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A review by hopeevey
Brasyl by Ian McDonald
4.0
Ian McDonald's Braysyl takes place in Brazil, but in three different time lines - 2006, 2032, and and 1732. The separate story-lines don't so much come together, as you discover they were never actually separate.
I love the book, but I can't recommend it to just anyone. If you know something about Brazil, if you're prone to being seduced by outstandingly well-written characters, and if you can keep track of three distinct story-lines, you may come to love Braysyl like I do. Or you might hate it. It's a difficult read. I didn't much care for it at first. I only got excited about reading it as the characters came to life for me.
The story is very set in Brazil. Especially at first, I felt like I needed a primer on Brazilian culture and history. The text is littered with Portuguese words, because there simply aren't good English equivalents. The glossary is a big help with that, but it's confusing until you get used to to the bilingualism of the story. It also seems to presuppose familiarity with Brazil, but I managed to pick up enough from context to get by. The story hops from time-line to time-line, without a clear reason for why or when it switches, which just adds to the confusion.
But it's a great story, if you can get to it. I don't think it could be told any other way. For me, the pay-off was well worth the effort, but your mileage will vary.
I love the book, but I can't recommend it to just anyone. If you know something about Brazil, if you're prone to being seduced by outstandingly well-written characters, and if you can keep track of three distinct story-lines, you may come to love Braysyl like I do. Or you might hate it. It's a difficult read. I didn't much care for it at first. I only got excited about reading it as the characters came to life for me.
The story is very set in Brazil. Especially at first, I felt like I needed a primer on Brazilian culture and history. The text is littered with Portuguese words, because there simply aren't good English equivalents. The glossary is a big help with that, but it's confusing until you get used to to the bilingualism of the story. It also seems to presuppose familiarity with Brazil, but I managed to pick up enough from context to get by. The story hops from time-line to time-line, without a clear reason for why or when it switches, which just adds to the confusion.
But it's a great story, if you can get to it. I don't think it could be told any other way. For me, the pay-off was well worth the effort, but your mileage will vary.