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blairmahoney's review
4.0
An incredibly quirky verse novel that plays around with the Oulipo writers such as Georges Perec (rendered as Georges Crepe - an anagram, of course), Italo Calvino and Raymond Queneau, amongst others, featuring a town planner from Adelaide who travels to France when he learns he is dying and joins an (anachronistic) group of writers who anonymously publish the work of dying authors. It gets stranger... I got some of the allusions and feel like I missed 75% of them, but nevertheless enjoyed it a lot.
witmol's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Really difficult to follow. Got the feeling Castro was dropping dozens of literary, cultural and historical references I just don't have the reading or experience to understand. Didn't care for the main character, Lucien, which kind of made the rest of the book a slog.
Found the verse at times playful and witty and at others too forced so as a reader had to work hard to understand what was going on and why.
Found the verse at times playful and witty and at others too forced so as a reader had to work hard to understand what was going on and why.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness
kingorgan's review
I read seven cantos before quitting. I just didn't find the story particularly interesting and the form wasn't adding any interest to it either.
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