RVG990104

RVG990104 t1_j5zfona wrote

I am from México, specifically from Sonora (which is close to Ciudad Juárez = Santa Teresa), so I'm extremely familiar with the horrible violence the book talks about so probably this has a lot to do with my understanding of it. It is a hard book to read with some boring parts but it's an amazing reflection on violence and the results that it has on the society that endures it every day. I would encourage you to keep going until you get through the second part, it is very much worth it, but let me also mention that Los Detectives Salvajes is an amazing book that was way more accesible (at least to me it was) and a better entry point to Bolaño.

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RVG990104 t1_j0ybh7q wrote

Ratings/reviews in Goodreads are useless most of the time but they are specially useless when the book in question is a classic that is typically a required reading in schools, people will just distill their hatred towards it there. I only use it to record what I read. That being said I do love seeing those super ridiculous reviews like the people giving the old man and the sea bad reviews because the protagonist has a bad case of toxic masculinity and should just let go of the fish and go to McDonald's.

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