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A review by anniesmanybooks
Ways of Going Home by Alejandro Zambra
4.0
For my Around the World challenge (Chile).
A promising little metafictional novel about the legacy of Pinochet's dictatorship in Chile. The novel switches between a child's story of the mysterious behavior of his neighbors, the now grown-up protagonist and his discovery of what really took place during these events and what role his parents had, and a metafictional frame narrative, in which another narrator, the "author," struggles with the writing of this story, his own failing marriage and his relationship to his parents. It's a clever little story, but I wish it had been more developed, more fleshed out. I realize that the point of the story is all that is unspoken and undone, but still... I wish there had been just a little bit more substance and depth.
3.5 stars.
A promising little metafictional novel about the legacy of Pinochet's dictatorship in Chile. The novel switches between a child's story of the mysterious behavior of his neighbors, the now grown-up protagonist and his discovery of what really took place during these events and what role his parents had, and a metafictional frame narrative, in which another narrator, the "author," struggles with the writing of this story, his own failing marriage and his relationship to his parents. It's a clever little story, but I wish it had been more developed, more fleshed out. I realize that the point of the story is all that is unspoken and undone, but still... I wish there had been just a little bit more substance and depth.
3.5 stars.