Reviews

City by Alessandro Baricco

elefelanterosa's review against another edition

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4.0

no podría decir de qué se trata, ni lo intento, tiene un encanto de no linealidad

drbird's review against another edition

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4.0

One of those books I saw at Borders & picked up because of the cover but bought because the first 2 pages just sucked me in. I may read it again -- i feel like it flew by.

loldesh's review against another edition

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2.0

Bu kadar diyalog içeren bir kitabı sadece Baricco yazdığı için okurdum hatta büyük bi' talihsizlikle okudum??? Siz bu hataya düşmeyin derim.

Yazarın neden böyle bir kitap yazdığı büyük bir muamma zaten. Aç mıydı açıkta mıydı garibim, kafası mı güzeldi gerçekten merak konusu. Bu sefer olmadı, sevemedim. :(

nithou's review against another edition

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4.0

Baricco est très juste quand il décrit ce livre comme l’idée qu’il se fait d’une ville. City grouille et fourmille de récits, de vies qui se mêlent et se démêlent, de secrets qui se dévoilent petit à petit quand on y prête l’oreille.

Les personnages sont uniques et gagnent en profondeur de manière incroyable tout au long du récit, et chaque histoire arrive sa conclusion, même de manière détournée.

Un beau livre, moins touchant que d’autres de cet auteur mais aussi moins expérimental que les premiers que j’avais moins appréciés.

despicablecow's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

this is a book about nothing - see monet's water lillies

daniel01's review against another edition

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4.0

Si legge come l’ adattamento di qualche film scritto per bene sotto forma a di romanzo. È una miscela di tutto e di niente

ninagoth's review

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adventurous reflective medium-paced

4.0

donmarrr's review

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3.0

Ergens in Amerika woont Gould, een wonderkind dat kans maakt op de Nobelprijs. Zijn enige vrienden zijn de denkbeeldige reus Diesel en de zwijgende Poomerang. Als Gould dertien is, wordt de zorg over het kleine genie toevertrouwd aan de gouvernante Shatzy Shell, een jonge vrouw die tot dan toe niet in staat is geweest tot enig menselijk contact. Hun relatie is er een van verhalen, en van verhalen binnen verhalen.
City is een onweerstaanbare roman over vriendschap, genialiteit en de kracht van fantasie, waarin superhelden, boksers en cowboys elkaar afwisselen.
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Nadat de hoofdpersonen van het boek, een telefonisch interviewster en een geïnterviewde, elkaar hebben ontmoet ontrolt zich een roman als een 'stad'. In iedere 'straat' en 'wijk' spelen zich andere verhalen af, die zich op een bepaalde manier met elkaar verbinden, waarbij personages uit stripboeken, film en ook historische personen in beeld komen. Men zou het een kaleidoscopische roman kunnen noemen, waarbij allerlei verhaallijnen door elkaar lopen. Vlot gechreven, met zeer veel fantasie en humor. De Italiaanse schrijver (1958) trok eerder de aandacht met 'Oceaan van een zee', 'Land van glas', 'Zijde' en 'Novecento' (verfilmd als 'The Legend of 1900'). Grijs-oranje omslag met tekeningen van stedelijke gebouwen. Kleine druk.

mslaura's review

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5.0

This is a brilliant and unusual book peopled with quirky and endearing characters both real and imagined. It is the story of a young genius named Gould, a boy never really allowed to be a boy, whose closest companions are an imaginary giant named Diesel and an imaginary mute named Poomerang, who creates in his mind the story of a boxer, which he builds upon whenever he is in the bathroom. Yes, this is a very unusual book. A glimmer of light comes into Gould's life when he meets Shatzy Shell, a somewhat lost and broken woman who becomes his unlikely governess. Shatzy has her own ongoing saga, a Western she has been dictating into a tape recorder for years. Added into this mix are a scattering of other unusual characters including Gould's absent father who may or may not have been a general, his mother who resides in a mental hospital and a professor who can't stop crying. This book is sad and funny and hopeful all at the same time and it is one that I will miss now that it is over.

fmlc's review

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5.0

If you were to lay every page of City side by side, it would read as a (city) map; A very intricate and complex (city) map of connecting roads, secret passages, cul-de-sacs, roundabouts and bridges, but more or less a map. Within this world, the lives of Shatzy, Gould, Poomerang, Diesel, Prof. Modrian Kilroy and more, intersect in profoundly strange, heartwarming and heartbreaking ways. Each character is unique and diverse, with their own internal "maps". Prof. Modrian Kilroy's lectures were especially interesting - notably Lecture No. 11 on Monet's Waterlilies. Frankly, I have never read anything like City before and I am not so sure I will again. I agree with the other goodreads reviews that it is merely impossible to pinpoint the exact plot of this novel, let alone its "message". It is multifaceted; everything in one. It's hard to put it into words.
I was a bit confused at the end, in terms of the whereabouts of Gould but overall, what a wonderful read. And I must say, Shatzy's Western turned out to be super compelling. It's probably the only Western I'd ever watch!