Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Bonsai

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Bonsai by Alejandro Zambra

12 reviews

erishti's review against another edition

3.5

I will admit that while reading this book I was in a contemporary literature slump and thus was not as invested as I think I normally would be. Bonsai was very well written and covered many themes of humanity and love, especially loss and heartbreak.

The story mainly follows a young writer and avid reader named Julio who falls in love with a girl named Emelia. That's where the story begins. Alejandro Zambra takes us on an emotional journey as he uses his writing to amply detail how his characters feel with little actual dialogue between them in the book. It was fascinating.

For what's its worth, I definitely want to read this book again and will likely give it a higher rating... and that alone is why I'm giving it the rating I'm giving it now.

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bethsreading's review against another edition

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reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.0

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keegan_leech's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.75

A strange, enchanting little story about falling in and out of love with a kind of melancholy self-seriousness that I actually really liked. Certainly not for everyone—I imagine it could easily come off as too pretentious—but I found it very charming.

The novel can be whimsically funny, insightful, and emotional in a kind of stilted way that reminded me of some of Sally Rooney or Jeanette Winterson's work. It's more academically-minded moments have the kind of bizarre metaphorical bent that's common to writers like Borges. The sort of thing that can come off as pretentious waffle if you dislike it, but which I enjoy.

At its heart though, Bonsai is a story about falling in and out of love. Finding and then losing connections. And how even brief relationships can change us forever. I think that's a theme worth getting a little pretentious about.

Content Warnings