What do you think?
Rate this book
A Week in October
“I have never been a disciplined person and I’ve spent years not knowing what I want and not living the way I want. Perhaps now that the date and time of my death had been revealed to me, I was ready to write. But how would I begin?”
Clara Griffin, the beautiful wife of a successful Chilean architect, courageously confronts a life-threatening illness while recording her thoughts and experiences in her journal under the guise of a novel. What develops is a thinly veiled version of Clara’s own life, her disappoint with her marriage, her reminiscences of childhood, and the death that seems to surround her. When her husband discovers the notebook, he is stunned: How does she know that he had a mistress all these years? Is he really such a fatuous bore? Could it be true that his sick wife had a passionate love affair with one of his colleagues, right under his nose? Is this just a fictional story—he asks himself, turning the pages—or his wife’s very personal diary as she awaits death?
A Week in October is the first of Elizabeth Subercaseaux’s novels to be translated into English. This tale of erotic tension, deception, and resilience walks the line of suspense from page one to the unexpected, haunting ending that ponders the mysteries of a woman’s heart, where truth is a lie and a lie is truth.
Clara Griffin, the beautiful wife of a successful Chilean architect, courageously confronts a life-threatening illness while recording her thoughts and experiences in her journal under the guise of a novel. What develops is a thinly veiled version of Clara’s own life, her disappoint with her marriage, her reminiscences of childhood, and the death that seems to surround her. When her husband discovers the notebook, he is stunned: How does she know that he had a mistress all these years? Is he really such a fatuous bore? Could it be true that his sick wife had a passionate love affair with one of his colleagues, right under his nose? Is this just a fictional story—he asks himself, turning the pages—or his wife’s very personal diary as she awaits death?
A Week in October is the first of Elizabeth Subercaseaux’s novels to be translated into English. This tale of erotic tension, deception, and resilience walks the line of suspense from page one to the unexpected, haunting ending that ponders the mysteries of a woman’s heart, where truth is a lie and a lie is truth.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
10 people are currently reading
206 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Subercaseaux
43 books45 followersPeriodista y escritora. Ha trabajado como reportera, entrevistadora, articulista y columnista en Cosas, Apsi, Master, Caras, El Sábado, La Nación, Cuadrenos Cervantes (Madrid), Diario Al Día (Philadelphia), Ocean Drive y Vanidades Continental (Maimi). Fue profesora de la Escuela de Pedriodismo de la Universidad de Chile. Ha sido corresponsal de la BBC de Londres y las revistas Semana (Colombia) y Crisis (Argentina).
Es autora de libros periodísticos, de humor y literatura.
Actualmente vive en Pennsylvenia, Estados Unidos
Es autora de libros periodísticos, de humor y literatura.
Actualmente vive en Pennsylvenia, Estados Unidos
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
October 24, 2023
Ficámos ambos estendidos de face para o tecto, sumidos naquela indolência sem palavras a seguir ao acto do amor, essa universalidade em que tudo o que se diz é tudo o que não se diz repousa num sorriso relaxado.
Comprei este livro na feira de velharias porque gostei da sinopse, já que da autora nunca tinha ouvido falar. Ia lê-lo para o #outubrohispanoamericano no ano anteriores, mas comecei e não me entusiasmou. Este ano voltei a pegar-lhe e a leitura foi muitíssimo prazerosa.
É uma história curta, sobre uma semana de Outubro, relatada pela nossa protagonista, Clara, no seu caderno. Mas será que é verdadeira? Será que o relato de Clara é fidedigno ou é apenas algo que ela queria que tivesse acontecido? Fica a dúvida semeada. Se quiserem, leiam e descubram se Clara diz a verdade.
#outubrohispanoamericano
Comprei este livro na feira de velharias porque gostei da sinopse, já que da autora nunca tinha ouvido falar. Ia lê-lo para o #outubrohispanoamericano no ano anteriores, mas comecei e não me entusiasmou. Este ano voltei a pegar-lhe e a leitura foi muitíssimo prazerosa.
É uma história curta, sobre uma semana de Outubro, relatada pela nossa protagonista, Clara, no seu caderno. Mas será que é verdadeira? Será que o relato de Clara é fidedigno ou é apenas algo que ela queria que tivesse acontecido? Fica a dúvida semeada. Se quiserem, leiam e descubram se Clara diz a verdade.
