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Luke's Reviews > Fate
Fate
by
by
3.25 stars
'Fate', the English language translation of Jorge Consiglio's novella 'Tres monedas', is an intricate narrative of interpersonal relationships that showcases its author's effortless skill in narrating the ordinary in such terms that it becomes almost magical.
Like 'Southerly', the narrative of 'Fate' has much of the same positives and negatives. The perspectives of the three main characters feel distinctive enough for the story to remain interesting, and again, Consiglio is able to narrate surface thoughts and actions with enough ambiguity that 'Fate' becomes a novel of weaving disparate threads together and making one's own interpretation of it. The metaphors and imagery never feel heavy-handed, with a subtle poetic quality to them, and the events of the conclusion fit in nicely with the overall themes of chance and fate.
The length of 'Fate' perhaps sometimes works against it, as it is a rather short narrative that, because it focuses on three different characters, can at times feel somewhat puzzled, with Amer's narrative in particular feeling like it ultimately does not develop him much as a character. Likewise, the prose is perhaps sometimes too ambiguous to make the reader truly emotionally invested in events. However, the presence of one story with numerous themes, rather than the inverse, allows Consiglio to refine his intentions and construct what is ultimately an interesting read. Thus, for all its quibbles, 'Fate' is a novella that is ultimately a good introduction to its author's style, and one that will hopefully have enough success to justify further translations of Consiglio's work into English in the future.
'Fate', the English language translation of Jorge Consiglio's novella 'Tres monedas', is an intricate narrative of interpersonal relationships that showcases its author's effortless skill in narrating the ordinary in such terms that it becomes almost magical.
Like 'Southerly', the narrative of 'Fate' has much of the same positives and negatives. The perspectives of the three main characters feel distinctive enough for the story to remain interesting, and again, Consiglio is able to narrate surface thoughts and actions with enough ambiguity that 'Fate' becomes a novel of weaving disparate threads together and making one's own interpretation of it. The metaphors and imagery never feel heavy-handed, with a subtle poetic quality to them, and the events of the conclusion fit in nicely with the overall themes of chance and fate.
The length of 'Fate' perhaps sometimes works against it, as it is a rather short narrative that, because it focuses on three different characters, can at times feel somewhat puzzled, with Amer's narrative in particular feeling like it ultimately does not develop him much as a character. Likewise, the prose is perhaps sometimes too ambiguous to make the reader truly emotionally invested in events. However, the presence of one story with numerous themes, rather than the inverse, allows Consiglio to refine his intentions and construct what is ultimately an interesting read. Thus, for all its quibbles, 'Fate' is a novella that is ultimately a good introduction to its author's style, and one that will hopefully have enough success to justify further translations of Consiglio's work into English in the future.
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Reading Progress
June 12, 2020
–
Started Reading
June 12, 2020
– Shelved
June 13, 2020
–
Finished Reading
