Anamaria Vere

Life got in the way and it took me a long time to finish this book, but I am really glad I came back to it and read until the end. As the title states, this book is a love story, but not in the traditional sense. Although the author is emphatic about the romantic love he feels for his wife, the love he focuses on is the one shared by his immediate family: his mother, his farther, his brother and himself.

The author begins at the end, reassuring us that the story has a happy ending and that he is going to start there and work his way back. He begins with a day in the present, and working his way backwards chronologically, he picks out days relevant to his family's history and shares them with us, thus giving us glimpses at his family's life and at the same time allowing us to feel the deep love that binds them together.

Everything he narrates is true, but reconstructed through the art of fiction. In this manner, he shares with us not only intimate details about his family's life, but also defining moments in the history of Colombia. This blending of fact and fiction allows his writing to achieve an urgency and immediacy that are difficult to find in straight, historical accounts. His chapter, for example, describing the day the M-19 took over the Palace of Justice, grabbed me from the first word and did not let me go until the last.

For me, the weakest part of the book occurs when the book moves far enough back in time that the author is no longer the narrative voice, as he has not been born yet in the chronology of the book. From that point on, the narrative voice moves between a few different characters and I felt it lost some of its coherence and urgency as a result. Happily, the author narrator returns at the end and provides a satisfying finale.

I definitely enjoyed reading this book and am looking forward to reading more of Ricardo Silva Romero's books.

Que felicidad tener otro libro de Pedro Badrán! Este tiene todas las cosas que tanto amo en la obra de este escritor. El ritmo de su lenguaje; los sonidos, sabores y olores de los lugares descritos, que el libro va soltando con cada página que paso; y, como siempre, las increíbles listas que siempre he adorado y que parecen más poesía que prosa. Que delicia de lectura! Gracias, Pedro.

I read this book three times in 24 hours. The first reading frustrated me and the book seemed to me to be an unsuccessful work. Three stars. But it nagged at me, so I read it again. During my second reading, I began to understand how the words had been woven together into sentences and I glimpsed their secret meaning, just beyond. Four stars. Upon completing my third reading, I realized this little book contains the whole world. Five stars. Of course, the book didn't change at all from one reading to the next. But I did. Reading is such a gift.

I think I cried on literally every page of this book. But this is a book about a beautiful little boy dying, so that is not surprising. What is perhaps amazing is that every other page, through my tears, I laughed. This books contains all the emotions - it contains life and death and everything in between.

Also, this book made me feel less alone. Either a volcano has exploded all over your life and left a crater of devastation in its wake, or it hasn't. I raise a glass to all my explosion-surviving brethren.

I found this book enjoyable, but not great. Although the various story lines come together surprisingly and satisfyingly at the end, I wish the book had dedicated a little more time in the early chapters to developing those first characters we meet. The narrative and pacing of the first part of the book felt lumbering and disjointed to me; I enjoyed the second part much more. I did find the ruminations on pandemics very interesting.

This was good. Don't get me wrong: I enjoyed it. I thought the world-building was carried out agilely and the fantasy elements were intriguing. I found the plot to be well-constructed and well-paced.

But. This was not a great book for me and in spite of the many comparisons, I did not find it reached the level of The Name of the Wind, neither narratively nor artistically. I did not feel it brought anything innovative to the crowded boarding school fantasy sub-genre. And there were some awkward sentences that pulled me out of the reading experience.

The most interesting part of this world for me was the system of Will. I was fascinated by the moral ramifications surrounding the use of Will and I was eager to learn more about the practical workings of this system. But Vis, the protagonist, spends most of the book in a place where the use of Will is forbidden and so that element of the story remained insufficiently explored.

The other frustrating element for me was that although Vis faces many dangerous and difficult obstacles, after the first couple of these, I never felt any tension that he might fail. He seemed invincible and able to best his opponents with little difficulty, even when the odds were stacked against him. I feel Vis would have been a much more compelling character if he had only been a little lass perfect.

There were definitely parts I did like, though. In particular, I loved reading about the friendships that Vis formed and loved watching those friendships grow. I also felt great empathy for Vis when he was forced to confront his past and come to terms with both who he had been in the past and who he was now. The book was also great at keeping me guessing about the true motivations of the different characters and the different factions. I was never sure of anyone's true allegiances and really enjoyed the tense and mysterious ambience that uncertainty produced. Finally, I was completely caught off guard by the epilogue, in the very best way.

In the end, this was a good book, that I enjoyed reading, but was not a mind-blowing read for me. I am curious to know what happens next but will probably not rush to buy the next installment when it is published. Very solid 3 stars.