#outubrohispanoamericano
August 4, 2021
Una historia sencilla y súper bien contada. Bastante triste, de la manera más corriente en que puede ser: la frugalidad final de nuestras existencias, especialmente terrible si es prematura y qué miedo da leerlo si se es paranoica como su servidora, pero a final de cuentas igual SÚPER BUENO. Un relato redondo, sin nada dejado sin terminar, solo no me gustó el ultísimo párrafo, ahí como que a última hora le faltó la imaginación, o no supo bien cómo terminar el cuento.
Yo había leído cosas antes de esta autora, cosas cómicas en general que me gustaron harto. Este libro tiene otro tono pero es aún mejor en su propia área. Muy sutil en sus matices, muy realista, muy humano. Tanto que da nervios porque algo así perfectamente podría pasarle a una o a su amiga o a su vecina.
Creo que no tiene tantas estrellas ni es tan conocido porque a final de cuentas es un relato muy duro y, como dije antes, muy corriente. Pero un viaje muy interesante de recorrer, en especial si uno lo lee de una tercera persona y no le toca vivirlo directamente, jejeje. Porque miedito.
Al final la vida siempre es demasiado corta, si uno se siente apegado a ella. Se tengan 5, 46 o 105 años. Y siempre corta al lado de lo que es la eternidad.
Muy contenta además de haber leído a una buena autora local, chilena como su servidora y también mujer. Viva la representación.
Yo había leído cosas antes de esta autora, cosas cómicas en general que me gustaron harto. Este libro tiene otro tono pero es aún mejor en su propia área. Muy sutil en sus matices, muy realista, muy humano. Tanto que da nervios porque algo así perfectamente podría pasarle a una o a su amiga o a su vecina.
Creo que no tiene tantas estrellas ni es tan conocido porque a final de cuentas es un relato muy duro y, como dije antes, muy corriente. Pero un viaje muy interesante de recorrer, en especial si uno lo lee de una tercera persona y no le toca vivirlo directamente, jejeje. Porque miedito.
Al final la vida siempre es demasiado corta, si uno se siente apegado a ella. Se tengan 5, 46 o 105 años. Y siempre corta al lado de lo que es la eternidad.
Muy contenta además de haber leído a una buena autora local, chilena como su servidora y también mujer. Viva la representación.
February 28, 2023
Una novela muy intimista donde se reconoce claramente la pluma de Elizabeth Subercaseaux, no ya en el tono humorístico de gran parte de sus novelas, sino más bien en la mirada de la mujer sobre sí misma y sobre los hombres que tan bien ha sabido representar en su obra.
Clara y Clemente son un matrimonio. Ella está enferma y decide escribir. Lo que escribe puede ser una novela, un testimonio, un diario; no se sabe bien qué es. El marido lo lee a hurtadillas, cada vez unas cuantas páginas. En ese escrito ve realidad y ficción. Se ve retratado a sí mismo, pero no como es en realidad sino como Clara lo describe. Si la novela que Clara está escribiendo es un testimonio real o solo está usando parte de la realidad mezclada con elementos ficticios, el lector tendrá que averiguarlo en su momento.
Clara tiene una gran facilidad para imaginar las escenas de la vida real como si fueran parte de una película e imaginar las cosas de una manera distinta a cómo realmente han ocurrido. También juega desde niña a adivinar los nombres de las personas en la calle al punto que, ya adulta, se le ha hecho costumbre preguntarle a la gente por sus nombres o los de sus esposos/as.
Hay un momento en que Clara dice: "Mi padre me llamaba «la pinocha», por las mentiras que anotaba en mi diario de vida, en el cual nunca escribí nada que fuera cierto"
Mientras tanto, el argumento alterna entre la vida de ambos y la historia que guarda el cuaderno.
