Scan barcode
A review by thebobsphere
A Perfect Cemetery by Federico Falco
4.0
A Perfect Cemetery is published by Charco Press, a publisher who specializes in translating South American literature into English. To date I’ve liked everything they’ve published and A Perfect Cemetery is no exception AND it’s a short story collection, a genre I don’t really get along with.
The five stories here are quite eclectic and yet there are elements which unite them. Usually I try a collective analysis but since there aren’t many stories, I can give a brief summary/teaser of each one.
Opening story The Hares is about a man who gives up his life to life in the woods. Obviously there’s much more than that but it’s always best to be as vague as possible. This story is quite crucial to understanding one major theme in this book which is how people interact with natural world and the urban one.
Silvi and her Dark Night is my favorite one of the bunch: A girl who is rebelling against her mother’s devout Christianity decides to become a Mormon, but for all the wrong reasons. The last few sentences contain a clever metaphor for Silvi’s attitude.
The title story is the big grand piece of the book. The mayor of a small town decides to build the most aesthetically pleasing cemetery as it is part of his dying father’s wish. Unfortunately while building the cemetery he encounters problems. Once again the nature theme crops up but it’s also an interesting look village dynamics.
Nature, again plays a big role in Woodland Life: A father who lives in the forest is going to lose his house and has to find a suitor for his daughter and eventually moves into an old age home. As one can guess, the pull of mother nature is a strong. An interesting minor theme is the Japanese communities in Argentina.
The concluding story, The River just hit me in the heart. A widow sees her husband everywhere, that is until a strange occurrence happens, which puts into some light, her husband’s past actions. It’s the only surreal one but it’s also a tender look on loss.
Nature, relationships , old age, grief and survival. All these stories feel like individual experiences. Some I reread for pure pleasure, some I went back and forth in order to see connecting themes. Reading A Perfect Cemetery was enjoyable and as for someone who does not like short stories, this means that this collection is special indeed.
The five stories here are quite eclectic and yet there are elements which unite them. Usually I try a collective analysis but since there aren’t many stories, I can give a brief summary/teaser of each one.
Opening story The Hares is about a man who gives up his life to life in the woods. Obviously there’s much more than that but it’s always best to be as vague as possible. This story is quite crucial to understanding one major theme in this book which is how people interact with natural world and the urban one.
Silvi and her Dark Night is my favorite one of the bunch: A girl who is rebelling against her mother’s devout Christianity decides to become a Mormon, but for all the wrong reasons. The last few sentences contain a clever metaphor for Silvi’s attitude.
The title story is the big grand piece of the book. The mayor of a small town decides to build the most aesthetically pleasing cemetery as it is part of his dying father’s wish. Unfortunately while building the cemetery he encounters problems. Once again the nature theme crops up but it’s also an interesting look village dynamics.
Nature, again plays a big role in Woodland Life: A father who lives in the forest is going to lose his house and has to find a suitor for his daughter and eventually moves into an old age home. As one can guess, the pull of mother nature is a strong. An interesting minor theme is the Japanese communities in Argentina.
The concluding story, The River just hit me in the heart. A widow sees her husband everywhere, that is until a strange occurrence happens, which puts into some light, her husband’s past actions. It’s the only surreal one but it’s also a tender look on loss.
Nature, relationships , old age, grief and survival. All these stories feel like individual experiences. Some I reread for pure pleasure, some I went back and forth in order to see connecting themes. Reading A Perfect Cemetery was enjoyable and as for someone who does not like short stories, this means that this collection is special indeed.