Zachary Lazar

TW/CW: Violence, death, sexual assault, racism

REVIEW: The first thing to realize when you sit down to read this book is that nothing really ever happens. Yes, there’s a weak story with Chris and Ana going back and forth on their relationship, and back and forth on whether they’re going to go to live in Mexico…but the vast majority of this book wasn’t that.

It was more a slice of life, looking closely at Chris’s neighbors, at his past, at what he’d lost in his life and trying to make it all make sense (which it doesn’t).

While Lazar’s writing is certainly lovely, I would have liked less of the pages and pages of brooding artist ennui and more about the actual story, which is kind of left up in the air with two ways it could possibly be going. I don’t really like that.

This wasn’t a bad book, but it was a rather boring one and could have been much better.… (mehr)

TW/CW: Violence, death, sexual assault, racism

RATING: 3/5

REVIEW: The first thing to realize when you sit down to read this book is that nothing really ever happens. Yes, there’s a weak story with Chris and Ana going back and forth on their relationship, and back and forth on whether they’re going to go to live in Mexico…but the vast majority of this book wasn’t that.

It was more a slice of life, looking closely at Chris’s neighbors, at his past, at what he’d lost in his life and trying to make it all make sense (which it doesn’t).

While Lazar’s writing is certainly lovely, I would have liked less of the pages and pages of brooding artist ennui and more about the actual story, which is kind of left up in the air with two ways it could possibly be going. I don’t really like that.

This wasn’t a bad book, but it was a rather boring one and could have been much better.… (mehr)

The topic (immigrants living in an unjust world) of Zachary Lazar's latest novel, "The Apartment on Calle Uruguay" was intriguing to me. I was really looking forward to reading this novel. Reviews posted by several media outlets gave it glowing praise. However, I just couldn't get into this novel. The plot bounced all over the place. Ideas, thoughts and the storyline often changed from sentence to sentence, making this a difficult novel to follow. Although the two main characters, Christopher Bell and Ana Ramirez, are romantically involved, their relationship does not feel like two people who are in love.

If you are a fan of Zachary Lazar, then you may want to give this novel a try.… (mehr)