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plurellity's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
liljainthepages's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not sure how I feel about this.
Not gonna lie, I picked it up mostly because it's pretty and it's written by an Italian author (I don't think I've read one yet). It contains three short stories, each focusing on one of the five senses (taste, hearing, smell) and in parts they made me quite uncomfortable, as I think Calvino fully intended.
I actually appreciated that and was looking forward to each story. I liked the 2nd one (A King Listens) best, reading it felt like following the king on his downward spiral of paranoia. But this is what made it equally difficult to follow at times and I found myself rereading paragraphs multiple times.
"In sum, the throne, once you have been crowned, is where you had best remain seated, without moving, day and night. All your previous life has been only a waiting to become king; now you are king; you have only to reign. And what is reigning if not this long wait? Waiting for the moment when you will be deposed, when you will have to take leave of the throne, the scepter, the crown, and your head." (p.36)
Not gonna lie, I picked it up mostly because it's pretty and it's written by an Italian author (I don't think I've read one yet). It contains three short stories, each focusing on one of the five senses (taste, hearing, smell) and in parts they made me quite uncomfortable, as I think Calvino fully intended.
I actually appreciated that and was looking forward to each story. I liked the 2nd one (A King Listens) best, reading it felt like following the king on his downward spiral of paranoia. But this is what made it equally difficult to follow at times and I found myself rereading paragraphs multiple times.
"In sum, the throne, once you have been crowned, is where you had best remain seated, without moving, day and night. All your previous life has been only a waiting to become king; now you are king; you have only to reign. And what is reigning if not this long wait? Waiting for the moment when you will be deposed, when you will have to take leave of the throne, the scepter, the crown, and your head." (p.36)
nora_d_tinta_y_papel's review against another edition
4.0
3 cuentos de los cuales disfrute 2 y el tercero me confundió. Los escritos del olfato y el gusto son excelentes. El del oído me gustó que estuviera en segunda persona, intenta hacerte el personaje principal, aún así parecía como un sueño, una sucesión de escenas sin sentido por las cuales la mente va danzando y brincando de una a otra, hasta que se queda con una idea específica y toma esa línea argumentaria hasta el final.
El cuento que habla del gusto, nos muestra la gastronomía mexicana, concretamente del sur del país. Lo difruté mucho. 3.5
El cuento que habla del gusto, nos muestra la gastronomía mexicana, concretamente del sur del país. Lo difruté mucho. 3.5
dariarp's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
the_sunken_library's review
4.0
A beautifully written and sensitively observed collection stories inspired by the senses: smell, sound and taste.
trin's review against another edition
2.0
This was, I belatedly realized, rather a poor place to begin reading Calvino. I chose it because it was what my library had, but as the afterword reveals (why not the foreword? That would have been much more helpful), it’s an unfinished work. Calvino had originally intended to write five short pieces, each about one of the five senses, but only three of the five were completed before he died, none received a polish, and the framing device he had intended to include wasn’t even begun. In short, the Under the Jaguar Sun I checked out bears little resemblance to what Calvino intended. This makes it hard, and perhaps wrong, to judge the author on the basis of this work.
Which is good, really, as I was not crazy about this. The first story (taste), was my favorite: it involved a lot of decadent descriptions of Oaxacan food and some weird stuff about cannibalism; I found it a bit overdone (no food pun intended), but compelling. The second and third stories, however, seemed less solid, more like fragments. I was underwhelmed.
So I am relieved, actually, that this book is not considered representative of Calvino at his best. I became interested in him because his novel [b:The Baron in the Trees|9804|The Baron in the Trees|Italo Calvino|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223018339s/9804.jpg|865256] plays a part in one of the stories in [b:The View From the Seventh Layer|1443836|The View from the Seventh Layer|Kevin Brockmeier|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Fb1HvEyOL._SL75_.jpg|1434489] by [a:Kevin Brockmeier|16967|Kevin Brockmeier|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1205261556p2/16967.jpg]. So far I like Brockmeier’s descriptions of Calvino’s writing better than the actual product, but I shall hold onto hope.
Which is good, really, as I was not crazy about this. The first story (taste), was my favorite: it involved a lot of decadent descriptions of Oaxacan food and some weird stuff about cannibalism; I found it a bit overdone (no food pun intended), but compelling. The second and third stories, however, seemed less solid, more like fragments. I was underwhelmed.
So I am relieved, actually, that this book is not considered representative of Calvino at his best. I became interested in him because his novel [b:The Baron in the Trees|9804|The Baron in the Trees|Italo Calvino|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223018339s/9804.jpg|865256] plays a part in one of the stories in [b:The View From the Seventh Layer|1443836|The View from the Seventh Layer|Kevin Brockmeier|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Fb1HvEyOL._SL75_.jpg|1434489] by [a:Kevin Brockmeier|16967|Kevin Brockmeier|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1205261556p2/16967.jpg]. So far I like Brockmeier’s descriptions of Calvino’s writing better than the actual product, but I shall hold onto hope.
poloniumblood's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
luds's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0