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thewizzywizard's review
funny
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
so_phiablue's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rhea44's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
beckyblake's review against another edition
5.0
This is a brilliant collection of stories. Two that I will never forget: "Letter to a Young Lady in Paris" and "End of the Game". I will definitely be returning to this book again and again...
h1914's review against another edition
4.0
"I watched him get up and stagger across the floor like a drunk, looking for the woman who looked like Celina. I stayed quiet and took my time over a cigarette, watching him going and coming, this way and that, knowing he was wasting his time, that he would come back, tired and thirsty, not having found the gates of heaven among all that smoke and all those people."
kiramke's review against another edition
3.0
Well. 10 years ago I wanted to read a specific story in this collection. I'll hope it was the Axolotl story; I quite liked that and honestly it gave me everything I needed to know about the collection. There are a few others I enjoyed and a couple that I found troubling, though after some thought I think he was addressing views rather than expressing them. Anyway, an excellent writer, but I think a handful of well-chosen stories would have been better than the full anthology I'm reading from.
flowsthead's review against another edition
2.0
Well written with some tightly plotted stories, but it just reminded me that I don't like short stories. I liked the longer stories (30 and 70 pages or so) since they had more time to develop a mood and/or characters. The shorter stories felt too simple or gimmicky. Really good writer though, at least judging from the translation.
alexluceli's review against another edition
5.0
omg i was working thru this collection for SO LONG lol (my goodreads start date is sooo off i read out of order and started with “the pursuer” back in 2018 LMAO) i can’t believe it’s over wow! i did not 100% vibe with every single story but the absolute bangers that are “axolotl,” “the distances,” “the night face up,” “end of the game,” “at your service,” and “the pursuer” make up for the ones that aren’t bangers. and the ones that aren’t complete bangers are still pretty good. surprisingly i don’t really care for the iconic titular story??? like it’s good but i enjoyed so many other stories a lot more idk. anyway stan cortázar