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Mr Gwyn (2011)

by Alessandro Baricco(Favorite Author)

3.99 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

8807018624 (ISBN13: 9788807018626)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Feltrinelli

review 1: This book contains a pair of linked novellas. The first is the story of a tremendously popular author who decides that he is no longer going to write anymore. He sets out to become a "copyist" but doesn't really even know what he means by this. It turns out the is going to write portraits of peoples. This won't be descriptions of the people, but stories that reveal their true personalities. From the outset this all just sounds too cute and clever. There are pages on pages describing how the writer, Mr. Gwyn, acquires just the right light bulbs and furniture for his studio. Despite the pages spent on this almost no work is put into creating interesting characters or action. The second novella, which is linked in that it is a book that was secretly written by Mr. Gwyn, but u... morender a different name. This novella is actually 3 short stories told out of chronological order all focused on one man and a hotel. We see him in middle age, as an old man and as a young boy. The links here aren't explicit and the subtle repetition in the stories is intriguing. Unfortunately there isn't much done with this clever devise. Perhaps a stand alone this second novella would have warranted greater appreciation, but Baricco has already exhausted the readers patience with the first novella.
review 2: Baricco certainly has a grasp of weaving words into images that become tangible and so real you feel part of the story. While the story was clever and you inevitably become emotionally invested in the characters, the story falls apart at the end. The story becomes difficult to follow, and while it doesn't lose its enchanting style and remarkable way with words and storytelling, the plot disintegrates and fades into disjointed vignettes and a conclusion that feels as unsatisfying as Jasper Gwyn's own end. less

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