“Hour of the Star” by Clarice Lispector (Brazil) Review Challenging, frustrating, meditative and surrealistic were some of the adjectives that readers used to describe this modern classic. They found it difficult to get into and agreed that it needed more than one reading. They called it a thinking book and would not recommend it for escapism. The multi-layered narration was challenging for some readers, who … Continue reading Hour of the Star
“One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel García Márquez (Colombia) Synopsis Equally tragic, joyful and comical, “One Hundred Years of Solitude” inhabits a strange dream-like space where very little makes real sense, but everything is mysteriously and vividly alive nonetheless. Blending fantasy and reality seamlessly, the characters struggle hopelessly against a merciless backdrop of madness, corruption and death… all measured out equally with farce and … Continue reading One Hundred Years of Solitude
“The Sound of Things Falling” by Juan Gabriel Vasquez (Colombia) Review Members of our Summer Reading Group liked the differences in writing styles and themes of this year’s four shortlisted books finding most of the stories highly enjoyable. “The Sound of Things Falling” is set in present-day Bogota and tells the story of a university professor who befriends a former drug smuggler. Readers found the … Continue reading The Sound of Things Falling
“The Sickness” by Alberto Barrera Tyszka (Venezuela) Review Most readers liked this book saying that they found it easy to read, more so because of the style of writing and its length (150 pages) than its subject matter. They felt that the story had some universal themes (obsession, communication, death) and that it could have been set anywhere. A lot of the readers found the … Continue reading The Sickness
“Departing at Dawn” by Gloria Lisé (Argentina) Review With its subtitle “A Novel of Argentina’s Dirty War”, readers said they found the story to be completely different from what they had imagined. Instead of getting details of the horrors of a military dictatorship, which is what they had been expecting, readers felt they were given an introspective and interesting look at life in that context from … Continue reading Departing at Dawn
“A Brief Life” by Juan Carlos Onetti (Uruguay) Review Readers struggled with this book finding it an overly hard read. They didn’t warm to any of the characters who they described as unlikeable. They thought the writing style was a bit heavy going at times, with too many passages composed of exceedingly long sentences. Some readers found the alternation of the protagonist’s different lives confusing. … Continue reading A Brief Life
“Death as a Side Effect” by Ana Maria Shua (Argentina) Review Readers had varying opinions on this book with some of them loving it while others found it unrelentingly bleak. One thing they all agreed upon was that it was extremely well written and that the translator, Andrea G. Labinger, had done an excellent job rendering this. Most readers found the depiction of the dystopian … Continue reading Death as a Side Effect
“My Name is Light” by Elsa Osorio (Argentina) Review Most readers enjoyed the story finding it a fast-paced read. They liked being enlightened about the lesser-known political situation in Argentina in the seventies and they got a good feel for the fear and tension without too many disturbing details. They also felt that the topic of adoption raised some highly interesting questions, especially concerning the … Continue reading My Name is Light
Nicola's Book Club 