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Perfect Days
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A twisted young medical student kidnaps the girl of his dreams and embarks on a dark and delirious road trip across Brazil in the English-language debut of Brazil's most celebrated young crime writer.
Teo Avelar is a loner. He lives with his paraplegic mother and her dog in Rio de Janeiro, he doesn't have many friends, and the only time he feels honest human emotion is i ...more
Teo Avelar is a loner. He lives with his paraplegic mother and her dog in Rio de Janeiro, he doesn't have many friends, and the only time he feels honest human emotion is i ...more
Hardcover, 272 pages
Published
February 16th 2016
by Penguin Press
(first published March 18th 2014)
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Start your review of Perfect Days
He felt bad: it was the first time he had thought of himself as a villain. By stuffing Clarice in a suitcase and bringing her home, had he become a criminal?
this is a play on the abduction thriller which morphs into a (view spoiler), and it features teo, one of those "he puts the anti- in antihero" narrators who is somewhere on the spectrum, or who at the very least knew how to keep his feelings separate, which transforms his ...more
this is a play on the abduction thriller which morphs into a (view spoiler), and it features teo, one of those "he puts the anti- in antihero" narrators who is somewhere on the spectrum, or who at the very least knew how to keep his feelings separate, which transforms his ...more
Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
Might as well go ahead and file this one under “that awkward moment when a book about a nutter who kidnaps the girl of his dreams isn’t quite weird enough to please me” . . .
Perfect Days had a ton of potential. I mean the very first chapter started off by explaining how medical student Teo has made besties for the resties with a fellow classmate named Gertrude. The only problem? Gertrude is the cadaver . . .
Ahhhh, quit being ...more
Might as well go ahead and file this one under “that awkward moment when a book about a nutter who kidnaps the girl of his dreams isn’t quite weird enough to please me” . . .
Perfect Days had a ton of potential. I mean the very first chapter started off by explaining how medical student Teo has made besties for the resties with a fellow classmate named Gertrude. The only problem? Gertrude is the cadaver . . .
Ahhhh, quit being ...more
READ AT YOUR OWN RISK....
What would it say about me if I recommend this book to my friends?
Probably in good conscience, I should never suggest this book to anybody...
However, you should see me over here, I'm still laughing silly.
I just finish reading "Perfect Days", by Raphael Montes, Brazilian Crime novelist,
seconds ago.
I suppose it's suppose to be 'chilling' and 'creepy'...but I found it hilarious!!
SOOOOOO OUT OF THE BOX... I just had to laugh.
After reading the first chapter - and learnin ...more
What would it say about me if I recommend this book to my friends?
Probably in good conscience, I should never suggest this book to anybody...
However, you should see me over here, I'm still laughing silly.
I just finish reading "Perfect Days", by Raphael Montes, Brazilian Crime novelist,
seconds ago.
I suppose it's suppose to be 'chilling' and 'creepy'...but I found it hilarious!!
SOOOOOO OUT OF THE BOX... I just had to laugh.
After reading the first chapter - and learnin ...more
Good concept. Terrible execution.
The writing was very... lacking. There was barely any characterization beyond villain and victim. There was ZERO tension. Things just happened without any build up. It was so straightforward that it kind of felt like reading a murderer's to-do list. There was no surprise to anything and I couldn't get invested or root for anything/anyone. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and it never did. There was one attempt at a twist that reversed itself within 20 pa ...more
The writing was very... lacking. There was barely any characterization beyond villain and victim. There was ZERO tension. Things just happened without any build up. It was so straightforward that it kind of felt like reading a murderer's to-do list. There was no surprise to anything and I couldn't get invested or root for anything/anyone. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and it never did. There was one attempt at a twist that reversed itself within 20 pa ...more
May 11, 2019
Nenia ✨️ I yeet my books back and forth ✨️ Campbell
rated it
liked it
Recommended to Nenia ✨️ I yeet my books back and forth ✨️ by:
karen
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I'm going to be honest, I liked the beginning of this book twice as much as I liked the end, which I despised. The beginning of this book follows the typical "psycho becomes obsessed with a girl" formula, of books like Caroline Kepnes's YOU and John Fowles's THE COLLECTOR. Teo is a medical student who lives with his mom and is a Norman Bates psychotic stuffed shirt type, buttoned up with mommy issues and personal hang-ups. Luckily, he d ...more
5 Creepy and Addicting Stars
I remember getting an email about this book and I thought it wasn’t for me. I’m a romance reviewer. Then I kept on going back to this email and thought to myself, the summary sounded really good. After a few days I decided to give this book a go.
