me pareció un libro divertido, me hacía reir, pero según fui avanzando, aunque tiene detalles simpáticos. te das cuenta de que es un libro muy triste. Me ha gustado mucho, continuamente cambiada de opinión sobre lo que pensaba sobre la protagonista y aún después de finalizado no tengo muy claro que pensar.Merece la pena leerlo.
cottonspectre's review against another edition
dark
funny
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
gcullman's review against another edition
2.0
Strange book. I found the main character too distasteful but the ending was unexpectedly touching. The humor was lost on me-- if it existed at all.
jenswagner's review against another edition
3.0
I really wasn't quite sure what to make of this book, but it was interesting...
sylviruk's review against another edition
4.0
Me reí montones con esta novela, la protagonista es terrible y encantadora. A la idea de clásica-madre-mexicana le deberíamos presentar a la clásica-madre-tártara, sería una bomba.
Por otro lado la segmentación, los diálogos y en general la construcción de personajes nos muestran a una Bronsky con más recursos, esta novela es también una lección de narrativa para quienes coquetean con la novela pero les da miedo dejar el cuento.
Por otro lado la segmentación, los diálogos y en general la construcción de personajes nos muestran a una Bronsky con más recursos, esta novela es también una lección de narrativa para quienes coquetean con la novela pero les da miedo dejar el cuento.
thelibraryofminds's review against another edition
4.0
I love books with unreliable narrators, and this one is done so well and is just so funny even though this woman is AWFUL. Really. And there were parts where her blindness and cruelty could be hard to bear, but overall, this was just so different from what I've been reading and I didn't want to put it down because the writer (and translator) did such a good job nailing the tone here.
jennyyates's review against another edition
3.0
Wow, what a character! I love books about feisty older women, and the narrator of this very funny novel, Rosalinda Achmetowna, is in a class by herself. Rosalinda, a Tartar living in Russia, is confidence embodied, a woman who knows what to do in every situation, who never falters. And you can sympathize with her detractors too – which include her daughter and granddaughter at times - because Rosalinda is one pushy broad, with absolutely no concept of boundaries.
This isn’t a book where the heroine wins through all the time. She loses plenty too, and she can’t always control everything, much as she tries. In the Russia she lives in, there are acute shortages of everything. But sitting around crying is a waste of time for Rosalinda; she makes a decision and moves on to the next thing. About halfway through the book, she emigrates to Germany, and I found the cultural contrasts very telling (and familiar to me, since I was also an ex-pat in Germany for a while).
Much of the novel centers around Rosalinda’s fascination for her granddaughter and her attempts to keep her near and help her become a smaller version of Rosalinda herself. In the course of this, she tries to orchestrate her daughter’s life, and has a hand in her three marriages. We also enjoy Rosalinda’s high-handed but ultimately practical approaches to sex and work.
This isn’t a book where the heroine wins through all the time. She loses plenty too, and she can’t always control everything, much as she tries. In the Russia she lives in, there are acute shortages of everything. But sitting around crying is a waste of time for Rosalinda; she makes a decision and moves on to the next thing. About halfway through the book, she emigrates to Germany, and I found the cultural contrasts very telling (and familiar to me, since I was also an ex-pat in Germany for a while).
Much of the novel centers around Rosalinda’s fascination for her granddaughter and her attempts to keep her near and help her become a smaller version of Rosalinda herself. In the course of this, she tries to orchestrate her daughter’s life, and has a hand in her three marriages. We also enjoy Rosalinda’s high-handed but ultimately practical approaches to sex and work.
mollylovestoread's review against another edition
4.0
The first 75% made me laugh, and the main character Rosa Achmetowna reminded me of Old Lady Grantham. And then. And then, it was heartbreaking and it made me very, very sad.