Reviews

Seven Empty Houses by Samanta Schweblin

jes312's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Stories filled with uncomfortable emotions. "Breath From the Depths" is the best story; I wasn't really as invested in the others.

neaisreading's review against another edition

fast-paced

2.5

kathrinelar's review against another edition

4.0

Læste den på en dag. Den var virkelig god, historierne var hurtige og nemme at læse og forstå, og fangede mig stort set alle sammen 

maja_tai's review against another edition

tense fast-paced

3.75

sammg's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I immediately emailed by old professor after reading this, a true connoisseur of strange and ambiguous books. This is a book I wanted to analyze and dissect. I wanted to compare across stories and make connections. Who are the villains? What does it mean that the houses are never actually empty but are always lacking? Why are they houses but not homes? A true think piece about family ties and what it costs to stay, but what it costs to leave.

zalopunk's review against another edition

4.0

Este libro es un golazo. En estos cuentos Schweblin evita un poco ir tan directo a la violencia que maneja en otros libros, pero si se mantiene una inquietud por la sociedad del siglo XXI. Hay una evolución entre libros como Pajaros en la Boca y este. Un deseo de cubrir el shock en la individualidad de nuestros propios problemas.

Siete casas vacías muestra relatos donde hay sujetos que frente a lo extraño se escudan en inquietudes irrelevantes. Escapan en busca de algo que descoloque la rutina, pero regresan a la normalidad de forma forzada. Te deja un sabor de boca raro, pero ese es el gran logro de la literatura latinoamericana hoy.

No es su mejor libro. Hay cuentos que se hacen experimentales no con resultados perfectos, de los que la autora es capaz. Pero como entrada a su obra están muy buenos.

seeceeread's review against another edition

She had concluded that even in old age, death needed a final push, a emotional nudge, or a physical one. And she couldn't give that to her body. She wanted to die, but every morning, inevitably, she woke up again.

A woman contrives access to another socioeconomic class. A shut-in with dementia and paranoia accidentally harms her neighbors. A forgotten little girl receives intimate assistance from an unnamed man. An ex-husband's nudist parents initiate his children while his wife frantically looks for them.

Much fiction is about romance, self-actualization, triumph and security and contentment. Schweblin writes into the friction of neighbors who cannot trust each other, soured marriages, the endless imbalances between loved ones, and small disagreements ... or misunderstandings. This is not horror or gore or fearful. She's feeling for the textures of dialed down, yet common – and unpleasant – emotions: inadequacy, aggravation, hesitation. Her sentences often surprise. Likewise, perhaps many shorts end abruptly because there is little formula for this in fiction (and minimal guidance in day-to-day life for managing these recurring slights). We wax, wane, serve, return. And start the next one.

emma_iride's review

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

ellozx's review against another edition

too boring, short stories are not my thing after all

armandocosas's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 ⭐️