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lene_kretzsch's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
mh_books's review against another edition
5.0
Dark, disturbing yet devastatingly beautiful. My third And other Stories subscription book and my favourite to date.
The remainder is a tale of three broken children, now all grown up, a city smothered in ash and the meanings and weights of language and words.
Felipe tells us his story in single sentences the length of chapters. He sees dead bodies everywhere and is slowly subtracting them down until he finds the remainder.
Iquela, an English language translator, is obsessed with Paloma, a child more of her parents past and memories than her own. I admit she made me a little obsessed with Paloma too.
Then one day a pisco (brandy) swilling, chain-smoking Paloma turns up in Chile to bury her mother Ingrid. Like a fairytale, ash falls on Santiago and the body gets diverted to Argentina. All three travel over the Cordillera and back into their pasts to retrieve the body.
This book is recommended to readers who love language, appreciate translators and who were not overly disturbed by violent imagery (if you didn’t mind Han Kang’s the Vegetarian you will probably be okay).
I should hate this book for the parrot scene alone (I own parakeets/budgies) but I love it.
The remainder is a tale of three broken children, now all grown up, a city smothered in ash and the meanings and weights of language and words.
Felipe tells us his story in single sentences the length of chapters. He sees dead bodies everywhere and is slowly subtracting them down until he finds the remainder.
Iquela, an English language translator, is obsessed with Paloma, a child more of her parents past and memories than her own. I admit she made me a little obsessed with Paloma too.
Then one day a pisco (brandy) swilling, chain-smoking Paloma turns up in Chile to bury her mother Ingrid. Like a fairytale, ash falls on Santiago and the body gets diverted to Argentina. All three travel over the Cordillera and back into their pasts to retrieve the body.
This book is recommended to readers who love language, appreciate translators and who were not overly disturbed by violent imagery (if you didn’t mind Han Kang’s the Vegetarian you will probably be okay).
I should hate this book for the parrot scene alone (I own parakeets/budgies) but I love it.
howdyhoward's review against another edition
The bird scene was too much. I'm lowkey scared to keep reading bc I don't want to be traumatized anymore.
booksonadventures's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
We tell stories of revolutionaries, but not what remains after their fight.
The Remainder by Alia Trabucco Zerán
In The Remainder, three descendants of former political activists struggle with the generational trauma inherited from their parents—the latter now dead, broken, and exiled.
It helps to have a bit of a background on Chile for this one. An over-simplification: In 1973 Augusto Pinochet becomes dictator after a military coup. His 17-year regime results in approx. 130,000 arrests and at least 2,000 deaths or disappearances + countless exiles. In 1988, on the night Pinochet is voted out, this story begins.
The Remainder switches between two narrators, the increasingly unstable Felipe who feels too much + his mirror, the impassive and disconnected Iquela. When family-friend Paloma visits Santiago to repatriate her dead mother from exile, the three find themselves chasing ghosts (both literally and figuratively) when the corpse is diverted to Argentina.
This book packed an impressive punch, with brilliant layering and imagery that captures the hurt and heartbreak of a generation that carries the wounds of their parents, or else risk dishonoring their sacrifices. The narrative can be a bit grotesque, particularly Felipe’s obsession with death, and becomes increasingly complex when drugs are added to the mix. That said, I think the shorter length helped keep the reader invested, and the two narrators offered a bit of balance.
Final thoughts: 👍🏻 Recommended. I’ll be thinking about this one for a while.
The Remainder by Alia Trabucco Zerán
In The Remainder, three descendants of former political activists struggle with the generational trauma inherited from their parents—the latter now dead, broken, and exiled.
It helps to have a bit of a background on Chile for this one. An over-simplification: In 1973 Augusto Pinochet becomes dictator after a military coup. His 17-year regime results in approx. 130,000 arrests and at least 2,000 deaths or disappearances + countless exiles. In 1988, on the night Pinochet is voted out, this story begins.
