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El hombre que no quería ser padre
265 pages, Unknown Binding
First published August 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 23, 2019
3.5 stars. Really enjoyed this. Love reading about Medellin childhoods. The Spanish vocabulary is easy and extremely accesible.
As memoirs go, this had a really fascinating angle, and tons of interesting material to work with. The author's father—the titular guy who didn't want to be a father—was certainly a character! It's pretty fuerte to think of a communist Paisa father who insists to his son that he's only ever going to treat him as an equal, and never engage in the kind of power dynamics that are inherent in parent-child relationships. Just... damn! I had never heard of such a thing, and it was really interesting to think about the pros-cons of this kind of parenting approach on a child's psyche. It all would've made for a great book club discussion.
The scenes of domestic abuse were difficult and uncomfortable to read. The author's experience as a journalist was really evident here; the facts were all presented and you as the reader are left to make up your mind regarding Alonso's character...
Ugh, the scenes concerning death/dying/cancer were FUERTE. They were very powerful and well-done, but.... the beginning and end sections of this book are not pleasant reading experiences (this is not a critique, just an observation). Why do I always end up reading Colombian memoirs about cancer, illness and death?! I guess it's good for me to face the reality that EVERYONE I LOVE IS GOING TO DIE SOMEDAY, OH, ALSO, I'm going to die too.... Ugh, no, let me stay in denial!
I did get a bit tired of reading the (thankfully not too many) excerpts from Alonso's letters and journals. This is partly because I'm a fussbudget and I don't like reading small, indented text. Also, this is going to sound really mean, but Alonso did remind me sometimes of older Colombian men I've met who are just.... windbags? You know, the kind of older guy who thinks all his Thoughts are really deep, except... they're not.
I would recommend this to people who enjoy memoirs, family histories, and in-depth looks at Paisa life.
As memoirs go, this had a really fascinating angle, and tons of interesting material to work with. The author's father—the titular guy who didn't want to be a father—was certainly a character! It's pretty fuerte to think of a communist Paisa father who insists to his son that he's only ever going to treat him as an equal, and never engage in the kind of power dynamics that are inherent in parent-child relationships. Just... damn! I had never heard of such a thing, and it was really interesting to think about the pros-cons of this kind of parenting approach on a child's psyche. It all would've made for a great book club discussion.
The scenes of domestic abuse were difficult and uncomfortable to read. The author's experience as a journalist was really evident here; the facts were all presented and you as the reader are left to make up your mind regarding Alonso's character...
Ugh, the scenes concerning death/dying/cancer were FUERTE. They were very powerful and well-done, but.... the beginning and end sections of this book are not pleasant reading experiences (this is not a critique, just an observation). Why do I always end up reading Colombian memoirs about cancer, illness and death?! I guess it's good for me to face the reality that EVERYONE I LOVE IS GOING TO DIE SOMEDAY, OH, ALSO, I'm going to die too.... Ugh, no, let me stay in denial!
I did get a bit tired of reading the (thankfully not too many) excerpts from Alonso's letters and journals. This is partly because I'm a fussbudget and I don't like reading small, indented text. Also, this is going to sound really mean, but Alonso did remind me sometimes of older Colombian men I've met who are just.... windbags? You know, the kind of older guy who thinks all his Thoughts are really deep, except... they're not.
I would recommend this to people who enjoy memoirs, family histories, and in-depth looks at Paisa life.
January 28, 2022
Una memoria sobre un hombre excepcional desde su anonimato, pero ¿no somos así la mayoría? El libro describe en forma semibiográfica la vida del padre del autor. El título es un poco engañoso, no era que Alonso no quisiera ser padre, sino que quiso ser un padre diferente. De ahí que existan varias momentos realmente dramáticos porque la relación padre-hijo fue mas cercana que la que tienen gran parte de los seres humanos.
Es una lectura amena, con varias referencias interesantes, a Medellín, literarias, políticas e históricas. Una muy buena obra.
Es una lectura amena, con varias referencias interesantes, a Medellín, literarias, políticas e históricas. Una muy buena obra.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews