reasie's review against another edition
4.0
It might not be for everyone, but the sheer wacky inventiveness was delightful, and punctuated by lots and lots of coffee brought by the indefatigable Marcos, king of waiters who always knows when another round is desired without being asked.
Wealthy businessman Trafalgar spins tall tales about his business travels in outer space, wherein he almost always ends up in some beautiful space woman's bed. I love that he refers to his spaceship merely as "the clunker" and in the end one of those space princesses surprises him with a daughter, whom he takes home to raise.
It's astonishingly entertaining despite dragging its own narrative out endlessly through digressions and coffee-pouring and people complaining about how Trafalgar leaves his audience hanging and likes to take his time telling his story.
Wealthy businessman Trafalgar spins tall tales about his business travels in outer space, wherein he almost always ends up in some beautiful space woman's bed. I love that he refers to his spaceship merely as "the clunker" and in the end one of those space princesses surprises him with a daughter, whom he takes home to raise.
It's astonishingly entertaining despite dragging its own narrative out endlessly through digressions and coffee-pouring and people complaining about how Trafalgar leaves his audience hanging and likes to take his time telling his story.
booksbythewindow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
For full review: https://booksbythewindow.wordpress.com/2022/08/10/trafalgar/
Summary: The eponymous Trafalgar is a travelling merchant, journeying to far off planets and solar systems to sell things from Earth to whoever he happens to come across. Trafalgar is comprised of a series of short stories, each of which involves Trafalgar telling one of his friends all about one of his many adventures. The narrative is told from the perspective of one of Trafalgar’s friends, probably from the perspective of Angélica Gorodischer’s self-insert character, although this aspect of the novel was never particularly clear to me. The narrator is often retelling encounters with Trafalgar which she was not present for, sharing stories which have clearly been told and retold by the friends of Trafalgar who are so fascinated by him.
Overall Thoughts: There were some elements of Trafalgar that I enjoyed, but for the most part I found this short novel to be a slow read with characters that I could not connect or sympathise with. The character of Trafalgar is in no way sympathetic: a womanising attention-seeker who seems to have little respect for the different people and cultures that he meets along the way, particularly the women who he sees solely as sexual objects. I disliked the character of Trafalgar from the very first story and my opinion of him only worsened as the novel continued. There is no doubt that Gorodischer is a strong writer, and there were definitely elements of Trafalgar that I enjoyed, the final chapter and final lines in particular. Gorodischer’s descriptions of each planet, through Trafalgar’s words, paint a really clear picture of the different cultures and societies, with each feeling completely distinct from the others.
Summary: The eponymous Trafalgar is a travelling merchant, journeying to far off planets and solar systems to sell things from Earth to whoever he happens to come across. Trafalgar is comprised of a series of short stories, each of which involves Trafalgar telling one of his friends all about one of his many adventures. The narrative is told from the perspective of one of Trafalgar’s friends, probably from the perspective of Angélica Gorodischer’s self-insert character, although this aspect of the novel was never particularly clear to me. The narrator is often retelling encounters with Trafalgar which she was not present for, sharing stories which have clearly been told and retold by the friends of Trafalgar who are so fascinated by him.
Overall Thoughts: There were some elements of Trafalgar that I enjoyed, but for the most part I found this short novel to be a slow read with characters that I could not connect or sympathise with. The character of Trafalgar is in no way sympathetic: a womanising attention-seeker who seems to have little respect for the different people and cultures that he meets along the way, particularly the women who he sees solely as sexual objects. I disliked the character of Trafalgar from the very first story and my opinion of him only worsened as the novel continued. There is no doubt that Gorodischer is a strong writer, and there were definitely elements of Trafalgar that I enjoyed, the final chapter and final lines in particular. Gorodischer’s descriptions of each planet, through Trafalgar’s words, paint a really clear picture of the different cultures and societies, with each feeling completely distinct from the others.
lindcherry's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lleullawgyffes's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ole_quixote's review
4.0
This is a fantastic science fiction novel. Truly, it was an absolute delight to read. A word of warning, however: this is not your classic sci-fi in the vein of Clarke or Asimov. Angélica Gorodischer has a lot more in common with Jorge Luis Borges or Italo Calvino. The story follows Trafalgar Medrano, a salesman who travels to multiple planets and returns home to tell his fellow citizens what he saw. Trafalgar fills the role in this case as both observer and social critic which lent an interesting slant to the tales he tells. This is enhanced by the slight bent our narrator has. Are his stories 100% true or has he embellished and told what he saw through an objective lens? It's a question that sat at the back of my mind while reading but it did not detract from my enjoyment in the least. I was entranced from the start and after finishing all I can say is it is a crime more of Angélica Gorodischer's fiction has not been translated into English yet.
alyxinthestars's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
lex23's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
whatadutchgirlreads's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
matos's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Un gran ejemplo del ciclo de cuentos en español, de la mano de una de las más grandes exponentes del género de ciencia ficción
Las aventuras de Trafalgar Medrano son divertidas y desconcertantes para sus escuchas, pero siempre van cargadas de grandes reflexiones sobre el poder y la vida
Las aventuras de Trafalgar Medrano son divertidas y desconcertantes para sus escuchas, pero siempre van cargadas de grandes reflexiones sobre el poder y la vida