Perfect Days is a creepy, but addictive thriller book. I enjoyed every second of it and I read it one sitting. It had the perfect balance of dialogue to narrative writing to plot development. I was sucked in by the main ch ...more
5.0 Stars Video Review: https://youtu.be/QOJ9r_UTbxo
I have always had a personal affinity for incredibly dark, disturbing suspense novels, particularly those involving kidnapping narratives. So it should be no surprise that I absolutely loved this sick story.
The translation was very well done with a taunt writing style. The plot itself was incredibly dark and disturbing, filled with morbid, visceral details. The story is told from the perspective of the story's antagonist, Tao, who is a disturb ...more
I have always had a personal affinity for incredibly dark, disturbing suspense novels, particularly those involving kidnapping narratives. So it should be no surprise that I absolutely loved this sick story.
The translation was very well done with a taunt writing style. The plot itself was incredibly dark and disturbing, filled with morbid, visceral details. The story is told from the perspective of the story's antagonist, Tao, who is a disturb ...more
Oh my days. Well for a start that was a one sitting read it may take me WEEKS to recover from, secondly my best advice would be not to read TOO much about it until you read it. The small blurb in bold above is more than enough. Don’t let anything spoil it for you and I promise that there will be no spoilers in this. I’m going to talk about the reading of it much more than I am the plot of it…
A small plot soundbite – Teo falls in love and when his love is not returned in a way he deems appropriat ...more
A small plot soundbite – Teo falls in love and when his love is not returned in a way he deems appropriat ...more
This clever and twisty Brazilian crime novel is a great and page-turning read. This type of 'domestic noir' is quite in vogue at the moment, and there are a couple of other excellent novels written in a similar vein recently; Lemaitre's Blood Wedding, and Fossum's I Can See In The Dark.
Brazil is a surprise addition to international crime noir fiction, but certainly a welcome one. Teodoro, a loner and medical student, living with his paraplegic mother, meets Clarice a socialite, and very much an ...more
Brazil is a surprise addition to international crime noir fiction, but certainly a welcome one. Teodoro, a loner and medical student, living with his paraplegic mother, meets Clarice a socialite, and very much an ...more
There were points at which this went very slowly, points where I knew what was bound to happen next, and points that seemed pointless to even have in the story.
But there were also points where I couldn't put it down and admittedly I'm always intrigued by a book that is so dark that it pushes the limits.
I'm not giving it 5 stars because of the first points but if you enjoy dark, twisted stories that will cause distrust of strangers then I highly recommend it. ...more
But there were also points where I couldn't put it down and admittedly I'm always intrigued by a book that is so dark that it pushes the limits.
I'm not giving it 5 stars because of the first points but if you enjoy dark, twisted stories that will cause distrust of strangers then I highly recommend it. ...more
Perfect Days is about Teo, a medical student who lives with his disabled mother. He meets Clarice, a flirty art student at a party and becomes obsessed with her. So he kidnaps her and attempts to make her love him. More things happen but I'm not going to get into spoilers here, apart from saying that there is a Twist™ and that I did not see it coming.
This book is gruesome. It's bloody but even worse, it's just plain creepy. As someone who loves talking to strangers, this is quite possibly one ...more
This book is gruesome. It's bloody but even worse, it's just plain creepy. As someone who loves talking to strangers, this is quite possibly one ...more
Where's the zero star option? This book was awful. The actions of the characters were nonsensical and unrealistic. The dialogue was false and didn't sound like anybody I've ever heard speaking before. The storyline was ridiculously stupid. Did I say this book was terrible?
...more
This is a debut from a Brazilian author and I got it on strong recommendation with high hopes for it. There's no point in explaining the storyline because the blurb more than covers that aspect so if you want to know then have a quick read. It's explained really well.
So, I'll go with the basics. It's written in a fairly easy to read style that doesn't particularly jar, certainly I found it to flow well enough. A couple of times it seemed to change setting, character fairly abruptly and I'd have ...more
So, I'll go with the basics. It's written in a fairly easy to read style that doesn't particularly jar, certainly I found it to flow well enough. A couple of times it seemed to change setting, character fairly abruptly and I'd have ...more
This has been on my Netgalley shelf for quite a long time and I finally have taken time to read it as I am trying to reduce my Netgalley reads. This is a book about a stalker. Teo Avalar is obsessed with Claire, an aspiring screenwriter who is working on a screenplay called Perfect Days, hence the title of the book. I enjoyed this story even though it has some strange elements and one has to wonder if this is a black comedy in disguise. In saying that it is a very dark tale and I suggest that if
...more
I was expecting a psychological thriller with a sociopath at the helm. What I read instead was, well I’m not quite sure. I think the attempt at humor was a little too much for my taste.
