_dostoefuckme_'s review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
musicalpopcorn's review against another edition
2.0
When lions are attacking the women of an isolated village, a hunter is called in to deal with the problem, but upon arrival learns the problem is so much more than lions. I just couldn’t get into this book. I think the characters were just far too emotional and it relied on symbolism that was so heavy handed, it just kept slapping the reader in the face.
romcsa's review against another edition
3.0
Bohužiaľ opäť raz sa mi potvrdilo, že magický realizmus nie je moja šálka kávy.
mel1n's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
juliacosta's review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-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? It's complicated
3.5
dujyt's review against another edition
3.0
Read for "A World of Adventure by Book" online book club. August 2020
joanna_ohne_h's review against another edition
3.0
I loved how Couto writes and his metaphors. BUT it was not my favourite book by him. The story is rather brutal and I hate the omnipresent fatphobia. The end was a bit too predictable.
In the German version on the Back there is no hint of Mariamar and that it is her story too.
I liked the mystical atmosphere.
In the German version on the Back there is no hint of Mariamar and that it is her story too.
I liked the mystical atmosphere.
abeatrizmateus's review
4.0
Só há um modo de escapar de um lugar: é sairmos de nós. Só há um modo de sairmos de nós: é amarmos alguém.
valfreya's review against another edition
4.0
although this is a fairly short text, it took me a few days to finish. the material it covers is difficult; much of the story is about the oppression and suffering of women. however, the writing is very abstract, and the two narrators move back and forth through time as they discuss formative events (and, in Mariamar's case, she keeps recreating herself). there was very little solid ground for me to stand on - I'm more used to a book where I'd get a careful tally of the lion attacks, and who was attacked and where, and then the hunter would pursue the lions relentlessly - instead of Archangel, who goes about hunting in a very dreamlike, absent way. there were times when I really didn't understand what story was being told. there are also many beautiful lines. I feel like reading this was a good experience for me, but I don't think I could read this kind of book all the time. of course, I'm not sure what the original version was like, and things that are lost in translation might be the source of some of what I'm feeling.