48 reviews for:

Kemarin

Juan Emar

3.4 AVERAGE


The prose in this book was delightful for the way it shocks you. The way Emar spins his sentences felt like I was being taught to think in a way I had never thought before, which was both thrilling and exhausting. I think I would have loved this book more had I been more mentally ready to rally to his fantastical imagination.

I will say: if I end up with half as a beloved and adoring relationship as the narrator and his wife, I will feel incredibly lucky.
challenging slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I am glad this book exists as proof that art does not need a purpose to exist, art exists for its own sake. That being said i wish there existed a machine to give me back the time it took to read this book.
challenging funny lighthearted fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
funny mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Pretty funny at certain points and I found some of the outlandish situations fun to read. The second half of the book really felt like it dragged, I had to force myself to finish since it felt so slow to get through.
challenging funny fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I adored this little surrealist masterpiece. It is beyond wacky, but is also really very moving, somehow capturing, in its absurdity, the true texture of real life, and in particular, what it feels like to exist in time. It does what only the very best writing does - reveals the world in a whole new way.

Surrealism isn’t for me
adventurous challenging reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: N/A
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This definitely is getting a reread soon. I loved the chaos and the over analysis, that I think was meant to make fun of art critics (which the author was), but not sure. One of the wildest books I've ever read. Loved every word of it.