Helpful Score: 2
I read this text as part of a book club I have with co-workers. It's not a book I probably would have stumbled across on my own, but I highly enjoyed it. The writing was exquisite, and truly beautiful. I would love to read this text in its original Spanish, but I'm afraid my rudimentary grasp of the language would hinder my enjoyment of the story.
The story is compelling, though admittedly has its slow moments and at times requires the reader to refresh her memory by reviewing the last few pages when picking it up again after even a short break in reading. One criticism I have of the author's skill (and this may in fact be a downfall of reading the translation) is that the "voices" of the separate narrators are not differentiated well enough. A part of the text is written from the point of view of a different character from the majority of the rest of the text, and yet the "voices" feel the same. There is nothing that makes the reader feel that she is now hearing from another perspective, except that the information being imparted is different. A true mark of a master is to be able to make the reader believe the difference in the separate voices they offer up in their writing.
Though I did very much enjoy the text, at times I felt it was a bit more intense than I expected of the story of a 17/18-year-old. At times one would forget that these events were happening to such a young character. However, that did not lessen my enjoyment, and the writing technique and language were truly gorgeous.
The story is compelling, though admittedly has its slow moments and at times requires the reader to refresh her memory by reviewing the last few pages when picking it up again after even a short break in reading. One criticism I have of the author's skill (and this may in fact be a downfall of reading the translation) is that the "voices" of the separate narrators are not differentiated well enough. A part of the text is written from the point of view of a different character from the majority of the rest of the text, and yet the "voices" feel the same. There is nothing that makes the reader feel that she is now hearing from another perspective, except that the information being imparted is different. A true mark of a master is to be able to make the reader believe the difference in the separate voices they offer up in their writing.
Though I did very much enjoy the text, at times I felt it was a bit more intense than I expected of the story of a 17/18-year-old. At times one would forget that these events were happening to such a young character. However, that did not lessen my enjoyment, and the writing technique and language were truly gorgeous.
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