jana_kiss's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
sarah_dietrich's review against another edition
3.0
The Third Reich is a work that Bolano chose not to publish, then it was found after he died & published post-humously. These kind of found works always make me wonder, why did the author choose not to publish? Were they unhappy with the work? Did they consider it unfinished? If I read one of these books & I love it, I'm thrilled that it was published. If I read one and I don't like it, I think that perhaps the author got it right, and it shouldn't have been published.
The Third Reich is somewhere in between. I liked it, I guess? The creeping dread that comes from seemingly nowhere is great. Does the last third feel unfinished? Maybe? Or is this just how life is - weird things happen and people do a bad job of dealing with it, life goes on, and there aren't really any answers.
The Third Reich is somewhere in between. I liked it, I guess? The creeping dread that comes from seemingly nowhere is great. Does the last third feel unfinished? Maybe? Or is this just how life is - weird things happen and people do a bad job of dealing with it, life goes on, and there aren't really any answers.
marthaweeze's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
dafunnypimp's review against another edition
dark
tense
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? Yes
4.0
abroadwell's review against another edition
4.0
Bolaño had a masterful way of creating suspense and writing dialogue. This novel really gets at the creepy psychological undertones of playing war games in which the death and destruction of millions is abstracted away to a question of moves and strategy. For Udo, the death of his real life friend and the loss of his job and girlfriend are no more important than the deployment of his imaginary troops.
glovestealer's review against another edition
3.0
Creates a great atmosphere of something threatening and builds towards an utterly disturbing feeling. Sadly, it ends in an anti climax.
emalda's review against another edition
4.0
What just happened? I am purely giving this 5 for confusion and awe.
I don't really know what to say. I loved how the main charachter develops and how the diary entries are mixed with game descriptions. I love the language and the "dialogue". I love this story, but I really don't know what happened and why and I couldn't care less, because this is all you need and all a story needs to keep the reader/listener in it's grip. I will very likely go through this again as I will and have done with Bolaño's other work. I am truly enthralled that such a writer has existed such a short time ago. His works make me feel like at home and a bit humbled too. Truly a master of his craft he was.
I'm not sure what this reminds me of except it's written like its older than it is. A contemporary Goethe who shoots himself in the head just to be woken up/born again. So many bubbles burst. So many dicks teased. I highly recommend this for anyone who loves the mundane and who has ever lost interest or doubted their enthusiam with a subject someone else didn't understand :) Also to those who've had strange and more or less romantic encounters in strange places and times of their lives.
I don't really know what to say. I loved how the main charachter develops and how the diary entries are mixed with game descriptions. I love the language and the "dialogue". I love this story, but I really don't know what happened and why and I couldn't care less, because this is all you need and all a story needs to keep the reader/listener in it's grip. I will very likely go through this again as I will and have done with Bolaño's other work. I am truly enthralled that such a writer has existed such a short time ago. His works make me feel like at home and a bit humbled too. Truly a master of his craft he was.
I'm not sure what this reminds me of except it's written like its older than it is. A contemporary Goethe who shoots himself in the head just to be woken up/born again. So many bubbles burst. So many dicks teased. I highly recommend this for anyone who loves the mundane and who has ever lost interest or doubted their enthusiam with a subject someone else didn't understand :) Also to those who've had strange and more or less romantic encounters in strange places and times of their lives.
alexaperdomo's review against another edition
3.0
Un libro que, por su título, el lector creerá que se desarrolla en Alemania o que, al menos, es sobre nazis. Y aunque tiene algo de alemanes y una que otra referencia sobre nazismo, el título alude a un juego de guerra.
Está escrito a modo de diario. El periodo que transcurre es de un poco más de 1 mes (entre el 20 de agosto y el 30 de septiembre). En él Udo, nuestro protagonista, relata sus primeras vacaciones con su novia Ingeborg. Decide llevarla a la Costa Brava, en Cataluña, al mismo hotel donde frecuentemente vacacionaba cuando era un niño, junto a su familia.
Udo es alemán. Es el campeón nacional de Tercer Reich. Durante las vacaciones, conocen a otra pareja de alemanes, con quienes empiezan a pasar tiempo, quizá más del indicado. También conocen a personajes sospechosos y uno, en particular, solitario y un tanto extraño… el Quemado, quien tendrá un protagonismo importante, hecho que se deja entrever desde un principio.
Siento que tiene demasiado relleno innecesario. En algún momento se teje un embrollo demasiado grande capaz de hacer perder al lector el interés. Esto hizo que, de la mitad en adelante, el peso de cada página se sintiera, aunque había una sensación de que algo se iba a tornar interesante en algún momento.
Y lo hace. Hay que entender que todo lo referido a las vacaciones, la playa, el verano, es el relleno, aburrido a veces, monótono, repetitivo. Lo interesante está en el juego, que era, además, una pasión real de Bolaño. Pero no en los movimientos del tablero como tal, sino en cómo la primera parte del juego, cuando Udo va ganando, se relaciona directamente con su noviazgo, y luego, la segunda parte del juego, cuando el Quemado toma un rol dentro de él realmente importante, se relaciona con Frau Else (a quien dejaré que el lector descubra solo) y la perdición que empieza a experimentar el alemán.
Al final no sé si recomendarla. Es una lectura interesante. Aburrida en algunos tramos, pero interesante.
Está escrito a modo de diario. El periodo que transcurre es de un poco más de 1 mes (entre el 20 de agosto y el 30 de septiembre). En él Udo, nuestro protagonista, relata sus primeras vacaciones con su novia Ingeborg. Decide llevarla a la Costa Brava, en Cataluña, al mismo hotel donde frecuentemente vacacionaba cuando era un niño, junto a su familia.
Udo es alemán. Es el campeón nacional de Tercer Reich. Durante las vacaciones, conocen a otra pareja de alemanes, con quienes empiezan a pasar tiempo, quizá más del indicado. También conocen a personajes sospechosos y uno, en particular, solitario y un tanto extraño… el Quemado, quien tendrá un protagonismo importante, hecho que se deja entrever desde un principio.
Siento que tiene demasiado relleno innecesario. En algún momento se teje un embrollo demasiado grande capaz de hacer perder al lector el interés. Esto hizo que, de la mitad en adelante, el peso de cada página se sintiera, aunque había una sensación de que algo se iba a tornar interesante en algún momento.
Y lo hace. Hay que entender que todo lo referido a las vacaciones, la playa, el verano, es el relleno, aburrido a veces, monótono, repetitivo. Lo interesante está en el juego, que era, además, una pasión real de Bolaño. Pero no en los movimientos del tablero como tal, sino en cómo la primera parte del juego, cuando Udo va ganando, se relaciona directamente con su noviazgo, y luego, la segunda parte del juego, cuando el Quemado toma un rol dentro de él realmente importante, se relaciona con Frau Else (a quien dejaré que el lector descubra solo) y la perdición que empieza a experimentar el alemán.
Al final no sé si recomendarla. Es una lectura interesante. Aburrida en algunos tramos, pero interesante.