Como nota aparte debo decir que La ópera favorita del padre de Clara es "The bohemian girl" de Michael Balfe y el aria que él canta es "I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls" que luego popularizara Enya. Si al lector le gusta esa versión como a mí, tendrá un elemento más que ambienta de cierta manera la lectura y que la hace aún más personal y atractiva.
página 102
Ausencia de coma
"Si él no hubiese conocido la verdadera historia detrás de la historia ese puñado de embustes le habría parecido real"
En oraciones condicionales se debe escribir coma cuando la oración subordinada precede a la oración independiente:
"Si él no hubiese conocido la verdadera historia detrás de la historia, ese puñado de embustes le habría parecido real"
Clara y Clemente son un matrimonio. Ella está enferma y decide escribir. Lo que escribe puede ser una novela, un testimonio, un diario; no se sabe bien qué es. El marido lo lee a hurtadillas, cada vez unas cuantas páginas. En ese escrito ve realidad y ficción. Se ve retratado a sí mismo, pero no como es en realidad sino como Clara lo describe. Si la novela que Clara está escribiendo es un testimonio real o solo está usando parte de la realidad mezclada con elementos ficticios, el lector tendrá que averiguarlo en su momento.
Clara tiene una gran facilidad para imaginar las escenas de la vida real como si fueran parte de una película e imaginar las cosas de una manera distinta a cómo realmente han ocurrido. También juega desde niña a adivinar los nombres de las personas en la calle al punto que, ya adulta, se le ha hecho costumbre preguntarle a la gente por sus nombres o los de sus esposos/as.
Hay un momento en que Clara dice: "Mi padre me llamaba «la pinocha», por las mentiras que anotaba en mi diario de vida, en el cual nunca escribí nada que fuera cierto"
Mientras tanto, el argumento alterna entre la vida de ambos y la historia que guarda el cuaderno.
Como nota aparte debo decir que La ópera favorita del padre de Clara es "The bohemian girl" de Michael Balfe y el aria que él canta es "I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls" que luego popularizara Enya. Si al lector le gusta esa versión como a mí, tendrá un elemento más que ambienta de cierta manera la lectura y que la hace aún más personal y atractiva.
página 102
Ausencia de coma
"Si él no hubiese conocido la verdadera historia detrás de la historia ese puñado de embustes le habría parecido real"
En oraciones condicionales se debe escribir coma cuando la oración subordinada precede a la oración independiente:
"Si él no hubiese conocido la verdadera historia detrás de la historia, ese puñado de embustes le habría parecido real"
June 18, 2008
Chilean born Subercaseaux has crafted what feels like a delightfully old fashioned novel set in modern times. The formality and reserve of it makes a stark comparison to much of today's writing--and a wonderful change of pace. Clara Griffin is married to a successful but distant man--their marriage has grown stale at the very least. Then she discovers that she has cancer, and she feels the need to say things too long unsaid in the gentlest way possible--she writes a "novel" in a notebook, kept in a drawer where it seems that her husband is most likely to find it. Much of this book shows us the dance between these two people as one reveals veiled truths and the other has to absorb them without admitting he's been reading them. Truth is a fluid thing in this book--there's some "he said-she said", but the rest is indefinable to the very end. I found it to be a very interesting read.
March 5, 2020
Subercaseaux shows a masterful control of structure in this novel. The chapters alternate between journal entries written by a woman whose marriage has fallen apart and chapters from the point of view of her husband. This structure is integral to the story being told. It's not a trick or superfluous or simply the author showing off; without it there would be no story because there are several mysteries that unspool through this marvellous back-and-forth.
It's hard to review this book without giving too much away, but I will say that the only reason I didn't give this book 4 stars was because the subject matter is not one I find all that interesting. If you like stories about dysfunctional urban middle-class people written in the present tense, you will enjoy this novel.
It's hard to review this book without giving too much away, but I will say that the only reason I didn't give this book 4 stars was because the subject matter is not one I find all that interesting. If you like stories about dysfunctional urban middle-class people written in the present tense, you will enjoy this novel.
June 22, 2025
Drama rosa. Interesante el mundo interno de la protagonista y el mundo interno de la pareja de la protagonista. Y como atractivo: lugares y hechos de Santiago de Chile.
November 11, 2008
A very unique story about a woman dying of cancer who decides to keep a journal. The opening chapter is strange. But then in the second chapter we find out from the husband’s viewpoint, that we had just read the opening pages of his wife’s journal, or is it her novel? This is how the book goes, back and forth between the two, and like the husband, we don’t know if what she’s writing in the journal is true or not. She writes candidly about her husband and about past events, but then she starts writing about an affair she had last year and her husband has trouble believing some of the details. Is she making this up? The story is very well written with some great reflections on life and death. Towards the end it’s hard to put down.
