Reviews

Immigrant City, by David Bezmozgis

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mishnah's review

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emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

banger after banger after banger. truly great fiction on ambivalence and the immigrant experience

elektr's review

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emotional funny reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

shano25's review against another edition

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4.0

Read because it is longlisted for the Giller Prize.

A thoroughly enjoyable collection of short stories. I enjoyed this much more than The Betrayers (which if I remember, I did enjoy.)

thepoptimist's review

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3.0

Can I just say that I got a perverse joy every time David Bezmozgis talked of his home in Latvia thinking it as Latveria the home of Doctor Doom. Vaguely European vassals under the sway of an iron plated monarch with a penchant for villainous monologuing. Right - not helpful. God, I suck at reviewing short stories.

Listen the first, and titular, story just hooked me. It's just a tight, beautifully constructed, evocative piece about a man and his daughter buying a car door from a Somali in Toronto. And then it's followed by a couple of shaggy pieces that just don't quite gel for me and I'm off balance. But maybe I'm just not paying close enough attention. Bezmozgis has a way of laying out elements of a story that snap into sharp focus at the end. Victor returning to his homeland to settle a gravestone at the expense of his vacation resolves into dealing with his counterpart Ilya and how far removed he's become from the life that might have been his in Riga. The final story, The Russian Riviera ambles at a fine pace in a clear voice that I'd have been happy to get a full story from.

So like every short story review ever. Some hits, some misses but overall a solid piece of writing.

meghan_is_reading's review

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The first couple felt like it could have been the same person. The last two had a different feel.

alexmulligan's review

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3.0

A reviewer below wrote they felt emotionally unconnected with some of characters, which perfectly sums up how I felt about some of the stories.

While some of the stories were beautiful, interesting, and even haunting, other stories were lacking.

I thought the book started very strong with the first Story about he father buying he car door. It was a beautifully written story and really set my hopes high. I found the middle stories were often slow, uneventful, and boring, with a couple exceptions. The book then ended strong with an excellent noir inspired finale.

Overall I would still recommend this book. Bezmozgis is a gifted and talented writer and while not all the stories were spoke to me, they were all well written and and had interesting morals.

3.5 for me