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pearloz's review against another edition
4.0
Wonderful novel, about the author/narrator and his brother. Mostly about the history of his brother, adopted before the author or their sister were born. I really liked how the author judiciously, meticulously laid out the family history as it wove in and out of the history of Argentina. Then, somewhere in the middle, the revelation...the grandmother's protest. The grandmothers of Argentina lamenting and looking for their grandchildren, grandchildren born to children that had been kidnapped and disappeared; the grandchildren, taken from their families, placed in the homes of the elites, dignitaries, ranking officials...narrator's father?
I found the ending slightly gimmicky with the parents reading the book we're reading, but when our narrator visits his brother, that very last page was a heartbreaker. I love Charco Press so much.
I found the ending slightly gimmicky with the parents reading the book we're reading, but when our narrator visits his brother, that very last page was a heartbreaker. I love Charco Press so much.
evilchocho's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
itsjadenbaby's review against another edition
I really love the concept of this book. Family lore and formation under intense circumstances is right up my alley. What stopped me from wanting to move further with this book was how complicated and flowery the language was. I’ve never been one for stories told in that way and always struggle to enjoy them to the extent I know I would if it was told in a different way.
surabhichatrapathy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.0
graceiredale's review against another edition
5.0
A very moving and visceral dive into how memory can be unreliable, told in glimpses of a life tainted by it's historical trauma. It talks about adoption, our relationships with our parents, how our parents had lives before us and continue to be their own people despite our existence.
Sometimes the narrator questions whether he should be writing this book at all. He is trying to understand his adopted brother and working out the ways he wants to put his memories into words. He knows he cannot tell his brother's story for him and is conflicted in how he wants to portray him.
It feels like a internal wrestle over how the much truth can be changed depending on who's lens we are looking through. Are his memories his own or memories of what he's been told?
There are themes of trauma, both war torn and generational. Depression and the misunderstandings between families when one their own is struggling with life. How we try to understand but can only come at it from our own individual experience and can never truly understand.
No matter what our parents do, no matter how much they try to shield us. Everyone always ends up with their own cross to bear and their own individual self that cannot be ever fully expressed to someone else no matter how hard they try to understand and be understood.
The bubbling emotions that finally pour out in a euphoric blurry mass. An explosion that makes total sense to you but comes out of the blue and is a shock to others. The urgent need to be understood. To feel validated. But being afraid and bitter too.
The ending is interesting. The entire book is analysing itself.
It was very eloquently written with so much care and thought. I enjoyed it. It made me think a lot about my own memories and family situations.
Sometimes the narrator questions whether he should be writing this book at all. He is trying to understand his adopted brother and working out the ways he wants to put his memories into words. He knows he cannot tell his brother's story for him and is conflicted in how he wants to portray him.
It feels like a internal wrestle over how the much truth can be changed depending on who's lens we are looking through. Are his memories his own or memories of what he's been told?
There are themes of trauma, both war torn and generational. Depression and the misunderstandings between families when one their own is struggling with life. How we try to understand but can only come at it from our own individual experience and can never truly understand.
No matter what our parents do, no matter how much they try to shield us. Everyone always ends up with their own cross to bear and their own individual self that cannot be ever fully expressed to someone else no matter how hard they try to understand and be understood.
The bubbling emotions that finally pour out in a euphoric blurry mass. An explosion that makes total sense to you but comes out of the blue and is a shock to others. The urgent need to be understood. To feel validated. But being afraid and bitter too.
The ending is interesting. The entire book is analysing itself.
It was very eloquently written with so much care and thought. I enjoyed it. It made me think a lot about my own memories and family situations.
ritapontotomas's review against another edition
3.0
Um livro escrito a partir da ideia de escrever um livro sobre um irmão a partir da visão do que é ter um irmão. Ainda bem que já fui a Buenos Aires e que já vi as avós da Praça de Maio.