stacialithub's review
3.0
Once upon a time, this is a book I might have enjoyed more. But with more awareness of the old white guy canon vs. the diversity of authors out there, it made it less appealing overall. There are some nuggets of insight, some well-drawn descriptions, some adventurous escapades. There's also an overarching melancholy, a tendency to have the female characters be prostitutes (or saints), and a very man-centric view of the world.
I thought it would be a picaresque adventure, but there's too much gloom for that, I think. It was also a little disorieting in time, sometimes seeming like stories/places/people from a century ago, yet certain details brought time crashing forward to decades more in tune with the 1970s or so. Mostly it felt like ennui weighted down with oppressive humidity and a patchy, thin veil of magical realism.
I thought it would be a picaresque adventure, but there's too much gloom for that, I think. It was also a little disorieting in time, sometimes seeming like stories/places/people from a century ago, yet certain details brought time crashing forward to decades more in tune with the 1970s or so. Mostly it felt like ennui weighted down with oppressive humidity and a patchy, thin veil of magical realism.
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