Reviews with content warning for War - The Twilight Zone

Reviews tagging 'War'

The Twilight Zone by Nona Fernández

6 reviews

joja_zch's review against another edition

dark informative tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

No sé bien cómo juzgar este libro… no es un libro crudo, realmente. Habla de una época muy oscura en la historia de Chile, pero me da la impresión de que se queda en la superficie de lo que pasó. Creo también que no era el objetivo crear un libro crudo y minucioso, sino dar un vistazo desde el punto de vista de una joven que vivió, desde las lindes, esa época.
El hilo conductor es lo que cuenta este “hombre que torturaba” por quien la protagonista demuestra simpatía desde el primer momento; razón por la cual, el último capítulo,

donde la protagonista y su pareja tienen la conversación sobre Frankenstein me parece sumamente importante, además que es algo que me pregunté durante casi todo el libro: ¿cómo desarrollar simpatía por una persona que hizo tanto mal, independientemente del hecho de haberse arrepentido y ayudado a esclarecer el horror que perpetró?

La forma de escribir, el tema del libro, las historias que cuenta me parecieron interesantes, pero no siento que deba ponerle 4⭐️. Quizás porque siento que se pudo ahondar más. El libro no despertó sentimientos fuertes en mí.

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pennyforyourthoughts's review

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is complicated. The genre confused me at first as the back of the book calls it fiction, though I would say it is more of historical fiction with a mix of memoir. The reality this book displays, even with questioning of the details is so important. It connected me to the turbulent history of Chile even though I got confused at times. The writing style was beautiful and I hope the original version was properly represented through this translation. It feels like a daydream but has enough focal points to keep the reader connected to what is going on. The brutality of the past is not hidden away in this book, only elevated. I think I will appreciate this book even more on a reread, maybe after some research of my own.

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readingwithcoffee's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

5.0

Incredible and concise prose about the surreal and haunting nature of what the worst of humanity can be under authoritarian that Fernandez excellently uses various pop culture such as the titular reference to the twilight zone, Edgar Allan Poe, Frankenstein, and more including videogames and pop music for springboards and analogies.

I do want ti give a heads up while I do not believe the book was ever condoning racism to Romani in Chile, it is present in the book and I think the wha it’s depicted by a more passive narrator who exists more as witness to her country then active may bother others, I did prefer his Fernandez wrote about the Mapuche.

I am familiar with this part of Chilean history but I don’t know everyone’s names so I am curious if every named character was a real person because it definitely was deliberate who is a named character and who is not. Something to check out on a reread.

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marsspider42's review

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challenging dark informative mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I found this book quite difficult to get through. I understood the premise of the book, and what it was trying to achieve, but I found the structure overly complicated and confusing. I was not connected to the characters much at all, and I was not particularly interested in where the story was going.

The topics this book raises are interesting, and it is beautifully written in parts, but it is let down by a confusing structure and lack of forward momentum.

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abbie_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

I absolutely loved this book, and was pleasantly surprised by how effective it was on audio. I was hesitant at first because I knew it jumped around in time, included POVs from different characters and article/film extracts, but it was an incredible experience. The author makes use of a lot of repetition and I thought that was conveyed brilliantly in the narration by Raquel Beattie - it was hypnotic!

It’s brutal, a depiction of Chile under Pinochet’s dictatorship, centred around ‘the man who tortured people’ as he is referred to throughout the novel. The narrator is a writer & documentarian intent on piecing together the life & sinister work of the former member of the secret police. She fuses history, pop culture references (notably the TV show the Twilight Zone), and her own imagination to create a haunting picture of the crimes and violence that was rife in Chile under Pinochet, how it seeped into everyday life. Mesmerising!

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smuds2's review

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

UNFINISHED

REVIEW RATING SYSTEM - [ 1 = FELT DECEIVED, 2 = NOT WHAT I EXPECTED IN A BAD WAY BUT WASN'T A WASTE OF TIME, 3 = WHAT I EXPECTED FELT LIKE MY TIME WAS USED AS EXPECTED, 4 = PLEASANTLY SURPRISED, 5 = THINKING ABOUT IT MONTHS LATER ]

RULES : (1) can not give anything a 5 outright, must either be a re-read or a update to score, (2) can not give incremental ratings, except for 4.75 which is functionally a "revisit in case it is actually a 5", (3) I should always end with a "this leads me to think" of 2-3 ideas this book roused in me.

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