Reviews

Portrait of an Unknown Lady by María Gainza

buttersmother's review against another edition

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3.0

I would probably rate this one a 3.5 if I could. There is just so much to say, but I really don’t know how to put it into words. Like “Voice of a Fish”, Gainza takes a majority of her philosophical ideas from other people’s thoughts, creating a sort of ripped collage of a new idea. Though her writing is phenomenal, her development of plot and characters confused me, and I found myself having to reread passages that didn’t feel relevant to the greater picture. But I suppose that is the entire point she was making; or, rather than a point, a thematical excuse for this inconsistency in plot and character development. I feel I would like it better if I read it again; but I will not be doing that for a while.

stranglerfig's review against another edition

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3.0

'as a tear slid down my cheek I asked myself if it might not be a crocodile’s. One sometimes goes into character, and it can be difficult to tell the difference.'

missrerr's review against another edition

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4.0

This one was a strange read for me- it kept me very intrigued by the lives it wove together, yet it didn’t really go anywhere at all. I’m still left with so many unanswered questions! Every woman is the unknown woman! Okay, I see what she did here…

kalayk's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

estela_cebrian's review against another edition

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4.0

Me ha flipado este libro. Mucho más la primera parte que la segunda, pero aún así. María Gainza tiene una foz fascinante, es mordaz e inteligente, y capaz de montar una trama entretenidísima con una literatura evocativa y llena de imágenes. Ojalá escriba más.

becka_reads's review against another edition

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3.0

Relatively boring, but interspersed with some gorgeous prose.

theardentone's review against another edition

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2.0

The narrative structure of this book left something to be desired. I'm really not sure what it was trying to achieve, it felt very disjointed and desultory

susiedoom's review against another edition

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4.0

An anonymous art forger is making waves in the Buenos Aires art scene with their imitations of works by a famous portraitist. One art critic and auction house employee becomes obsessed with finding out the forger's identity and explores some interesting history and ethics around art crimes along the way.

This was a quick and thought-provoking read about art, forgery, and ethics. It breaks the mold in a lot of ways for what you might expect from a crime novel, but I really enjoyed all the interesting ways it approached the story. The anonymous narrator was effective and provocative, but I did want to know more about her!

mollyhodg's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced

3.0

I found myself to be most interested in the form rather than the characters or plot. I liked that she wrote with lists and legal documents and art auction catalogs. The characters did not compel me, and it's definitely a character driven plot.