A review by summer_reads1
Chilean Poet by Alejandro Zambra

4.0

Set in Santiago, Chile at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, Chilean Poet centers around an aspiring poet named Gonzalo. Gonzalo finds himself reunited with Carla his teenage sweetheart 9 years after the couple first broke up. But now Carla is a mother to a young son named Vincente and soon the trio forms a sort of makeshift family. Although their separate ambitions and fate eventually tear the couple apart, and Gonzalo leaves for New York City, Vincente inherits his stepfather’s passion for poetry.

I found myself pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this one. I have read several rave reviews in literary journals about Chilean Poet but I had no idea how superb it really was until I started reading it for myself. I love being transported to a different place through the eyes of an author and in Chilean Poet, I enjoyed being transported to Santiago. In Chilean Poet, Zambra romanticizes and creates a nostalgia in the simple everyday moments. This book is sentimental, heartwarming, poignant, and very profound. Chilean Poet begs to question what does constitute a family?

Overall I recommend Chilean Poet to literary lovers as well as poetry lovers. Chilean Poet includes mentions of some of the best-loved classic poets and authors like Emily Dickenson, Virginia Woolf, Raymond Carver, Eric Rohmer, and many more so poetry lovers will appreciate this one too. I am so happy to have discovered Alejandro Zambra and I can't wait to read more of his translated works.

Many thanks to Viking Books for the gifted copy!