A review by vvnobook
Beautiful Losers by Leonard Cohen

challenging dark funny mysterious tense

• 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

4.5

What a ride! Cohen greatly captured the notion of history as the present and the present as history. This work was avant garde for its time. It tackles colonialism, sexual deviance, heteronormativity and so many other themes. Be ready for some weird shit. "I"'s descent into grief and madness sorrounding his research on the A--- is mesmerizing and it is all the more interesting since Cohen managed to weave in the turmoil of the 60s in Quebec. You can't help but to love to hate F and Edith as their story sends the narrator in an even greater spiral. I also found endearing how both men were not stereotypes of masculinity but they were rather really really flawed men. My only complaint with the book is, as a postmodernist text, it is sometimes though to follow and the stream of consciousness can be hard to read if you are not used to the style.