What a waste of time. Gonzalez, at least in this book, had zero (or even less than zero) interest in telling you anything about his characters, much less developing them. He had a story to tell and nothing would get in the way. Every five chapters or so he would insert a single sentence meant, I presume, to be ominous about how the protagonist would die before long. Writing was okay, nothing remarkable (appears to be an excellent translation). Just a great disappointment; I had liked The Storm but this was just a waste of my time. ( )

I grabbed this book from the library shelves because of its small format (I love tiny books! Plus, French flaps!), then was pleased to see it was from Pushkin Press, which I've been meaning to read more from. Then was delighted to see it was from a Columbian author, as I've been struggling to find a second book by a South American author for book bingo. So into the check-out pile it went.

It was kind of mesmerizing, kind of familiar, a tiny bit underwhelming in points, but also fascinating. It was often to difficult to decide if I was rooting for the characters or not. The book is mostly from J.'s point of view, and while we are given opportunities to empathize with Elena, we never really understand her. Which is not really a criticism, it is appropriate for this book.

Based on a true story, J. and Elena abandon a city life of parties and fast-paced living to buy a small property in a remote location. There's culture shock, cash flow problems, and a mounting series of misunderstandings and misjudgments that seem impossible to dig back out of. J. is almost always too optimistic, and Elena too bitter. It slowly unravels, and you know it is all going to end in tragedy, but to what extent? and how?

An absorbing little book that will make you reexamine any impulse you've ever had about running away to the country. ( )

This short, small book is an odd one. I'm still not quite sure what I think of it. From the blurbs, I expected some wilderness survival tale, except that I knew this one would not end well.

No, it wasn't really wilderness survival Elena and J. decides to take up life by the sea, to simplify their lives. This is no remote isolation. There is a village, stores, amenities although a bit on the primitive side.

Elena is rather nasty and unlikable from the start, a bossy, angry prickly person who causes others to dislike her. J. seems a bit more likable if naive, but also certainly a drunk. And that is the happy part! He was an idealistic fool who ended up heavily on the fool side as he lost his ideals. This story does show the weak underbelly of the main characters.

I had two guesses of what would happen in the end, either a strong possibility in my mind. While my specific guesses were wrong, the general outcome was as I expected. Still, being told by the author this isn't a happily-ever-after story does not detract.

I would not want to read this book if I were depressed because it would make me want to just stay in bed and mope. Still, it is an interesting character study, and the atmosphere is nicely done. It was translated by Frank Wynne, and like all good translations, made me barely aware I was not reading the language the author used.

The story was apparently based on a true story, and that part does make me sad – that people can waste their lives on pipe dreams.

I was given a finished copy of this book for review. ( )