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ridgewaygirl's review
2.0
Writing a brief description of the plot of Savage Theories is to miss most of what goes on in this odd book that spends most of its time going off on tangents and assuming the reader is a lot more knowledgeable than this particular reader is. Basically, there are two stories; a young woman stalks her professor while justifying it in all sorts of philosophical ways, which hides the creepiness somewhat and; two teenage friends, who believe themselves to be physically repulsive, negotiate their social world with an angry sense of inferiority, even as they engage in orgies with beautiful people.
This is one weird book. It revels in a sort of intellectual ping pong, where the reader is assumed to be not only aware of a broad swath of philosophy, sociology and Argentinian history, but that they are also able to keep up with Pola Oloixarac's frenetic jumping around between topics and references. This is the aspect of the book I liked - after a lot of looking up of things, I eventually just relaxed into enjoying the ride. It's a wild and fun one, even as I missed most of the references and asides.
I did have a problem with the author's cavalier attitude toward sexual violence, which is intended to be humorous, including a gang rape in a nightclub bathroom which is played for laughs and also no big deal. There's more to feel uneasy about here, and much that was interesting, but in the end this was a book I'm not happy to have read.
This is one weird book. It revels in a sort of intellectual ping pong, where the reader is assumed to be not only aware of a broad swath of philosophy, sociology and Argentinian history, but that they are also able to keep up with Pola Oloixarac's frenetic jumping around between topics and references. This is the aspect of the book I liked - after a lot of looking up of things, I eventually just relaxed into enjoying the ride. It's a wild and fun one, even as I missed most of the references and asides.
I did have a problem with the author's cavalier attitude toward sexual violence, which is intended to be humorous, including a gang rape in a nightclub bathroom which is played for laughs and also no big deal. There's more to feel uneasy about here, and much that was interesting, but in the end this was a book I'm not happy to have read.
booksnpunks's review
2.0
I cannot explain to you a single thing that this book was about. I enjoyed the writing in some parts which is why I’m giving it 2 stars but I genuinely do not understand what this was or what was going on. The two “main” characters were slightly interesting but it went off on a lot of tangents which made no sense to me. I kept trying to contextualise it I alongside the other Argentine books I read but it didn’t really help. I wouldn’t read any more of Oloixarac’s back catalogue as Mona was brilliant but her early work I’m not a fan of.
pearloz's review against another edition
I’m giving up approximately 50 pages from the end. No rating.
nuhafariha's review
1.0
Much like my organic chemistry textbook, I kept reading in the hopes that this would make some kind of sense. It didn't.
copusb's review
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-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
3.25
kumipaul's review
1.0
I carefully read the first 1/3, and scan/read the remaining 2/3 because I tired of the nonsense within. I felt like the book was an irrational mix of sex romp, academic dissertation, and author's desire to show off her expansive vocabulary to obscure meaning and create boredom in the reader. Success! I was bored.
tonythep's review against another edition
3.0
I suspect that the author is quite brilliant. The book is so dry and intellectual, and I'm sure much of the humor went over my head. Academic life, philosophy, Argentinian history and politics. And sex. All ripe for satire. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. It did not activate me. I did appreciate the translator's note, basically telling me it's not his fault that I didn't get it. This is so beyond you even if you could read it in the original Spanish.