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aegireads's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
decent story harmed by lack of focus and incredibly cringe Male Authors Describing Women stuff
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Fatphobia, War, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Antisemitism, Suicide, Murder, and Grief
Moderate: Homophobia and Mental illness
mirroroftoomanybooks's review
3.0
A história é interessante: sobre livros de Bábel, contrabandistas de pedras preciosas e um cineasta brasileiro que acaba (bastante por escolha própria) se envolvendo em algo que daria um enredo de filme de ação. O único problema é que não acontece realmente muita ação no livro: ele é bem lento para esse tipo de história, o personagem principal só fica andando de um lado para o outro e, cada vez que parece que alguma coisa mais emocionante pode acontecer... não acontece nada. Durante o livro inteiro quase.
Além disso, o livro usa muito mal as personagens femininas. Aparecem várias, até, mas são todas iguais, mal desenvolvidas e só estão ali para ir para a cama do protagonista.
Acho que é o romance com o texto mais bem cuidado dos que eu já li do Rubem Fonseca - além do único com começo, meio e fim, em que realmente dá para ver os mistérios e problemas se revelando e resolvendo dentro da história. Mas é um pouquinho entediante.
Além disso, o livro usa muito mal as personagens femininas. Aparecem várias, até, mas são todas iguais, mal desenvolvidas e só estão ali para ir para a cama do protagonista.
Acho que é o romance com o texto mais bem cuidado dos que eu já li do Rubem Fonseca - além do único com começo, meio e fim, em que realmente dá para ver os mistérios e problemas se revelando e resolvendo dentro da história. Mas é um pouquinho entediante.
rosseroo's review against another edition
2.0
After carting this Brazilian novel around for some fifteen years, I finally pulled it off the shelf and read it, twenty years after it appeared in English, and thirty years since it was originally published. I can't really recall why I originally bought it, other than I think I was intrigued by the idea of reading a popular novel from Brazil and the plot elements sounded pretty good. After all, it involves a film director mixed up with stolen gems, various nubile ladies, assorted gangsters, carnival costume competitors, German financiers, and a lost novel of Isaac Babel.
Unfortunately, the high-low mix never worked for at any point, and the entire proceeding just felt false. The protagonist is one of those entirely unlikable characters who kind of float along on a cloud of cynical resignation, with women throwing themselves at him, riches passing through his fingers, and none of it seeming to matter at all. It bears the tag of a "literary thriller" but it's neither. There are certainly plenty of literary (and cinematic) names dropped throughout, from Doblin to Durrenmatt to De Sica (just to name the "Ds"), and the conceit of a long-lost Babel masterpiece is a central plotline, but that all feels like so much window dressing for a manic farce that's very much not thrilling. It's possible that the book just hasn't aged well, but I failed to be seduced by any of its charms.
Note: For some reason, this book was published in England under a different title -- The Lost Manuscript. In the US, it was published as Vast Emotions and Imperfect Thoughts.
Unfortunately, the high-low mix never worked for at any point, and the entire proceeding just felt false. The protagonist is one of those entirely unlikable characters who kind of float along on a cloud of cynical resignation, with women throwing themselves at him, riches passing through his fingers, and none of it seeming to matter at all. It bears the tag of a "literary thriller" but it's neither. There are certainly plenty of literary (and cinematic) names dropped throughout, from Doblin to Durrenmatt to De Sica (just to name the "Ds"), and the conceit of a long-lost Babel masterpiece is a central plotline, but that all feels like so much window dressing for a manic farce that's very much not thrilling. It's possible that the book just hasn't aged well, but I failed to be seduced by any of its charms.
Note: For some reason, this book was published in England under a different title -- The Lost Manuscript. In the US, it was published as Vast Emotions and Imperfect Thoughts.
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