I think I have a love hate relationship with this book. I was going through some of my books decluttering my house and ran across it and just started flipping through it.
I think this is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read (other than maybe "The English Patient". The entire book is like poetry and i wonder what it would be like to be able to express yourself in that way and what it takes to think and describe things so eloquently... check this out..this is my favorite:
"Human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but that life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves"
Is that not the most freaking cool? ..... the entire book is like that where you are just amazed when you are reading it.
The downside however is it has terrible characters... I typically like at least 1 character in the books I read or you try to relate to at least one of them but in this book I had a really hard time relating or empathizing them.
The entire book is about unrequited love and i guess the main female protagonist is semi appealing, but the guy in the book.... ,Florentino Ariza, is basically a pedophile. Now it could be that because the writer is Columbian and it its a cultural thing...but the main character has a thing for like 14 yr old girls.
The other thing I found amazing in this book was the language... It was translated from Spanish and maybe im just dumb but I guess im perpelxed when there are ENGLISH words translated from Spanish that I have no idea what they mean... like diaphanous , ascultation, imperturbable.....I had to look these words up...so im wondering how much liberty does the translator have?? I obviously dont speak spanish...so are there these words in the spanish language..or did the translator just have a good old time..?
Like a waterfall in slow motion, Part One
2 years ago
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3 comments:
I bet the translator just went nuts for fun. It seems like I tried to read a book by that dude a long time ago and got overwhelmed by all the big words. I often have to read books with a dictionary anyway--or what I do is write down all the words I don't know in a notebook and look them up later, just trying to figure out what they mean purely by context, which isn't always apparent.
I should read that book. It seems like smart people read it, and I hope to someday join their ranks.
i aint smart and i read it. !
I'm not the smartest cookie and I loved the book. I love everything by him. Some of his books take me longer (like I have to take a break so my brain can breathe and relax from time to time) but I love them all.
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