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A review by komet2020
Gaudi Afternoon by Barbara Wilson
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Gaudi Afternoon I found to be a delightful and richly entertaining novel to read. Cassandra Reilly is a globe trotting, Irish American lesbian translator and amateur detective working in London on a translation of a best-selling novel by a woman Venezuelan writer when she receives a call from Frankie, an American actress. Frankie was put in the know about Cassandra from Cassandra's friend Lucy in San Francisco, where Lucy keeps watch over Cassandra's place and correspondence there whenever Cassandra is on her far flung travels. Frankie requests a meeting with Cassandra in London upon arriving there the next day to better explain herself and why she needs Cassandra's help.
Though showing a reluctance to take on Frankie's case, Cassandra is intrigued. Besides, the initial show of money Frankie offers for her services is tempting enough. So, the two meet in London and Frankie explains that she needs to track down her estranged husband Ben, whom she suspects is in Barcelona. Where exactly in Barcelona, she's clueless about. Nor does Frankie speak Spanish or Catalan. But Cassandra, given her fluency in Spanish and previous contact with Barcelona (where she has 2 close friends, Ana, who is a conceptual architect, and Carmen, a lesbian hairdresser with a very strong personality and spirit) makes use of the phone numbers Frankie provided her with, and is able to gather a fairly good idea of where Ben is in Barcelona.
Once both Frankie and Cassandra are in Barcelona, the story becomes more convoluted, colorful and intriguing with lots of unexpected twists and turns. Some of the main characters prove to be different from what they at first show themselves to be. That's all I say about that.
Notwithstanding the roller coaster nature of the novel, Gaudi Afternoon was very well written and fun to read.
Though showing a reluctance to take on Frankie's case, Cassandra is intrigued. Besides, the initial show of money Frankie offers for her services is tempting enough. So, the two meet in London and Frankie explains that she needs to track down her estranged husband Ben, whom she suspects is in Barcelona. Where exactly in Barcelona, she's clueless about. Nor does Frankie speak Spanish or Catalan. But Cassandra, given her fluency in Spanish and previous contact with Barcelona (where she has 2 close friends, Ana, who is a conceptual architect, and Carmen, a lesbian hairdresser with a very strong personality and spirit) makes use of the phone numbers Frankie provided her with, and is able to gather a fairly good idea of where Ben is in Barcelona.
Once both Frankie and Cassandra are in Barcelona, the story becomes more convoluted, colorful and intriguing with lots of unexpected twists and turns. Some of the main characters prove to be different from what they at first show themselves to be. That's all I say about that.
Notwithstanding the roller coaster nature of the novel, Gaudi Afternoon was very well written and fun to read.