October 19, 2025
I’ve never read a book like this and I’m not really sure how to rate it. The book follows a woman suffering from cancer as she faces her childhood, relationship, accomplishments, and decisions (and delusions) as she nears an impending death. Along the way, some elements of her account are fabricated or beyond reality. As a reader I felt I was reading with urgency to understand the protagonist’s background and mind as she neared the end of her life.
I enjoyed the writing and pace. I feel like I need to find others with theories about this book! So many thoughts!
__
“When I was fifteen, I read somewhere in a book by Koestler that if a man with supernatural strength, were able to shoot a magical arrow into infinite space, the arrow would travel beyond the earths gravity, beyond the moon, beyond the interstellar forces… There was nothing to stop its course, no limit and no end, and it would continue its endless voyage through time and space. A voyage so cosmic that our poor human brains cannot comprehend it… some nights I would go out into the garden and stare at the sky and wonder where the soul resides after that long voyage through an immensity without memory or time. Now I saw myself as that arrow, and the idea frightened me. I was terrified of this notion that this voyage was possible and that I would soon undertake it, and would disappear from my own memory or and the memories of others… I was doomed, there was no doubt about it, this desert before me the only reality; I could count on nothing else. I had reached the end of the line. One more step, and I would enter the mystery of death.” (37-38)
“A persons face is the mirror of her soul, but also the mirror of her partner in life; when that person is gone, it becomes the reflection of the dearly departed.” (57)
“She was burning down like a candle” (148)
“I desperately seek some sort of spirituality but all I find is this pedestrian attachment to this goddamned life of ours” (162)
“Everything comes down to our limited awareness of our own vulnerability and to our ridiculous sense of immortality” (162)
I enjoyed the writing and pace. I feel like I need to find others with theories about this book! So many thoughts!
__
“When I was fifteen, I read somewhere in a book by Koestler that if a man with supernatural strength, were able to shoot a magical arrow into infinite space, the arrow would travel beyond the earths gravity, beyond the moon, beyond the interstellar forces… There was nothing to stop its course, no limit and no end, and it would continue its endless voyage through time and space. A voyage so cosmic that our poor human brains cannot comprehend it… some nights I would go out into the garden and stare at the sky and wonder where the soul resides after that long voyage through an immensity without memory or time. Now I saw myself as that arrow, and the idea frightened me. I was terrified of this notion that this voyage was possible and that I would soon undertake it, and would disappear from my own memory or and the memories of others… I was doomed, there was no doubt about it, this desert before me the only reality; I could count on nothing else. I had reached the end of the line. One more step, and I would enter the mystery of death.” (37-38)
“A persons face is the mirror of her soul, but also the mirror of her partner in life; when that person is gone, it becomes the reflection of the dearly departed.” (57)
“She was burning down like a candle” (148)
“I desperately seek some sort of spirituality but all I find is this pedestrian attachment to this goddamned life of ours” (162)
“Everything comes down to our limited awareness of our own vulnerability and to our ridiculous sense of immortality” (162)
November 10, 2017
Diagnosed with terminal cancer, Clara Griffin begins writing in a notebook. Her husband, Clemente, comes across this notebook and begins reading it without her knowledge or explicit permission. The main question at hand: Is this Clara's journal, or is it a novel? It's written as if it were a personal diary and this torments Clemente as he learns more about his wife than he bargained for, and yet he still finds parts of it hard to believe. In alternating chapters, we see what Clara has written and then how her husband reacts with disbelief at times and despair at others. Up until the very last page, Subercaseaux has the reader wondering, and even after that last page, there are still so many more questions left unanswered.
October 14, 2021
"Wow," is what I said when I closed the book. I really enjoyed this, and I'm quite surprised how the story got to me.
Clara is dying, and writes chapters in a notebook. Her husband Clemente secretly reads the chapters and tries to figure out what's fiction and what's fact. It's a simple enough premise, but it lays bare a marriage and the complexities of the people inside of it. Beautifully written, slightly artificial, but very compelling and fun to read.
I enjoyed this enough that I'll look for more works by this author. Set in Chile, translated from Spanish.