Theo is definitely a sociopath but the book is written in a different style, perhaps the translation has something to do with it? We are introduced to Theo, a medical student, who becomes obsessed with Clarice whom he meets at a party, supposedly falling in love with her. When Teo begins stalking her she tells him ...more
Theo is definitely a sociopath but the book is written in a different style, perhaps the translation has something to do with it? We are introduced to Theo, a medical student, who becomes obsessed with Clarice whom he meets at a party, supposedly falling in love with her. When Teo begins stalking her she tells him ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
A quiet young man (who is a medical student and lives with his wheelchair-bound mother) falls in love with an easy-going, beautiful and carefree girl in a party, and in order to make the girl realize they were made for each other, the man steals the girl's phone number, stalks her, lies to her parents and eventually drugs and kidnaps her to get his way.
When the young man takes the girl to a trip so they can be alone and she can grow to love him, unexpected things happen and it doesn't take long ...more
When the young man takes the girl to a trip so they can be alone and she can grow to love him, unexpected things happen and it doesn't take long ...more
WOW. This book is sickly inventive and quietly twisted. A fantastic read, especially if you're looking for a book that will leave you in tears at the perfect injustice of its ending. Quite frankly one of the most unique and horrifying books I've read to date!!
...more
Kudos to you, Mr.Raphael Montes! This is, out of any doubt, the craziest story I've ever read.
Teo's character is astounding, complex and brilliant.. yet crazy to the bone.
"Perfect Days" is a very good book, unique and absolutely pleasurable.
Read more on The Serial Reader Blog
*This book was kindly sent to me via NetGalley by PENGUIN GROUP The Penguin Press* ...more
Teo's character is astounding, complex and brilliant.. yet crazy to the bone.
"Perfect Days" is a very good book, unique and absolutely pleasurable.
Read more on The Serial Reader Blog
*This book was kindly sent to me via NetGalley by PENGUIN GROUP The Penguin Press* ...more
Aug 22, 2019
Julie
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
owned-novels,
age-adult
This book is so wild!! I think the audiobook narrator was a pretty good match for the character like his voice matches Teo. (No shade to the narrator cause, uh, Teo's fucking insane and he probably doesn't want to be compared to that lol) The ending threw me so hard. The whole time I was thinking "wow, Teo is a fucking idiot. He's literally the worst kidnapper. He's leaving behind so many witnesses and clues." BUT THEN, the ENDING? Like wow. If you read and liked you by Caroline Kepnes, you migh
...more
This creeper starts out really well with a total nut-job protagonist. That might not be the accurate term in the DSM-V, but regardless, I should mention that I'm just crazy for the crazies. Horror stories are not my thing, but give me a bizarre main character and consider my mental butter melted.
There are some cute lines in the story where our psychopathic leading man makes straight-faced, snarky comments about what constitutes poor manners or mental instability in others. He is pondering watchi ...more
There are some cute lines in the story where our psychopathic leading man makes straight-faced, snarky comments about what constitutes poor manners or mental instability in others. He is pondering watchi ...more
4 stars, I think??? I started reading this book about 10 minutes before my plane boarded in Canberra. And I finished it before I got to Melbourne. Admittedly, we were delayed by strong winds and the usual 45 minute flight ended up taking 90 minutes. BUT STILL.
And when I finished this book, I had one overwhelming feeling: "WHAT THE EFF DID I JUST READ????". This is very reminiscent of You a lot of the time - it's a similar sort of story in which a well-to-do young man becomes obsessed with a gir ...more
And when I finished this book, I had one overwhelming feeling: "WHAT THE EFF DID I JUST READ????". This is very reminiscent of You a lot of the time - it's a similar sort of story in which a well-to-do young man becomes obsessed with a gir ...more
Oct 29, 2015
Marla
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
first-reads,
the-book-addicts-group
We are first introduced to Teo who is a medical student in anatomy class where he thinks his stiff Gertrude is his friend. There is something off about Teo. He then meets Clarice at a BBQ party that he originally didn't want to attend. He is immediately attracted to her and thinks she likes him so he starts following her. Things escalate fast and Teo has kidnapped Clarice, drugged her and thrown her in a suitcase. This story is like Criminal Minds without Hochner and his team. There is something
...more
I love effed up books with effed up characters. I was excited to read Perfect Days as soon as I read the blurb, because it sounded right up my alley. However, my feelings fluctuated throughout the book, but never really reached that level of adoration.
