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Maxwell's Reviews > The Words That Remain
The Words That Remain
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This is a beautiful yet brutal story about shame and how it shapes and changes the course of a life, from both the outside and inside.
Told from the perspective of 71 year old Raimundo as he finally learns to read and write, the story reflects on his youth when he had an illicit love affair with another young man in his town and how they were ostracized and abused, especially by their fathers, for this love.
The writing style is stream of consciousness at times, jumping between past and present, internal voice and dialogue, and weaves together a beautifully tapestry of language. I really enjoyed and was surprised by these linguistic choices! Also considering I read the English translation, I'm impressed by the translator's work and how seamless it was.
The story, however, did feel a bit overdone. I'm not sure how this book was received in Brazil and how Brazilian culturally is regarding LGBTQIA+ stories, but this didn't feel like it tread new ground (at least from my limited U.S.-centric mindset). I also couldn't really tell when the story took place. I don't always need those markers but it might have helped to better understand the cultural climate and response from the elder community in regards to the young men's relationship.
If you are looking for a short, compelling and uniquely written story, I would recommend this one! I will be curious to see what Gardel does next, as this was his debut novel.
Told from the perspective of 71 year old Raimundo as he finally learns to read and write, the story reflects on his youth when he had an illicit love affair with another young man in his town and how they were ostracized and abused, especially by their fathers, for this love.
The writing style is stream of consciousness at times, jumping between past and present, internal voice and dialogue, and weaves together a beautifully tapestry of language. I really enjoyed and was surprised by these linguistic choices! Also considering I read the English translation, I'm impressed by the translator's work and how seamless it was.
The story, however, did feel a bit overdone. I'm not sure how this book was received in Brazil and how Brazilian culturally is regarding LGBTQIA+ stories, but this didn't feel like it tread new ground (at least from my limited U.S.-centric mindset). I also couldn't really tell when the story took place. I don't always need those markers but it might have helped to better understand the cultural climate and response from the elder community in regards to the young men's relationship.
If you are looking for a short, compelling and uniquely written story, I would recommend this one! I will be curious to see what Gardel does next, as this was his debut novel.
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Reading Progress
February 16, 2024
–
Started Reading
February 16, 2024
– Shelved as:
short-novels
February 16, 2024
– Shelved
February 16, 2024
– Shelved as:
translated
February 16, 2024
–
33.13%
"The writing style in this is so unique. It flows so smoothly but also catches me off guard when it quickly switches POVs. I’m intrigued"
page
53
February 18, 2024
–
Finished Reading
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by
Victoria
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rated it 4 stars
Feb 18, 2024 11:38AM
Hi! I'm brazilian and read this book last year (maybe 2022). From what i remember, the story is set in the 60's when Raimundo is young but his family being from the north of the country (and honestly even anywhere else in brazil) being gay can be VERY hard. I dont think this book was supposed to be treading new ground everywhere but as far as i know we dont really have that many gay books in brazil.
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