Reviews

A General Theory of Oblivion by José Eduardo Agualusa

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elvatikan's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

mcnallyswife's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

sidharthvardhan's review against another edition

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4.0

Ludo is agoraphobic, even back in Europe she was afraid of sky. Even at age of seven she would carry a umbrella to school, no matter what the weather. And so, when she finds herself alone in a continent (of vast skies) she doesn't know in a time of chaos (Angola's independence) she bricks herself into her flat and lives alone except for company of her dog (who later dies) and books living like a cast-out on birds and animals, in a small unviable hole that the world around her is oblivious of. She sits in there suffering needlessly looking out with a fear that has become a habitual illusion.

The writing, as far as her life is concerned, is beautiful both the third person and first person parts.

"My weakness, my vanishing eyesight, it means I stumble over letters as I read. I read pages I’ve read so many times before, but they’re different now. I get things wrong, as I read, and in those mistakes, sometimes, I find incredible things that are right"

"If I still had the space, charcoal, and available walls,
I could compose a great work about forgetting:
a general theory of oblivion."

"I talk to myself, believing that I’m talking to the sweet soul of a dog. In any case, these conversations do me good."

"She felt, as she went on burning those books, after having burned all the furniture, the doors, the wooden floor tiles, that she was losing her freedom. It was as though she was incinerating the whole planet. When she burned Jorge Amado she stopped being able to visit Ilhéus and São Salvador. Burning Ulysses, by Joyce, she had lost Dublin. Getting rid of Three Trapped Tigers, she had incinerated old Havana. "

She did come out towards the end pulled by cares of an orphan boy and discovers, as the people coming out of closet often do, that life isn't really that scary and beauty is worth the scars.

It was first written as a movie script and that might be possible flaw here. Ludo's life touches lives of a few characters. While chapters on these side characters draw picture of lives of Portuguese settles post independence, the period of communism and afterwards and have some pretty great writing to themselves, to me they were just annoying distraction from chapters on Ludo's life which are ironically much shorter and yet more powerful. Also 'Portuguese settlers' is the word, there are comparatively few Afro characters in the story.

djrezzyrez's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny hopeful informative 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? It's complicated

3.5

I took a break for a few weeks in the middle of the book, and that made it significantly more difficult to follow considering the huge cast of characters and their interrelated storylines. I think I would have connected with them more deeply had I not taken a break like that. But I really still enjoyed!