Crap: this appears to be her only book translated into English.
Clara is dying, and writes chapters in a notebook. Her husband Clemente secretly reads the chapters and tries to figure out what's fiction and what's fact. It's a simple enough premise, but it lays bare a marriage and the complexities of the people inside of it. Beautifully written, slightly artificial, but very compelling and fun to read.
I enjoyed this enough that I'll look for more works by this author. Set in Chile, translated from Spanish.
Crap: this appears to be her only book translated into English.
November 13, 2020
this is a sad story of a women who has breast cancer, who at the final months of her life begins to write in a notebook about her life and struggles, he husband find the book, and reads it, and finds out she has known about his affairs, and talks about her own, and why she did it, sad story of a life that ended too soon.
Read
November 8, 2021It reads like a quiet indie film.
From the flap: This tale of erotic tension, deception, and resilience walks the line of suspense from page one to the unexpected, haunting ending that ponders the mysteries of a woman's heart, where truth is a lie and a lie is the truth.
From the flap: This tale of erotic tension, deception, and resilience walks the line of suspense from page one to the unexpected, haunting ending that ponders the mysteries of a woman's heart, where truth is a lie and a lie is the truth.
March 20, 2023
PC.
La protagonista, Clara, enferma terminal, escribe una novela o diario de vida, no se sabe bien, de sus últimos días, sobre un romance de fin de semana, intenso y trágico, que será aclarado en las últimas líneas.
La protagonista, Clara, enferma terminal, escribe una novela o diario de vida, no se sabe bien, de sus últimos días, sobre un romance de fin de semana, intenso y trágico, que será aclarado en las últimas líneas.
Read
April 14, 2023Slightly awkward start, but definitely worth continuing to read. By about the third chapter, I was fascinated with the structure, and the book kept me guessing all the way through.
I should have really read it in Spanish.
I should have really read it in Spanish.
April 22, 2018
Set in Argentina-- I liked the surprises...
May 28, 2019
Absolutely loved it. Terrific premise!
April 28, 2021
Buenísimo, me encantó!
December 2, 2023
Es interesante el formato, casi onírico.
Es una lectura lenta.
Es una lectura lenta.
February 27, 2024
I had a really difficult time engaging with this book / staying focused on what was going on, but there were a number of very, very beautiful sentences that I wrote down!
September 25, 2025
Un libro muy bonito con una manera muy distinta de contar las cosas pero eso es lo que lo hace tan especial , la duda queda desde el principio hasta el fin y con toda la intención.
October 13, 2011
Enfermedad terminal, matrimonio rutinario, romance extramarital, venganza póstuma. Estos son los ingredientes que la periodista Elizabeth Subercaseaux (1945) utiliza en Una Semana de Octubre (2010), un relato sobre la última etapa de la vida de una enferma de cáncer.
A la protagonista, Clara Griffin, le es diagnosticado un cáncer de mamas. Con la certidumbre de una muerte próxima y animada por su esposo Clemente, comienza a escribir en un cuaderno lo que parece ser un diario de vida. Clemente encuentra este cuaderno y comienza a leerlo a escondidas. Conforme avanza en su lectura, comienza a cuestionar la veracidad de lo narrado por su esposa, y debido a ciertas revelaciones vertidas en el manuscrito, esta incertidumbre se transforma en obsesión.
A partir de lo narrado en el diario quedan en evidencia los problemas de comunicación en la pareja, fruto de un matrimonio marchito por la rutina, la infidelidad y la indiferencia. Todo esto es el preludio y posiblemente justificación para las posteriores acciones de Clara. El título, Una Semana de Octubre, corresponde al periodo de tiempo que duró su romance extramarital con un conocido del esposo. El romance está descrito con bastante detalle y parte de la obsesión de Clemente proviene de no saber si aquello ocurrió en la realidad o sólo en la imaginación de la autora.
Es una novela de prosa liviana, que se deja leer bastante rápido y sin forzar demasiado la concentración. Si bien es entretenida es difícil empatizar con alguno de los protagonistas, considerando que de ellos sólo se conocen sus acciones pero no sus motivaciones. Un detalle que puede ser molesto es la insistencia de la autora (o del editor) en señalar un título para cada capítulo, con lo que queda explícito el cambio de narrador. Esto medida, que parece subestimar del lector, es totalmente innecesaria dada la sencillez de la narración.
