Sebastian Rodriguez

4.5, Zambra, no se si está vez me llegaste a lo más profundo de mi ser - fue como compartir una botella de vino con un amigo a quien no veo hace años mientras comparamos notas y observaciones de ser padres. No quise terminar este libro, leí más lento a medida que menos hojas quedaban, no quería que se terminara la conversación.

“Los apellidos son prosa, los nombres poesía. Hay quienes se pasan la vida leyendo la novela irremediable del apellido. Pero en el nombre laten caprichos, intenciones, prejuicios, contingencias, emociones. Y suele ser la única obra que la madre y el padre escriben juntos.”

The first half of the book is slow - but right at the middle - it just picks up and does not slow down. It builds and delivers. I'll miss Piranesi - and the halls and the tides.

Great read and interesting story line. However the jumping between timelines (past/present) makes it harder to connect the dots.

“I hope they find each other in a room where a song that they know all of the words to crawls up the walls and rattles the lights above their heads.”

Hanif lived rent free in my head for days - his words, his prose - his insights into my own past thru what I couldn't imagine someone half across the world was also experiencing. I will miss this book, but I close this one - extremely thankful for what I've learned.

“Through countless frosts and thaws, he walked in circles wider than nations.”

I'm not a big western fan. But this book transcends its genre and somehow touches on the past, present and future. It's a coming of age for a whole continent. There is so much wealth of knowledge - I found myself saving all the gems that Haka shared as he crossed the world. Couldn't put this book down.