Review of A Place Under the Sun

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wavesofnature
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Latest Review: A Place Under the Sun by Luis Urtueta

Review of A Place Under the Sun

Post by wavesofnature »

[Following is a volunteer review of "A Place Under the Sun" by Luis Urtueta.]
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4 out of 4 stars
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A Place Under the Sun by Luis Urtueta follows Enrique Ureta (or Henry) as he navigates the corporate world within a management consulting firm in Spain. Henry is an introverted consultant who is seen to struggle with the requirements of the job. Despite this, Henry is placed on a task in the Middle East. Here he is seen to struggle between his desire to aspire professionally and his inattentive, introverted, and under-developed nature. This struggle is seen in multiple aspects of his life. The novel follows Enrique’s internal monologue as he deals with thoughts of leaving his job and balancing these thoughts with the pressure of supporting his parents.

The book is easy to read and has an appropriate pace and flow. Henry is interesting character to read about as the reader sees the contrast between his muted personality at work and his quirky, funny, and dark thoughts. Additionally, the choice to include Henry’s internal monologue allows the reader to understand Henry’s dissonance in certain situations. The most interesting part of Henry’s story is his struggle between wanting a stable career to support his family and how he struggles with the inability to pursue his passion.

The book is heavily dependent on psychological and philosophical references to aid in describing Henry’s personality. Second, the novel depends on the reader to be familiar with corporate politics and corporate career tasks. These two aspects combined together can make the reading experience quite confusing for certain readers. Additionally, the novel is heavily dependent on whether the reader finds Henry to be relatable. Overall, there were very few flaws in the book.

I rate this book a 4 out of 4 stars . I enjoyed the dark humor and found the struggle between following a career or a passion to be a relevant topic. However, it was difficult to follow the structure of the corporate world as the nuances are not always adequately explained. Additionally, there were times when Henry’s immaturity and the struggles that came from his immaturity made for a difficult reading experience. I found that I could not relate personally to the struggle of being an introvert. This was an issue as Henry’s introversion is one of the overarching themes of the book.

I would recommend this book to adults who are interested or knowledgeable about a corporate environment, or those who can relate to having an introverted personality in an environment where they must be more extroverted. Additionally, I would recommend this book to those who are interested in reading about psychology or with an interest in Jung’s archetypes.

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A Place Under the Sun
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