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The Antiquarian (2014)

by Gustavo Faverón Patriau(Favorite Author)

3.15 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0802121608 (ISBN13: 9780802121608)

languge

English

genre

Mystery & Thriller

publisher

Grove Press, Black Cat

review 1: I read in a couple of user reviews that this novel was boring. This novel may be a lot of things, but, IMHO, boring is definitely not one of them. A little obtuse at times, or a few too many words that I had to look up the meanings, but NOT boring. The author deftly weaves a compelling mystery around the circumstances of Daniel, in a mental hospital for the past three years for stabbing his fiance Julianna 16 times. The plot is essentially a puzzle as to why this happened. The narrator is Daniel's best friend, and he is trying to learn the cause for what happened and to see if there is anything he can do for his friend. Interspersed are the relationship between Daniel and his disabled sister, the world of antique books, and the politics of troubled South American soc... moreiety. There is a lot here, and as in books by authors like Haruki Murakami, I'm not sure I got it all. The puzzle is clearly answered at the end (I was not confident, as I was reading, that it would be), and I felt a sense of completeness upon finishing this novel and had so much pleasure reading this very intelligently written tale.
review 2: This is an extraordinary book. For once, after reading so much extreme praise in blurbs on covers and back covers, I find one book that doesn't let down the wonderful laudatory words of famous critics and writers who recommend it. Nobel Prize Winner Mario Vargas Llosa says it is difficult but memorable, original and extremely smart. That is true. Daniel Alarcon says it a thrilling gem of a novel and that is also true. It's a complex mystery and a terrific psychological drama. The way every single mystery is solve is not routine but always surprising. The language is masterful, poetic at times, but always engaging and fast-paced. The structure is powerful, a tour de force of style and originality. If you don't read this book you'll be passing on one of the best novels of the year. Once thing I don't understand is why it is being promoted as genre fiction. This books has the form of what they call a "literary mystery" but is so much more than that. A New York Times review call it masterful macabre first novel. That is what the books is -- masterful in so many levels. less

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