nickjagged's review against another edition
2.0
Not as enamored with this as I had expected, but I truly am excited to read more of his work in the future. The high point of the book, Stories Tell The Tale, is very poignant and sly, which I find quite appealing.
texreader's review against another edition
4.5
This is a book of stories, no doubt, but the vast majority are a minute or shorter! Less than a handful are 3 or fewer minutes. It could be hard to grasp some of it since they are so short and I listened to it rather than read it. But some “stories” were so profound, I’m going to have to find the IRL book. The author was from Uruguay but he shared morsels from all over the world: quotes, news, history, thoughts. But I did love his references to his love of soccer (football) and the team from Uruguay that won the World Cup in 1950. The storyteller went from thoughtful and sedate to leaping out of the speakers with delight talking about soccer. While a few things I didn’t like, including his reverence for some politics, I found this book so rewarding. A completely unexpected and delightful choice to read.
menniemenace's review against another edition
4.0
جيد جدًا كتجربة أولى مع الكاتب، في البداية لم أكن مستمتعة بما أقرؤه، لكن بعد عدة صفحات وجدت الكتاب جيدًا جدًا في الواقع.
متحمسة لمتابعة بقية أعمال الكاتب
متحمسة لمتابعة بقية أعمال الكاتب
batoolm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
jola_g's review against another edition
4.0
I owe the pleasure of immersing into Hunter of Stories (2016) by Eduardo Galeano to Paula. Her exquisite review and updates immediately motivated me to read this unusual collection of very concise vignettes. I enjoyed indulging in the array of anecdotes, very short stories, memories, fables, quotes, legends, fun (actually, some are pretty depressing) facts, covering an astounding variety of themes. They range from Nicolae Ceaușescu to the Loch Ness Monster. Theoretically, such a silva rerum, should be read slowly, bit by bit, being savoured to the full. Well, in my case it turned out impossible. I just could not put Hunter of Stories down and devoured it in two days.
Eduardo Galeano's erudition was simply breathtaking and the scope of his knowledge and interests too. I found constant shifting in time and space fascinating also. It is easy to notice in this mishmash that some of the topics recur quite often, for example, colonialism, racism, dictatorship, totalitarianism, gender inequality, environment, football, to name just a few. The register is also very diversified: some vignettes are humorous, some moving, some terrifying, some bizarre.
Besides, I admire Eduardo Galeano for his ability to say a lot with just a few ordinary words. In one of the vignettes, the author recalls a Spanish man who told him after a reading: It must be so hard to write so simply. According to Eduardo Galeano, it was the most insightful review he had ever received.
An element of surprise, a kind of epiphany, is something that the stories have in common. Another similarity: many vignettes resemble poems, for instance, the one about Juan Martínez Montañés who was desperately trying to sculpt the missing fragrance of orange blossoms in Seville during the plague in 1649. By the way, Hunter of Stories is a goldmine for writers who look for sparks of inspiration. Many of the vignettes are like promising seeds which can sprout under the care of a sensitive writer and result in novels, short stories or poems.
Although quite a few passages are hilarious it is impossible to forget that it is the book by someone who was struggling with a terminal illness. It is made clear from the very beginning, in Translator's Note: Hunter of Stories was written during the last three years of Eduardo Galeano's life. This collection is his farewell love letter to the world whose beauty and ugliness, goodness and cruelty, wisdom and stupidity he depicted. No coincidence that the final vignette in his anthology was titled I Crave, I Covet, I Yearn. It is an extract from Night Song of the Navajo:
In beauty may I walk.
May I find beauty before me
And beauty behind
And below
And above
And around me more beauty
Beauty the entire length of the trail
That comes to an end in beauty.
Illustration by Eduardo Galeano at the end of Hunter of Stories.
Eduardo Galeano's erudition was simply breathtaking and the scope of his knowledge and interests too. I found constant shifting in time and space fascinating also. It is easy to notice in this mishmash that some of the topics recur quite often, for example, colonialism, racism, dictatorship, totalitarianism, gender inequality, environment, football, to name just a few. The register is also very diversified: some vignettes are humorous, some moving, some terrifying, some bizarre.
Besides, I admire Eduardo Galeano for his ability to say a lot with just a few ordinary words. In one of the vignettes, the author recalls a Spanish man who told him after a reading: It must be so hard to write so simply. According to Eduardo Galeano, it was the most insightful review he had ever received.
An element of surprise, a kind of epiphany, is something that the stories have in common. Another similarity: many vignettes resemble poems, for instance, the one about Juan Martínez Montañés who was desperately trying to sculpt the missing fragrance of orange blossoms in Seville during the plague in 1649. By the way, Hunter of Stories is a goldmine for writers who look for sparks of inspiration. Many of the vignettes are like promising seeds which can sprout under the care of a sensitive writer and result in novels, short stories or poems.
Although quite a few passages are hilarious it is impossible to forget that it is the book by someone who was struggling with a terminal illness. It is made clear from the very beginning, in Translator's Note: Hunter of Stories was written during the last three years of Eduardo Galeano's life. This collection is his farewell love letter to the world whose beauty and ugliness, goodness and cruelty, wisdom and stupidity he depicted. No coincidence that the final vignette in his anthology was titled I Crave, I Covet, I Yearn. It is an extract from Night Song of the Navajo:
In beauty may I walk.
May I find beauty before me
And beauty behind
And below
And above
And around me more beauty
Beauty the entire length of the trail
That comes to an end in beauty.
Illustration by Eduardo Galeano at the end of Hunter of Stories.
augustopelle's review against another edition
5.0
Este es el primer libro que le pongo una puntuación antes de terminarlo. La voz de Galeano en mi mente rememora un conjunto de voces tan particular que desde la simpleza absoluta me traspasa, me deja expuesto a la más sensible vulnerabilidad. Su voz vuelve inmortal a las personas. Ojalá puedan escucharlo al leerlo.
ramzar21's review against another edition
5.0
Cuando Eduardo Galeano escribió "El Cazador de Historias", seguramente sabía que moriría pronto, que sería su último trabajo, su última oportunidad de platicar con sus amigos y maravillarlos con sus historias. El libro está lleno de nostalgia y anécdotas personales. Una buena despedida para una vida con tanta "buena música", como él solía decir.
saraiest's review against another edition
5.0
Un placer de lectura, simple y precioso, nada más Galeanesco.
mayarelmahdy's review against another edition
4.0
جيد جدًا كتجربة أولى مع الكاتب، في البداية لم أكن مستمتعة بما أقرؤه، لكن بعد عدة صفحات وجدت الكتاب جيدًا جدًا في الواقع.
متحمسة لمتابعة بقية أعمال الكاتب
متحمسة لمتابعة بقية أعمال الكاتب