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A review by mixedmetaphors
Reputations by Juan Gabriel Vásquez
4.0
Reputations by Juan Gabriel Vásquez is a seashell of a novel: a small, tide-polished discovery, perfectly and fully formed, with whirling details that reveal more and more beauty the closer you look.
The novel takes place over a several day period (plus flashbacks), during which a lauded political cartoonist reckons with his lifetime as Colombia's caricature-wielding moral conscience. It is both the high-point and--in some ways--the low-point of his career; a prestigious award and a visitor from his past force him to grapple with the role he has played in chipping away at the reputations of so many prominent figures, as well as reflect on how that antagonistic position has intertwined with his standing in society and with his personal relationships.
There's not a lot of action over the course of the book, it mostly follows conversations between characters or sits inside the protagonist's head. Like a Philip Roth book, it doesn't shy away from putting speeches onto the page, allowing us to sink fully into the events rather than just skimming the surface. The depth of detail and rumination never seemed ponderous, and I felt pulled along until the end. This is novel seeped in the contradictions of a complex, imperfect, but honorable man.
A final note: One thing I enjoyed was existing in a world where I could pretend a single political cartoonist could matter so much. I don't know if it's a Colombia-vs-USA or a past-vs-present issue, but it's almost laughable to imagine such a person having significant national impact today in the midst of the decline of newspapers. But we all exist within our own circles, and in those circles the priorities and drivers probably make no sense to outsiders. Even if political cartoonists no longer have widespread notoriety, I can imagine entering the circle of newspapers and politicians where the knife's edge of reputation is a minute-by-minute bargain.
The novel takes place over a several day period (plus flashbacks), during which a lauded political cartoonist reckons with his lifetime as Colombia's caricature-wielding moral conscience. It is both the high-point and--in some ways--the low-point of his career; a prestigious award and a visitor from his past force him to grapple with the role he has played in chipping away at the reputations of so many prominent figures, as well as reflect on how that antagonistic position has intertwined with his standing in society and with his personal relationships.
There's not a lot of action over the course of the book, it mostly follows conversations between characters or sits inside the protagonist's head. Like a Philip Roth book, it doesn't shy away from putting speeches onto the page, allowing us to sink fully into the events rather than just skimming the surface. The depth of detail and rumination never seemed ponderous, and I felt pulled along until the end. This is novel seeped in the contradictions of a complex, imperfect, but honorable man.
A final note: One thing I enjoyed was existing in a world where I could pretend a single political cartoonist could matter so much. I don't know if it's a Colombia-vs-USA or a past-vs-present issue, but it's almost laughable to imagine such a person having significant national impact today in the midst of the decline of newspapers. But we all exist within our own circles, and in those circles the priorities and drivers probably make no sense to outsiders. Even if political cartoonists no longer have widespread notoriety, I can imagine entering the circle of newspapers and politicians where the knife's edge of reputation is a minute-by-minute bargain.