Lectura recomendable sólo para fans de la autora.
A la protagonista, Clara Griffin, le es diagnosticado un cáncer de mamas. Con la certidumbre de una muerte próxima y animada por su esposo Clemente, comienza a escribir en un cuaderno lo que parece ser un diario de vida. Clemente encuentra este cuaderno y comienza a leerlo a escondidas. Conforme avanza en su lectura, comienza a cuestionar la veracidad de lo narrado por su esposa, y debido a ciertas revelaciones vertidas en el manuscrito, esta incertidumbre se transforma en obsesión.
A partir de lo narrado en el diario quedan en evidencia los problemas de comunicación en la pareja, fruto de un matrimonio marchito por la rutina, la infidelidad y la indiferencia. Todo esto es el preludio y posiblemente justificación para las posteriores acciones de Clara. El título, Una Semana de Octubre, corresponde al periodo de tiempo que duró su romance extramarital con un conocido del esposo. El romance está descrito con bastante detalle y parte de la obsesión de Clemente proviene de no saber si aquello ocurrió en la realidad o sólo en la imaginación de la autora.
Es una novela de prosa liviana, que se deja leer bastante rápido y sin forzar demasiado la concentración. Si bien es entretenida es difícil empatizar con alguno de los protagonistas, considerando que de ellos sólo se conocen sus acciones pero no sus motivaciones. Un detalle que puede ser molesto es la insistencia de la autora (o del editor) en señalar un título para cada capítulo, con lo que queda explícito el cambio de narrador. Esto medida, que parece subestimar del lector, es totalmente innecesaria dada la sencillez de la narración.
Lectura recomendable sólo para fans de la autora.
February 23, 2009
Beautiful story. I'm not a writer, so I'll do my best here:
It was a little difficult to "get into" the story in the beginning, but it was such a quick and easy read that I was drawn in by the middle of the book for sure.
They say things are always lost in the traslation, and I do believe that was the case in this book. Knowing a little about the culture, it was very easy to envision the scenery, the "exaggerations"...
I love that the author didn't tell us exactly what did occur between Clara & Hyde, it leaves a lot of room to think and ponder what her motives for the book were, what really did happen, why she told him the things she did, why she made up the things she did. I do believe that Clara and Lionel had the affair, that it was a one-time thing. I think his death in her story symbolized the end of the affair, despite her affections for him. She mentioned before that she was a liar, like her grandmother. But when she wrote that, I think she meant to say to Clemente that although she was telling him things that were true, and some not, some things were true metaphorically.
Her "revenge" was quite bold and sharp. Clara had written in her story that she still didn't know what to say to Clemente about his affair with Eliana. I think that was quite true, and before she died, she found a way to say it to him indirectly, her story. While she still appreciated Clemente and was fond of him in some ways, she was still hurt and angry by his betrayal.
This book is quite large for the 208 pages it is told on.
It was a little difficult to "get into" the story in the beginning, but it was such a quick and easy read that I was drawn in by the middle of the book for sure.
They say things are always lost in the traslation, and I do believe that was the case in this book. Knowing a little about the culture, it was very easy to envision the scenery, the "exaggerations"...
I love that the author didn't tell us exactly what did occur between Clara & Hyde, it leaves a lot of room to think and ponder what her motives for the book were, what really did happen, why she told him the things she did, why she made up the things she did. I do believe that Clara and Lionel had the affair, that it was a one-time thing. I think his death in her story symbolized the end of the affair, despite her affections for him. She mentioned before that she was a liar, like her grandmother. But when she wrote that, I think she meant to say to Clemente that although she was telling him things that were true, and some not, some things were true metaphorically.
Her "revenge" was quite bold and sharp. Clara had written in her story that she still didn't know what to say to Clemente about his affair with Eliana. I think that was quite true, and before she died, she found a way to say it to him indirectly, her story. While she still appreciated Clemente and was fond of him in some ways, she was still hurt and angry by his betrayal.
This book is quite large for the 208 pages it is told on.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 7, 2009
I picked this up while browsing the new book shelves at the larger public library in town, mainly because the author is advertised as the great-great-great-granddaughter of Robert Schumann.
