obstinateheadstrongcurl's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
louismunozjr's review
2.0
I can see why a lot of my friend on Goodreads and others really like this book and the one right before, “What Belongs yo You.” At various times, my own opinions, and the rating I would give, were higher, but my eventual review reflects the fact that, first, I could never quite connect to this character, or care about him, and second, I was extremely impatient to finish with this book. In fact, I had started the last chapter and realized, I couldn’t are less how it all ended. Thus, again, I understand, appreciate, and even agree with the overwhelmingly high praise given to this airy and his works, but, in the parlance often shared by reviewers, “he wasn’t for me,” and thus the 2-star, “it was okay” review.
pjv1013's review against another edition
5.0
A Bulgária, um norte-americano deslocado, sexualidade e homofobia, solidão e aprendizagem de vida são os ingredientes fundamentais dos dois livros de Garth Greenwell que li nestas férias: a novela "O que te pertence" (edição brasileira da Todavia de "What belongs to you") e o livros de contos Cleanness, que li no original inglês.
Com estes dois livros Garth Greenwell entrou numa lista restrita de escritores que quero acompanhar.
Detentor de uma escrita poderosa de significados, sentida e carregadas de sentimentos Greenwell não deixa de ser claro no modo como as relações humanas são complexas.
Essa complexidade é retratada de um modo puro, duro, sem panaceias ou floreados. É uma complexidade tanta vezes dolorosa, feia e má. Uma complexidade cheia de jogos sexuais - descritos sem pudor - e de artimanhas emocionais.
Por isso mesmo mesmo ele não se fuga a falar de prostituição masculina e de engates em espaço urbano (cruising) como o faz magistralmente na novela "O que te pertence". Tal como não se fuga a descrição apurada de uma sessão de dominação no conto "Gospodar"; ou a uma intensa e descritiva intervenção política em torno de uma manifestação no conto "Decent People".
Tendo ambos os livros um perfil autobiográfico assumido ficamos curioso com o R., namorado açoriano do narrador, personagem presente em 4 dos 9 contos de "Cleanness". Quem seria este jovem quente? Rui, Rodrigo, Roberto?
Com estes dois livros Garth Greenwell entrou numa lista restrita de escritores que quero acompanhar.
Detentor de uma escrita poderosa de significados, sentida e carregadas de sentimentos Greenwell não deixa de ser claro no modo como as relações humanas são complexas.
Essa complexidade é retratada de um modo puro, duro, sem panaceias ou floreados. É uma complexidade tanta vezes dolorosa, feia e má. Uma complexidade cheia de jogos sexuais - descritos sem pudor - e de artimanhas emocionais.
Por isso mesmo mesmo ele não se fuga a falar de prostituição masculina e de engates em espaço urbano (cruising) como o faz magistralmente na novela "O que te pertence". Tal como não se fuga a descrição apurada de uma sessão de dominação no conto "Gospodar"; ou a uma intensa e descritiva intervenção política em torno de uma manifestação no conto "Decent People".
Tendo ambos os livros um perfil autobiográfico assumido ficamos curioso com o R., namorado açoriano do narrador, personagem presente em 4 dos 9 contos de "Cleanness". Quem seria este jovem quente? Rui, Rodrigo, Roberto?
suzanne07090's review
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mattjc's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
molly28's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
nisanatreads's review against another edition
challenging
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
4.0
Wowza. What a book. I heard before that Garth Greenwell is a writer that you can't get around when trying to delve into queer contemporary literature. Now I understand why. This book really gives insight into what it means to be queer in society today, especially in Eastern Europe, and in relation to politics.
The book contains stories of an American living in Sofia, Bulgaria, as a teacher for bilingual high schoolers. They all center around his queerness but highlight different aspects. There are stories that tackle his relationships with his students, his mentoring of queer youth and the responsibility he feels to make them feel understood and seen. Then there are stories that are hard to stomach (that in my opinion should've had trigger warnings!) because they showcase BDSM sex scenes that have nothing in common with what's depicted in popular culture today. But they're also psychological and deeply interesting to read because of the shifting dynamics between the men and cultures.
My favourite parts were whenever his boyfriend from Portugal came up because it felt uneasy but also like a whirlwind romance all at once. It made me appreciate how well Greenwell writes emotional turmoil. ❤️🩹
I have to admit that I know next to nothing about Bulgaria and Bulgarians. This novel makes a wonderful case of one day visiting. Obviously the political landscape is not what draws me in but rather the depiction of how politics and recent history have shaped this country and its people.
Find me on Instagram @nisanatreads
The book contains stories of an American living in Sofia, Bulgaria, as a teacher for bilingual high schoolers. They all center around his queerness but highlight different aspects. There are stories that tackle his relationships with his students, his mentoring of queer youth and the responsibility he feels to make them feel understood and seen. Then there are stories that are hard to stomach (that in my opinion should've had trigger warnings!) because they showcase BDSM sex scenes that have nothing in common with what's depicted in popular culture today. But they're also psychological and deeply interesting to read because of the shifting dynamics between the men and cultures.
My favourite parts were whenever his boyfriend from Portugal came up because it felt uneasy but also like a whirlwind romance all at once. It made me appreciate how well Greenwell writes emotional turmoil. ❤️🩹
I have to admit that I know next to nothing about Bulgaria and Bulgarians. This novel makes a wonderful case of one day visiting. Obviously the political landscape is not what draws me in but rather the depiction of how politics and recent history have shaped this country and its people.
Find me on Instagram @nisanatreads
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
foggy_rosamund's review against another edition
3.0
A collection of interlinked short stories about an unnamed American narrator who teaches in a school in Bulgaria, this is reminiscent of Greenwell's first collection, What Belong to You, but not as good. Greenwell is concerned with relationships, the unknowable natures of other people, the loneliness of modern life, and the conflicts within gay relationships. The world he writes about is shabby, full of hopelessness, people with no work and no prospect of work, and limited chances for happiness or self-expression. This feeling is compounded by the homophobia of Bulgarian society, and Eastern Europe more broadly. In Greenwell's first book, there is a great tenderness towards the male body, and towards the love between two men, but this is less evident in Cleanness. Instead, there's a sense of alienation and of self-loathing. Though sex is central to Greenwell's work, only two of these nine stories deal with sex in depth: Gospodar and The Little Saint, which are in some ways mirror images of one another, as one is about the experience of being submissive in a BDSM scenario, and one is about being dominant. They deal with sex in explicit, finely focused detail, and Greenwell's work is careful and insightful, but Greenwell didn't push the stories far enough, didn't allow his characters to experience a depth of emotion or reflect on their experiences. The stories felt rushed, unlike the work in What Belong to You, in which the sex is a careful culmination of Greenwell's understanding of the body and the challenges of intimacy. Greenwell's narrative voice is compelling, and his work has many moments of pathos and originality, but there were more false notes here than I expected from him.
johnreadsthings's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
That quote in the title story about how a beloved's (a skupi's if you may) smile poured a cleanness over queer sex which most people still find unclean changed the trajectory of my life, cleared my skin, cured my depression, brought world peace.