A comment and a suggestion

Here I am again with one of those posts where I don't say much but since I'm already writing..

I've recently read two books in Portuguese, by Portuguese authors, which I haven't liked much, which I don't think are translated into English, but that I still want to leave a register of having read them here in the blog, for my personal notes.

Eliete is a fictional novel by Dulce Maria Cardoso, an author who has gained quite a hype in the previous years among the readers. This is the most recent release and when it came out, many have added it to their TBRs. I saw it once at a bookstore but the price was quite high for a book which isn't translated and I wasn't certain about it so last time time I went to the library, I saw they had a paperback edition and I brought it with me. 

The book is focused on Eliete, the main character and narrator, as she describes a lot of things related to her daily life and which little dilemmas she has, while the author takes the opportunity to address many cultural details regarding the country. It was certainly well written in terms of prose but I found Eliete to be someone I didn't like. She had a boring, predictable life and her choices to deal with it were ones I disliked immensely, and that means I wanted to leave her head as quickly as possible. 

This is too bad because in the beginning, she does mention memories from her childhood and that did remind me of mine, which was a wonderful experience...sadly, the rest of the novel was a let down.

Grade: 4/10

As Minhas Aventuras na Republica Portuguesa is a non fiction collection of chronicles the author Miguel Esteves Cardoso wrote for a newspaper decades ago. (the translation here could be My Adventures in the Portuguese Republic) 

This is the second book by him I read, the first was offered to me, this one I also brought from the library, hoping to redo the same experience. This didn't happen because the chronicles are, in my opinion, too dated, which can't be helped if he wrote them about issues which were happening in the country at that time, but we're talking late 80s and the 90s and it's impossible to ignore the references used. Nowadays, they no longer matter to what we know of how things went and it's difficult to feel any connection to them. Of course, we can ignore the content and focus on the writing which is as pertinent and incisive as I remember from the other book, with a lot or irony and sarcasm, some attempt as being funny here and there too, but I feel the writing itself, in this case, wasn't enough to make me appreciate the book. I mean, it's readable and since it's chronicles it feels we get through them very fast, but I confess I can't remember any anymore.

Grade: 4/10

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A suggestion!

I can't remember if I had mentioned it here in the blog before, but I like doing online puzzles.

Well, I like physical ones too, but not enough space to store them once completed.... ah the problems of modern living, not enough space for puzzles, for books...!

Anyway, I've registered at a free site where it's possible to do online puzzles, so if anyone wants to try it, if it's something you would like to do to pass the time or because you like doing them... my preference is landscapes and some people post incredible images, it's quite entertaining.

https://www.jigidi.com/

Have fun!