Claire is dying of cancer and her husband, an architect comes across a journal/novel she's been writing in her final days. Subercaseaux jumps between this notebook and the husband's reaction to reading the notebook and discovering a part of his wife he never knew (or which had been buried under the cares and woes of a somewhat unhappy marriage).
The flipping narrative voice is handled well enough, but I just can't seem to dislike the husband. Claire is being incredibly cruel to him and yes, he's been a bit careless and oblivious for the past ten years, but this seems like a harsh way to reveal the truth (or rather a truth). The language is lyrical, the plot predictable, but it's a decent library read.
Claire is dying of cancer and her husband, an architect comes across a journal/novel she's been writing in her final days. Subercaseaux jumps between this notebook and the husband's reaction to reading the notebook and discovering a part of his wife he never knew (or which had been buried under the cares and woes of a somewhat unhappy marriage).
The flipping narrative voice is handled well enough, but I just can't seem to dislike the husband. Claire is being incredibly cruel to him and yes, he's been a bit careless and oblivious for the past ten years, but this seems like a harsh way to reveal the truth (or rather a truth). The language is lyrical, the plot predictable, but it's a decent library read.
August 15, 2008
What an intense read! This is a haunting book about a woman dying from breast cancer. The lines between reality and fantasy become blurred and have enormous impact on her spouse and what emotions and beliefs and confusions he is left with when she is gone.
As a breast cancer survivor, I have to say that her descriptions of the insidious invasion of cancer into one's life is perfectly described by this talented author. It was a powerfully emotional read. The structure, the use of language, and the deeply psychological nature of the character development were wonderful. Highly recommend this book.
As a breast cancer survivor, I have to say that her descriptions of the insidious invasion of cancer into one's life is perfectly described by this talented author. It was a powerfully emotional read. The structure, the use of language, and the deeply psychological nature of the character development were wonderful. Highly recommend this book.
August 6, 2011
Two books in one! Her way of writing it is interestingly beautiful.. So intense that you just want to turn on pages to know what will happen! Suberacaseaux is telling a story of a husband that is reading his wife's journal. As he reads, he finds new things that he didn't know before about his wife. His wife, Clara, a dying woman of cancer, is submerged with the sense of hopelessness that her writings didn't make sense to her husband, Clemante. She was depressed, frustrated, and yet, a person who after many years if marry doesn't really know what she feels about her Clemante. An interesting story.. A new of a kind and A MUST READ!
June 21, 2012
A postmodern gem about a woman who finds she has breast cancer and starts writing a "novel" about her family life, an affair she may or may not have had, other details about her life. She leaves this secret diary (?) in a drawer where her errant husband is sure to find it. Subercaseaux plays with conventional notions of truth and falsehood by making the reader wonder whether the character is writing a true story or making it all up or both. The book reads so intensely it feels short, and you don't want it to end. Subercaseaux has published noting since A Week In October. Where are you, Elizabeth?
July 20, 2008
A man finds a notebook in which his wife has been writing - but he's not sure if it's a diary or a novel, as it seems to have elements of both. One chapter would be the wife's words, and the next would tell about the husband reading it and about his reactions. A somewhat uneven book, though it has its interesting moments. I don't really like magical realism very much, and so those parts did not sit well with me. But it's a fascinating premise - and the central mystery (is it real, or is it fiction?) kept me reading until the final "twist". 3 stars out of 5, certainly no more than that.
November 14, 2008
I liked this book, it was soft and had quite a few phrases I could relate to my own life. Perhaps in the future help me avoid making some mistakes that would affect the rest of my life. Who wants to grow old without true love and passion for life... not me!! This book isn't a big page turner or top shelf type book but it is worth reading and I think you can take away some things that would help you in real life. It also had a interesting twist at the end but then again the writer did hint to it.
February 13, 2013
An interesting premise: a husband, once unfaithful but repentant now that his wife is dying of cancer, reads her diary in secret, and discovers in it things he finds hard to believe. The reader is cleverly invited to try and double guess before the character whether the diary is mostly fiction, calculated to cause grief and anger in the wayward husband. Too bad the last chapter needlessly dissipates the mystery. It's not clear to me why the author chose to remove most of the ambiguity she'd so successfully created.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews