A review by akhcreates
Boulder by Eva Baltasar

adventurous challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

I loved this book, but I didn't always love our narrator, Boulder. Or her partner Samsa. They were both incredibly flawed, but that is definitely what made this book interesting. Something I kept returning to throughout the book is that if Boulder were a man, I would likely have rolled my eyes and dismissed him early on. This exploration of hesitancy around having kids is more palatable, I suppose, when the hesitant person is a woman than a man. And despite the fact that I think Boulder often does the wrong thing, I do understand why she makes those choices, which I think is an impressive feat by Baltasar.

I did feel proud of that I picked up on the fact that Baltasar is a poet. It definitely shows in her writing, and major compliments to Sanches that it shows so well in the translation. I happened to pick this up because it was nominated for the International Booker and I'm so happy it was longlisted because I don't know if I would have picked it up otherwise.