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mpaulars's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ashc123's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
novelvisits's review
3.0
My Thoughts: I’m going to be honest, in the Distance With You is a book i almost quit on. More than once. But, every time I put it down, I found myself drawn back to this book. It’s a story that’s slow to build, so you have to be patient with it. At first, there didn’t seem to be much to hold my interest, but slowly more and more questions arose until I reached the point where I had to know the answers.
The central character to In the Distance With You is Vera Sigall, an 80-year old Chilean writer found at the bottom of the stairs by her neighbor and friend, Daniel. Vera has lived an interesting, rich life including scandals and affairs. As she lays in a hospital bed, the readers are treated to the details of Vera’s life through the lenses of Daniel, Horatio, Vera’s onetime lover, and Emilia, a grad student in Santiago to do research on Vera for her thesis. As might be expected, these three narrators also have connections, and as Vera’s life comes into focus, so too do theirs.
I found Carla Guelfenbein’s writing to be lovely. She had some really stunning phrasing, beautiful descriptions, and great insight. Translator John Cullen clearly did a wonderful job.
“In any case, I’d already learned that in their zeal for generalities, history books, like museums, swallow up the particularities of the men and woman who inform them, exalting the identities of only a few. Or – to put it more succinctly – if I want to understand, I always turn to novels and poetry.”
At times there was a bit of an otherworldly quality to In the Distance With You, a trait that doesn’t always work for me, but did here. I thoroughly enjoyed Daniel and Emilia’s parts, but Horatio’s sometimes dragged a bit. I also think the story had some unexplained inconsistencies. I’m not sure if they were an issue with the translation or were there to begin with. Still, those were easy to overlook as I got deeper and deeper into Vera’s story and hungered to know how the different storylines would finally be resolved.
Note: I received a copy of this book from Other Press (via Edelweiss) in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Original Source:
The central character to In the Distance With You is Vera Sigall, an 80-year old Chilean writer found at the bottom of the stairs by her neighbor and friend, Daniel. Vera has lived an interesting, rich life including scandals and affairs. As she lays in a hospital bed, the readers are treated to the details of Vera’s life through the lenses of Daniel, Horatio, Vera’s onetime lover, and Emilia, a grad student in Santiago to do research on Vera for her thesis. As might be expected, these three narrators also have connections, and as Vera’s life comes into focus, so too do theirs.
I found Carla Guelfenbein’s writing to be lovely. She had some really stunning phrasing, beautiful descriptions, and great insight. Translator John Cullen clearly did a wonderful job.
“In any case, I’d already learned that in their zeal for generalities, history books, like museums, swallow up the particularities of the men and woman who inform them, exalting the identities of only a few. Or – to put it more succinctly – if I want to understand, I always turn to novels and poetry.”
At times there was a bit of an otherworldly quality to In the Distance With You, a trait that doesn’t always work for me, but did here. I thoroughly enjoyed Daniel and Emilia’s parts, but Horatio’s sometimes dragged a bit. I also think the story had some unexplained inconsistencies. I’m not sure if they were an issue with the translation or were there to begin with. Still, those were easy to overlook as I got deeper and deeper into Vera’s story and hungered to know how the different storylines would finally be resolved.
Note: I received a copy of this book from Other Press (via Edelweiss) in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Original Source:
patchworkculture's review
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
jorge5408's review against another edition
5.0
La genialidad de Guelfenbein creó entre el texto y mi ser una intimidad que pocos autores logran. Estoy sumamente satisfecho con esta novela pues tiene un valor literario infinito. ¡Muy recomendada!
breadandmushrooms's review
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nata_lee's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Ayayayay. Me fascinó. Me urgeeee comprarme mi propia copia para marcarlo por todos lados.
Tiene personajes muy bien logrados y la historia está bien dispuesta. La narración se siente como “de alto nivel”, como que la autora sabe escribir xD, vaya, que está muy bien escrito, pues. Las descripciones geniales y las frases y reflexiones que se mandaba cada tanto uffff.
Es un libro de cierta manera de misterio, pero sobre todo, se centra en las relaciones interpersonales de nuestros personajes. Lo disfruté de cabo a rabo.
saritbistre's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
kokeshi8's review against another edition
3.0
No había tenido la oportunidad de leer algo de Carla Guelfenbein antes. Sí había escuchado y leído críticas sobre sus obras y sobre su persona. La primera vez que la vi en una entrevista fue en el programa El Interruptor de Via X y de ahí me "cayó en gracia". Su cuiquez no me molestó para nada, de hecho, me hizo reír que no tuviera un mac y que prefiere comprar el computador "más malo y más rasca", según ella. Escribo esto precisamente porque fue esa entrevista la que me llevó a querer leer sus libros y empecé por éste, el ganador del premio Alfaguara 2015.
Lo que me pasó con su modo de narrar no me pasa muy seguido. Me relajó mucho. Ni los libros de autoayuda me han dejado en un estado así de pacífico.
Ahora la historia es otra cosa. En la mitad ya sabes qué fue lo que pasó con Vera y poco después puedes adivinar la "gran sorpresa" del final. Tampoco hay una diferenciación clara entre los narradores. A diferencia del libro anterior que terminé, donde Andrés Neuman en Hablar solos sí hace evidente sus diferentes voces. Además, el uso de descripciones rebuscadas es totalmente innecesario. Por todo ello las tres estrellas. Agradezco el relajo y la fluidez de la narración, pero espero que en los próximos libros que lea de ella las historias me conmuevan mucho más.
Lo que me pasó con su modo de narrar no me pasa muy seguido. Me relajó mucho. Ni los libros de autoayuda me han dejado en un estado así de pacífico.
Ahora la historia es otra cosa. En la mitad ya sabes qué fue lo que pasó con Vera y poco después puedes adivinar la "gran sorpresa" del final. Tampoco hay una diferenciación clara entre los narradores. A diferencia del libro anterior que terminé, donde Andrés Neuman en Hablar solos sí hace evidente sus diferentes voces. Además, el uso de descripciones rebuscadas es totalmente innecesario. Por todo ello las tres estrellas. Agradezco el relajo y la fluidez de la narración, pero espero que en los próximos libros que lea de ella las historias me conmuevan mucho más.
agotakristof's review
3.0
Short/Quick review : 3.5 stars for some outstanding writing in this slightly overlong novel that tries to solve the mystery surrounding a freak accident involving an author. But it's not a mystery novel as they advertise - there is no tension or intrigue of that sort - it works just like a typical novel. I guess the writer wanted this to be a "poetic" read but failed to pull it off. Detailed review later.