Living and Losing
Learning to Lose has an interesting narrative but I feel like the novel was blunted somewhat by the translation. I believe that it would read more fluently in Spanish. The story is about an inter-generational family. There is Sylvia, 16 years old, who gets run over by Ariel, a 20 year-old soccer player from Argentina. They begin an intense relationship. Lorenzo, Sylvia's father, is raising Sylvia primarily by himself as his wife left him for another man. He is also dealing with the after-effects of murdering his ex-business partner. Then there is Leandro, Sylvia's grandfather, who is caught up in a web of sexual addiction. He loves his wife but can't stop himself from spending all of his money on a Nigerian prostitute. The chapters are told from the perspectives of different characters, a technique I enjoy. Soccer enthusiasts will especially enjoy this novel.
Rated of 5
by Rebecca C. (Opelika, AL)
A Deep and sensitive read.
I was slightly surprised when reading this book. I always think of immigration as being mainly to the US, but don't think much about it in other countries. Trueba has faced not only family issues straight on, but immigration and prejudice issues in Spain. Just one small moment in this story can change a life forever or sends a person down a path they never dreamed of taking. The writing bounces between tenses like a ping pong ball which keeps you hopping. The only reason I did not rate the book higher was I felt that no one family could possibly have so many accidents, bad decisions, poor luck and accept it all so willingly. I do really enjoy reading international fiction and getting to know new authors and new cultures better. This book was no exception.
Rated of 5
by Lucy B. (Urbana, Ohio)
Losing
I had a difficult time with this book. It was not one that I started reading and couldn't lay down; I had a lot of starts and stops. Personally, I could not recommend this book to my reader's group. There are too many really interesting books out there to waste time on this one.
Rated of 5
by Karen T. (Auburn, MA)
Lacked a translation that gave the story justice
I had a lot of trouble getting through this selection. It had a lot of good potential for a great storyline, but the errors/lack of a strong translation took away from it. I don't like giving a poor review, but in this instance I just have no choice.
Rated of 5
by Wendy F. (Kalamazoo, MI)
Disappointed
Very disappointing book. The plot sounded so good but it truly just plodded along. And extremely long!!
Rated of 5
by Jane R. (Plantation, FL)
Just could not get into it
I have picked this book up several times to read it and I have just not been able to get into it. I've read about 50 pages, which isn't much, but usually I should be engaged with the characters, plot or something by this point, but so far - nothing.
Stranger than fiction, blending tragedy and farce, How to Create the Perfect Wife is an engrossing tale of the radicalism, and deep contradictions, at the heart of the Enlightenment.
Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on...
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Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read...
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Can an wiser, older narrator view the past with more wisdom than he might have possessed forty years earlier in the summer he was thirteen? Ordinary...
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U.S. ebook sales up in 2012, but rate of growth is slowing(May 16 2013) In 2012, trade book sales (i.e. non academic book sales) rose 6.9%, to $15.049 billion, and e-book sales continued to grow, although the rate of growth...
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of 5
by Bonnie B. (Fairbanks, AK)
of 5
by Rebecca C. (Opelika, AL)
of 5
by Lucy B. (Urbana, Ohio)
of 5
by Jane R. (Plantation, FL)
