Define Books As The Old Man Who Read Love Stories
| Original Title: | Un viejo que leía novelas de amor |
| ISBN: | 0156002728 (ISBN13: 9780156002721) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Antonio José Bolívar Proaño, Rubicundo Loachamín |
| Setting: | Ecuador |
| Literary Awards: | Premio Tigre Juan (1988) |
Ilustration Concering Books The Old Man Who Read Love Stories
Briefly: This compelling and efficient novella grabs readers and quickly embeds them within the life of an aging Ecuadoran whose first, and only love, has died after a brief and unproductive marriage, leaving the much younger Antonio José Bolívar Proaño procreatively unaccomplished, as well as, a failure as a settler in a new community. Unable to return to his previous village, “the poor forgive everything but failure,” Antonio settles in the village of El Idilio (the Idyll—get a sense of how this begins to work?) where his humble life includes joining the hunting expeditions of the Shuar, a people very in touch with the environment and tradition, but try as he does, he remains, ‘like them, but not one of them,’ as an inadvertent violation of tradition and friendship all too quickly reveals. Later in life, he is comforted by visits by a travelling dentist who brings novels—love stories—premised on the recommendations of the dentist’s favored prostitute. The idyllic life of Antonio is complicated by the constantly sweating village mayor (variously referred to as ‘the fat man’ or Slimey Toad) and an unforgiving ocelot. Honor, tradition, wisdom, all themes in a slight volume that readers will breeze through as danger mounts and admiration for the old man grows.
You can keep Hemingway’s old man, I’ll take Sepúlveda’s any day. 4-and-some-fraction stars, in this case rounded down, not because of a failure, rather because it could have been so, so much longer. Very nicely done.
Nearly forgot a quote:
even as he was now preparing to do with the books the dentist had brought him, books that lay beckoning to him from the high table, innocent of the chaotic vista of a past that Antonio José Bolívar preferred to forget, leaving open the wells of memory, to be filled with the delights and torments of loves that outlasted time.
Describe About Books The Old Man Who Read Love Stories
| Title | : | The Old Man Who Read Love Stories |
| Author | : | Luis Sepúlveda |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 144 pages |
| Published | : | July 14th 1995 by Mariner Books (first published 1988) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Novels. Romance |
Rating About Books The Old Man Who Read Love Stories
Ratings: 3.9 From 12933 Users | 1048 ReviewsWrite-Up About Books The Old Man Who Read Love Stories
From the book jacket: An old man lives in a village on the Nangaritza River. The village is so small the dentist comes only twice a year, to pull teeth and bring books to the old man love stories, the kind with maximum heartache. This is a story of the jungle, green hell and Eden; of the Shuar Indians, who know how to live in harmony with it; of the machines and settlers and gold prospectors and gringos who have invaded it. Nature, out of balance, becomes vengeful and violent. My reactions:WhatA charming and well composed short novel. It intimately describes the relationship of man and nature. The old man who reads love stories and the jungle of Amazon. His love of reading stories, despite the contrast with the savageness of his life and surroundings, does resonate to me. It shows how reading fulfils a certain, inevitable need of man even in the most unlikely situation. At times I felt this detail simply cosmetic to the story, but I don't mind that.The real love story that moves me is
This wonderful novel hovers effortlessly between magic realism and historical fiction. Sepulveda crafts an amazonian tale showcasing a man's deep understanding of the jungle and his uneasy coexistence with it. Filled with lush prose and caricaturesque characters, the plot moves along swiftly. A very nice book.
A wonderful story about an old man who tries to escape from the world, and his pain through the reading of love stories. A found this to be a charming and intense read. I will be looking at more of what this writer has written.
This must be one of the most moving and captivating books I've ever read. The description of the exotic Amazon sceneries are exquisite. My favourite thing, though, is that the author portrays civilised humans as idiotic barbarians spoiling the untouched natural habitat of several magnificent species of animals and you can't help but sympathize with the animals after the monstrosities mentioned. Once I get to a couple more of his works I'm sure Sepulveda will have already gained a place among my
This is my first 5 star read in 2020. It is one of the last books I needed to complete my equator-challenge, to read a book from every country on the equator, this time Equador. I agree with 28% of the raters who also gave the novella 5 stars.I read literature to travel to unknown places. To experience them through the eyes and words of authors. This book gave me an exceptional experience. The hero, who is as described, an old man who reads love stories, is a unique, multidimensional character.
Aside from having one of the best titles ever, this novella is quite captivating and painted a vivid picture of life in the Amazon jungle. A little too vivid for this wary traveler hoping to avoid snake bites and big jungle cats. I loved how the man relished the first words of the romance novel "Paul kissed her ardently" and the author made me truly feel his wanderlust.
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