venneh 's review for:

Reputations by Juan Gabriel Vásquez

4.0

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I ended up sprinting through this, mainly because it’s pretty thin, but at the same time it’s very powerful. The frame for the story is that of a Colombian political caricaturist being honored for his work in a public celebration. But what it’s actually about is a party in the past, how the idea of reputations and how men react to them being harmed fuel their actions, and how pivotal one afternoon can be in a life. I will give a warning for implied sexual assault, and a bit of weirdness later in the book with a young woman and a bit of exhibitionism. But overall, it’s a well written, tight novel. I definitely am going to be finding more of Gabriel Vásquez.