Luiz Ruffato

I wanted to like this book. It is written by a rising Brazilian author, and I usually enjoy reading the work of new authors from other countries. But sadly it was all I could do not to quit reading this book in the first few pages.

I suppose I am just getting too old to really enjoy new-fangled approaches to novels. This one is written in snippets that are more like poetry than prose, which I guess is fine if that is what you enjoy. It was not until page 24 that any of the bits began to even look like a short story. Honestly, I just don't understand the value of writing in run-on sentences, without punctuation or capitalization, and without any real indication of where the voices change.

Then there was the content. The book is set in Sao Paulo, and geez oh man does this book make Sao Paulo seem like a terribly depressing, violent, poor, and angry place.

I gave it 2 stars only because I was finally able to finish reading it. I try to reserve 1-star ratings for books I dislike so much that I can't even finish them.

*** I received my copy of this book for free through Goodreads First Reads (but I promise that did not influence my thoughts on this book).… (more)