The Remainder switches between two narrators, the increasingly unstable Felipe who feels too much + his mirror, the impassive and disconnected Iquela. When family-friend Paloma visits Santiago to repatriate her dead mother from exile, the three find themselves chasing ghosts (both literally and figuratively) when the corpse is diverted to Argentina.
This book packed an impressive punch, with brilliant layering and imagery that captures the hurt and heartbreak of a generation that carries the wounds of their parents, or else risk dishonoring their sacrifices. The narrative can be a bit grotesque, particularly Felipe’s obsession with death, and becomes increasingly complex when drugs are added to the mix. That said, I think the shorter length helped keep the reader invested, and the two narrators offered a bit of balance.
Final thoughts: 👍🏻 Recommended. I’ll be thinking about this one for a while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Sexual content, and Death of parent
agarje1's review against another edition
4.0
This book was really raw and powerful and kind of unlike anything I've ever read before. The writing style was definitely my favorite part - it flowed so well that I was constantly in awe of it. This is definitely one of the best translation jobs I've ever read. There was a lot that was kind of unclear to me, especially towards the beginning in terms of who exactly the characters were and what their relationships were to each other, but I was intrigued by their stories nonetheless. There was a clear distinction in voice between the two main POV characters, but both were equally well written. The unique structure worked really well for me. Perhaps the one thing I would gripe about is the plot, especially how the resolution wasn't that satisfying for me, but other than that I am really happy that I finally picked this up.
52weekswithbooks's review against another edition
2.0
As my two stars rating says, this was ok. I didn't find it very interesting. I did appreciate the two perspectives in which the book is written and the story of how kids grow up to be affected by the political situation that their parents lived.
redheadreading's review against another edition
3.0
I struggled with this a bit! On the one hand, I think parts of this book are written so well and there were moments, especially in Iquela's perspective, that were really gorgeous. On the other, Felipe's perspective was a real struggle for me - partly because stream of consciousness narration has always been a tricky one for me to get on with, but also because of the focus on his preoccupation with death. Some moments got a bit dark for me, plus after a while his counting and tallying got a little repetitive. That said, I do feel like in many ways that was the point! His narrative becomes increasingly fractured as his self unravels, but whilst I recognise that as a deliberate act, I still found it hard to connect to.
Similarly, Paloma never felt entirely real, but that's again potentially deliberate. Because she is the only member of the trio whose perspective we don't get, we have to experience her through Iquela, so we only get glimpses of the true Paloma as the story goes on.
One of the aspects I found most powerful was exploring the ways that wounds can be handed down the generations. As revolutionaries, the character's parents lived through a lot and Iquela's mother clearly still carries those things with her. I found it so compelling seeing the way the three main characters also had to grapple with the fallout of their parents lives, the things they tried to suppress, which inevitably have a way of coming out.
On the whole, I have to say I don't think this is a bad book, but I also recognise that it's maybe not the book for me. I definitely struggled a bit and had a sense of disconnect from the characters, but I also see why others will love it.
Similarly, Paloma never felt entirely real, but that's again potentially deliberate. Because she is the only member of the trio whose perspective we don't get, we have to experience her through Iquela, so we only get glimpses of the true Paloma as the story goes on.
One of the aspects I found most powerful was exploring the ways that wounds can be handed down the generations. As revolutionaries, the character's parents lived through a lot and Iquela's mother clearly still carries those things with her. I found it so compelling seeing the way the three main characters also had to grapple with the fallout of their parents lives, the things they tried to suppress, which inevitably have a way of coming out.
On the whole, I have to say I don't think this is a bad book, but I also recognise that it's maybe not the book for me. I definitely struggled a bit and had a sense of disconnect from the characters, but I also see why others will love it.
katmeredith's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
jaclyn_youngblood's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting use of two narrators with very different styles of storytelling. I could have done with even a little more history than we were given, but that's generally my bias as a student of history anyway.