Reviews

Hardcover.

"The Thousands."
"The Ballad of Rocky Rontal."
"The King is Always Above the People."
"Abraham Lincoln Has Been Shot."
"Republica and Grau."
"The Bridge," for it's beginning.

bibliophile_gurl's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Some of the stories in this book are very short, less than 10 pages and some are much longer. I liked being able to choose what length of story I wanted to read at the time. I am not a huge fan of short stories because I think they are much harder to do well, but I think this author did a good job.

Some I feel went a bit over my head, I don't think I understood the writing style enough to fully appreciate it, but one story, called república and grau, really stood above the rest. It was poetic and simply written, but conveyed a deeper meaning that spoke to me (which is hard to do!) If you read just one story from this novel, I would recommend that one.

siobhanward's review against another edition

Go to review page

reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This was a solid collection of short stories. I liked the variety of stories and characters, and particularly liked the titular story. There were some stories I struggled with more than others, simply due to format or the plot, but that's pretty typical in one of these collections.

I'm not sure if I'd read another short story collection by Alarcón, but I'd definitely be interested in a full-length novel. His characters are interesting and reading a longer story with more character development would be cool.

madmatilda's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

jrboudreau's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I would really like to give this book 3 1/2 stars. Like most short story collection each story hit me differently, so it's hard to give a fair account of the whole book. The title story for instance, didn't land for me, and I had a hard time linking the images and metaphors to the choices the main character made. I connected a lot with "The Provincals" and its themes of trying to decide if you are defined by where you come from or where you end up resonated strongly with me.

Throughout the stories, Alarcón has a flair for a striking image and a good turn of phrase. Even if the emotional journey of the story didn't stick with me, reading them was a pleasure.

My favorites from the collection are:
"The Thousands"
"The Provincals"
"The Bridge"
"The Auroras"

vasta's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

One of the stories that Daniel Alarcón shares in this collection, “República and Grau,” features a blind beggar and a young boy who joins him to beg for money to supplement the family income. The boy changes his appearance, his mannerisms, all to make more money on the street corner. In “The Provincials,” Nelson pretends to be his more successful brother, turning pretense into personality, losing himself, and eventually, the people around him, too. What changes do we make to who we are in order to get more, be more? Who are we, really, when we continually shift ourselves based on where we are and who we are with? Questions Alarcón leaves us with; questions that are almost impossible to answer.

(originally published on inthemargins.ca)

More...