Teo is a freak. I truly enjoy delusional characters that let their crazy out. He did that a couple of times, but I didn’t quite feel the intensity I was hoping for. I mean, at first I couldn’t stop reading because I wanted to know what lengths the ...more
Yay, I finally read this book! I really want to support more Brazilian authors and I thought this was a good place to start. And oh boy, this book was one hell of a ride.
I really enjoyed the way this book was written, it was creepy and kept me engaged until the ending. However, I have to confess I was frustrated from page 1 until the very last one, and all because of the characters: everybody was stupid.
With that in mind, I had a hard time finding the story beliveable, and even though the ending ...more
I really enjoyed the way this book was written, it was creepy and kept me engaged until the ending. However, I have to confess I was frustrated from page 1 until the very last one, and all because of the characters: everybody was stupid.
With that in mind, I had a hard time finding the story beliveable, and even though the ending ...more
Jan 24, 2016
Chandra Claypool (WhereTheReaderGrows)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Holy twists and turns!
Wow. What a great book. So creepy and scary that this type of shit is conceivable to happen .. Well, you know what I mean! You would if you read it anyway ;). Not the ending I had expected which is why I'm rating is so high because I do like unexpected creepy surprised! ...more
Wow. What a great book. So creepy and scary that this type of shit is conceivable to happen .. Well, you know what I mean! You would if you read it anyway ;). Not the ending I had expected which is why I'm rating is so high because I do like unexpected creepy surprised! ...more
Perfect Days is one of the books I find hard to review. The reason for this is that I have contradicting feelings about it. To start with, this is a dark psychological thriller. It’s the English language debut of the Brazilian author Raphael Montes. It reminded me at first of the thriller “You” by Caroline Kepnes. Actually I loved “You” so I was very intrigued to read Perfect Days.
The thriller is about Teo Avelar, a twisted medical student. The thriller has a very powerful start. It starts with ...more
The thriller is about Teo Avelar, a twisted medical student. The thriller has a very powerful start. It starts with ...more
Oh my, this Teo fellow was one crazy, and I mean crazy dude. He thinks that by kidnapping the girl of his dreams and holding her hostage and "treating her like a queen" she will learn to love him. About half way through the book, I was about to go crazy myself. I was pretty much over this psycho and then things started happening. Finally. They had changed hotels and the whole scenery and everything started changing. Not that the first part was boring, I was just tired of this loser guy and the t
...more
Nov 11, 2015
Lisa
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mystery-thriller,
first-reads
This book was easy enough to get into. The man in the book is seriously delusional. The book itself seemed a little too unbelievable but still a pretty good read.
This is probably the sickest, creepiest and most addictive crime novel I’ve ever read. Not only was it witty and clever, but it was the definition of what a true stalker story should be.
If you’ve read You by Caroline Kepnes and thought Joe was an obsessive loony, you clearly haven’t met Teo from Perfect Days. Even while flipping pages, I kept telling myself, “someone go check on Raphael Montes because he’s not okay in the head”. Seriously. This book was so fucked up in a billion different ways i ...more
If you’ve read You by Caroline Kepnes and thought Joe was an obsessive loony, you clearly haven’t met Teo from Perfect Days. Even while flipping pages, I kept telling myself, “someone go check on Raphael Montes because he’s not okay in the head”. Seriously. This book was so fucked up in a billion different ways i ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Play Book Tag: Perfect Days, by Raphael Montes: 3 Stars (Brazil) | 1 | 9 | May 24, 2019 02:42PM | |
| 2021 ONTD Reading...: Perfect Days (Raphael Montes) | 13 | 45 | Mar 02, 2018 08:39AM |
Readers also enjoyed
Lawyer and writer Raphael Montes was born in 1990, in Rio de Janeiro. His short stories have been published in several mystery anthologies, as well as magazines.
At the age of 20, he impressed critics and public alike with Roulette (Editora Benvirá), an action-packed crime novel that was a finalist in the 2010 Benvirá Literature Prize, the Brazilian National Library’s 2012 Machado de Assis Prize an ...more
At the age of 20, he impressed critics and public alike with Roulette (Editora Benvirá), an action-packed crime novel that was a finalist in the 2010 Benvirá Literature Prize, the Brazilian National Library’s 2012 Machado de Assis Prize an ...more
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“What you feel is infatuation. It's an illness, an obsession. It's anything but love.”
—
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“O mundo estava repleto de idiotas. Bastava olhar ao redor: idiota de jaleco, idiota de prancheta, idiota com voz aguda que agora falava de Gertrudes como se a conhecesse tanto quanto ele.”
—
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