Thursday 3 July 2014

Book review - Marlene and Sofia, a Double Love Story, by Pedro Barrento



A classic in the making, this wonderful book is literary fiction at its finest. In the neatly double-layered story, which deals on one level with the writer and on another with the characters, we are treated to a rich tapestry of human life and of humanity's great preoccupations, including themes of love, death, politics and sex. It is the kind of book that one can read again and again, each time taking away something different from it.

That said, Marlene and Sofia is far from being the kind of self-consciously intellectual work that appeals only to the literary snob. Its earthy humour and finely drawn characters, and the farcical situations in which those characters are combined, are vastly entertaining at any level, and taken as pure entertainment the work perhaps shines even more brightly. There will be many hearty belly laughs for the lucky reader who ventures upon this work, and more than likely a few tears as well.

All in all, a deeply satisfying book, and a must-read for 2014.

Marlene and Sofia is available in both ebook and paperback HERE

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