Review by Bookworm39 -- Raquel Says (Something Entirely ...

[Bookworm39]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Raquel Says (Something Entirely Unexpected)" by Mois benarroch.]

---

3 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Raquel Says (Something Entirely Unexpected) By Mois Benarroch

Raquel Says (Something Entirely Unexpected) by Mois Benarroch is a novel on the parallel universe. At the beginning of the novel, the narrator is depressed, wants to die, doesn't care about writing and the world doesn't interest him anymore. This is the mind of a depressed man. He compares himself to fellow authors, Kafka and Kerouac, who died at the age of 40 the same age as himself. In this book, you will read that he writes in Hebrew but after he meets Raquel, he is told to write in Spanish. It is after meeting Raquel, that the writer doesn't want to die. While we read this book, we learn that his wife leaves him. Raquel is also a writer but lives in Madrid and writes in Spanish. Their communication is through email and that is how we learn that they are soul mates. Theirs is of a literary relationship. It is eventually revealed how they met.

This book wasn't written in English but was translated by Sally Seward. I had to look up the author and find out who he was. Mois was born in 1959 and he won the prestigious Amichay Poetry Prize in 2012. His novels are written in Spainish while he writes his poems in Hebrew.

While reading this book, I realized that even though it is well written, I don't understand the concept of a parallel world. On page 8, the narrator says, "I understand that I will now have to create a person. Not a fictitious one, a person. What she thinks only now become a realty". It's like he pulled Raquel's name out of a hat and then she become a person. Eventually, we learn that he did create her to save his books from water.

One thing that I didn't like about this book is that it was written in 1st person. I find that it can difficult to understand sometimes. Another thing that I didn't like was the cover of the book. I felt that it didn't go with the novel itself. That the cover didn't cover the theme of the book.

I rate Raquel Says (Something Entirely Unexpected) by Mois Benarroch, 3 out of 4. I gave this book a 3 because it was well written with few grammar mistakes. And even though I don't understand the concept of his parallel universe it doesn't mean that it is not good. It was easier to read towards the end of the book. This book is not fast paced in that you can read fast but it is slow and steady. There were several times that I had to go back to reread what I just read. This book is for people who want to read new books and have an open mind.

******
Raquel Says (Something Entirely Unexpected)
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Like Bookworm39's review? Post a comment saying so!