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gkcnoble's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Bestiary is the love child of Franz Kafka and Anne Sexton. Similar to Kafka, Cortázar digs deep into his characters' psyches, revealing their vulnerabilities in a way that throws the reader into a sea of discoveries. His peculiar plots support the characters’ personality development, who similarly to Kafka's bug, evolve before your eyes into archetypal figures driven by their own unique and distorted needs, desires, and wants. Like Anne Sexton, Cortazar's prose leads you into a world of macabre symbolism, where his characters don't simply narrate a story but casually and honestly confess their innermost darkest thoughts, sins and perceptions of self and others.
Cortázar's prose is eery and unapologetically humorous, fueled by sardonic juxtaposition. His metaphors and analogies are far from cliche; instead, they showcase Cortázar's gifted eye for bizarre yet clever, meaningful symbolism. As you read Bestiary, you're never quite sure where the story is heading until the very end. It's only when we understand the characters' inner conflict and their reactions to the environment that we can truly comprehend their motives.
Bestiary provides deep insights into human nature, politics, mental health, societal values and expectations.
Cortázar's prose is eery and unapologetically humorous, fueled by sardonic juxtaposition. His metaphors and analogies are far from cliche; instead, they showcase Cortázar's gifted eye for bizarre yet clever, meaningful symbolism. As you read Bestiary, you're never quite sure where the story is heading until the very end. It's only when we understand the characters' inner conflict and their reactions to the environment that we can truly comprehend their motives.
Bestiary provides deep insights into human nature, politics, mental health, societal values and expectations.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Suicide, Grief, and Alcohol
cwrong's review against another edition
4.0
Quello che amo di più degli autori sudamericani è l’uso che fanno del fantastico. Non è un fantastico ostentato, quello della fantascienza americana per intenderci; è più una sensazione, un continuo spaesamento legato alla decontestualizzazione, all’inaudito, all’accostamento non consueto (l’incontro della macchina da cucire e dell’ombrello di cui scrisse Lautremont). Questo genera una nostalgia, una saudade, non riconducibile a questa o quella ragione (o meglio, regione). La non abitabilità del linguaggio, l’impossibilità di circoscrivere la descrizione definendone pienamente i tratti, unita alla consapevolezza di escludere sempre una sfumatura possibile, una delle infinite pieghe del racconto.
ninar_19's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
ferss_lp's review against another edition
4.0
Me encanta la temática, los cuentos y como cada uno es independiente, pero la narrativa simplemente no es para mi. Me causó un bloqueo de casi dos meses :(
lydmo's review against another edition
4.0
4,5*
Me encantan los cuentos de Julio Cortázar y su realismo mágico, aun que no siempre lo consideren parte de él. Yo creo que lo es al 100%.
Algunos me costó entenderlos pero hay otros maravillosos, entre mis favoritos Casa Tomada y Bestiario.
Cortázar es una autentica delicia de escritor.
Me encantan los cuentos de Julio Cortázar y su realismo mágico, aun que no siempre lo consideren parte de él. Yo creo que lo es al 100%.
Algunos me costó entenderlos pero hay otros maravillosos, entre mis favoritos Casa Tomada y Bestiario.
Cortázar es una autentica delicia de escritor.
merrysociopath's review against another edition
4.0
I primi tre racconti sono eccellenti, gli altri li ho trovati un po' troppo autocompiaciuti.
kristacha's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
bru1u1u's review against another edition
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
juliterario's review against another edition
3.0
Hace tiempo que quería leer algo de Julio Cortázar, y Bestiario me pareció un buen libro para comenzar. Hace rato que le tenía expectativas altas, y pensaba que encontraría algo que me maravillaría dentro de estas páginas. Lamentablemente, gran parte de esta lectura me dio igual. Solo dos cuentos me gustaron de verdad y el resto me fue indiferente, sin parecerme gran cosa. Aunque puedo ver cómo todo en Bestiario es un gran trabajo de parte del autor, simplemente no disfruté este libro. Reconozco su belleza y el genio dentro de ella, pero no fue para mí :(