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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
An uncomfortable read throughout, but great for post-read discussion!
dark
sad
medium-paced
That ending was so, so harrowing.
I wasn't sure what I was expecting but it sure wasn't that - that environmental shift.
Throughout Cándido and América's journey I followed along with their hope as well as their loss of it.
This book was a journey itself because I went back and forth between liking and not liking it.
I liked the way the stories are woven together, as separate bodies that eventually met.
I did not like at one point how T.C. Boyle seemed to make a comedy of Cándido's hunger. Maybe not a comedy, maybe it was trivialised. I'm not sure, I know books are meant to be entertaining, and that the eating of the cat was necessary, but the way it was phrased seemed strangely dramatised.
Anyway, there is far more to a book than my interpretation.
I think this was a good, essential read that paints a picture of immigrant life and survival, juxtaposed by the racist hatred in America, that I only have a view of through media such as this.
I wasn't sure what I was expecting but it sure wasn't that - that environmental shift.
Throughout Cándido and América's journey I followed along with their hope as well as their loss of it.
This book was a journey itself because I went back and forth between liking and not liking it.
I liked the way the stories are woven together, as separate bodies that eventually met.
I did not like at one point how T.C. Boyle seemed to make a comedy of Cándido's hunger. Maybe not a comedy, maybe it was trivialised. I'm not sure, I know books are meant to be entertaining, and that the eating of the cat was necessary, but the way it was phrased seemed strangely dramatised.
Anyway, there is far more to a book than my interpretation.
I think this was a good, essential read that paints a picture of immigrant life and survival, juxtaposed by the racist hatred in America, that I only have a view of through media such as this.
Powerful juxtaposition of the lives of people from vastly different situations. Shows the treatment of immigrants, and the reason why it's so easy to hate groups unlike you, so easy to scapegoat. Shows the humanity on each side, as well as the incredible flaws.
I don't know how I feel about this book, but it isn't good. While the quality of the writing was good, the characters were exaggerated stereotypes with little depth. The ending seemed like the author got bored after 300 pages of build up.
To be fair, I only ready 75 pages but I've read a fair amount of T.C. Boyle and could tell right away this was not going to be one his better books. He tends towards polemics but his best books (Drop City, World's End) have nuance.
Slow moving and tragic. Nothing good happens. Just made me feel depressed.
This depressing book can suck the life out of a room.
Coyotes eat pet dogs. People eat cats to keep from starving.
A baby is born blind and then dies.
A woman is raped. Illegal immigrants live destitute miserable lives.
American citizens live miserable lives in a gated community.
Totally UGH.
Coyotes eat pet dogs. People eat cats to keep from starving.
A baby is born blind and then dies.
A woman is raped. Illegal immigrants live destitute miserable lives.
American citizens live miserable lives in a gated community.
Totally UGH.
challenging
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Spoiler. I
Didn’t like the end bc it left it all up for interpretation. America gives Soccura gonorrhea and she is blind. Candido loses all the money again in a fire. Delaney threatens to kill them but pulls Candido from a flash flood.
Didn’t like the end bc it left it all up for interpretation. America gives Soccura gonorrhea and she is blind. Candido loses all the money again in a fire. Delaney threatens to kill them but pulls Candido from a flash flood.
This book has interesting commentary on the issue of illegal immigration from two perspectives, but it is very depressing.
NK Book Club May 2013
NK Book Club May 2013