Reputations

by Juan Gabriel Vásquez, Anne McLean (Translator)

A brilliant novel about the complications of legacy from one of South America's literary stars, the New York Times bestselling author of The Sound of Things Falling .

Named a Best Book of the Year by the New York Times , Newsweek , the Guardian , and Kirkus

Javier Mallarino is a living legend. He is his country's most influential political cartoonist, the consciousness of a nation. A man capable of repealing laws, overturning judges' decisions, destroying politicians' careers with his art. His weapons are pen and ink. Those in power fear him and pay him homage.

After four decades of a brilliant career, he's at the height of his powers. But this all changes when he's paid an unexpected visit from a young woman who upends his sense of personal history and forces him to re-evaluate his life and work, questioning his position in the world.

In Reputations , Juan Gabriel Vásquez examines the weight of the past, how a public persona intersects with private histories, and the burdens and surprises of memory. In this intimate novel that recalls authors like Coetzee and Ian McEwan, Vásquez plumbs universal experiences to create a masterful story, one that reverberates long after you turn the final page.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Spanish Literature, Literature, Politics, Contemporary, Latin American

208 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2013

About the author

Juan Gabriel Vásquez is a Colombian writer, journalist and translator. Regarded as one of the most important Latin American novelists working today, he is the author of seven novels, two volumes of stories and two books of literary essays, as well as hundreds of pages of political commentary.

Reviews

[Orsodimondo · Rating 5 out of 5]

IL RUMORE DELLE COSE CHE CADONO


Spencer Tunick, giungo 2016: la sua performance per la pace ha riunito oltre seimila persone nude in piazza Bolivar a Bogotà.

C’è sempre l’amico che vuole convincerti dov’è che si mangia la pizza migliore della città, e l’amica che invece sa dove si mangia il gelato migliore.
M’è venuto in mente scorrendo le recensioni dei critici di mestiere e dei colleghi, che hanno già eletto Vásquez il miglior scrittore colombiano, forse addirittura il migliore dell’intero Sudamerica.
Le stesse cose che ho letto recentemente di un altro scrittore colombiano, Santiago Gamboa.
E quindi, chi è il migliore?


Bogotá, Colombia.

Ha poca importanza chi sia migliore considerato che entrambi sono bravi, e scrivono in modo gustoso piacevole sapiente ed emozionante.
Benvenuti entrambi.
Curioso che provengano da una nazione che, tralasciando la produzione industriale di piste bianche, è soprattutto famosa per avere offerto forse un nuovo significato a una vecchia parola (cartello), e per un portiere della nazionale di calcio piuttosto eccentrico (Higuita).


Bogotá, Colombia.

Vásquez racconta la storia di un disegnatore di vignette satiriche che a sessantacinque anni riceve una prestigiosa onorificenza che lo consacra definitivamente.
Con i suoi disegni, uno al giorno, è diventato un opinion maker, un’autorità morale, temuto e omaggiato, rispettato e minacciato, ha costruito, ma soprattutto distrutto, carriere altrui, ha influenzato opinioni e giudizi.
La separazione dalla moglie, che lo continua ad attrarre parecchio, una figlia che gira il mondo con MSF, una giovane donna che riappare all’improvviso, Bogotá e…
E una storia così man mano diventa un thriller: cos’è davvero successo in quella stanza trent’anni fa? Perché dall’oggi al domani una reputazione è stata distrutta portando a un evento drammatico?


John Tenniel: Regina Bianca.

Ragionando sul potere dei media e la responsabilità delle parole (giornalismo, stampa, televisione, web, blog), sul fact checking e la verifica delle fonti, su come si formano e si distruggono le reputazioni, Vásquez arriva ad affrontare un altro spinosissimo tema: quanto è vero ciò che ricordiamo, come lavorano memoria e oblio, quanto può essere illusorio e insidioso il ricordo, il passato è davvero concluso e immutabile, e allora perché ogni volta che spolveriamo la memoria il ricordo sembra diverso…



Letteratura che indaga la memoria, che affronta il punto in cui il passato si mescola al sogno, i nostri ricordi si confondono con quelli altrui, e il tempo è una creatura acquosa ingannevole e disonesta, proprio come nella caricatura di Daumier qui sotto dove il ritratto del re dalla testa a forma di pera ha tre volti, uno per ogni momento del tempo, passato presente e futuro.
E, quindi, time is out of joint, come dice Amleto.
E, anche, è una ben povera memoria quella che funziona solo all’indietro, come dice la Regina Bianca ad Alice in “Attraverso lo specchio” di Lewis Carroll.


Honoré Daumier: Passato, presente, futuro

[Glenn Russell]

"Great caricaturists don't expect applause from anyone, and that's not what they draw for: they draw to annoy, to embarrass, to be insulted." So declares Mallarino upon receiving the highest tribute for his forty years as Colombia's foremost political cartoonist - his self-portrait on the country's newest postage stamp.

Juan Gabriel Vásquez places Javier Mallarino front and center in his short novel, Reputations.

But just because the author is from Colombia, please don't think Gabriel García Márquez or magical realism. Educated at the Sorbonne and having spent fifteen years of his adult life in Europe, Juan Gabriel Vásquez told an interviewer his literary influences have been European and American. Indeed, the author's themes of memory and identity will bring to mind Patrick Modiano; his clear, crisp language (many thanks to translator Anne McLean ) will remind readers of Zadie Smith and Ian McEwan, even Richard Ford.

Reputations makes for a compelling, moving story. On the heels of his award ceremony, Javier Mallarino receives an unforeseen telephone call from a journalist, a request for an interview. However, once fetching Samanta Leal is in Mallarino's home and following a conversation revolving around cartooning, Samanta spots a particular painting on the wall. She confesses: she's not a journalist at all, her visit has a much different purpose: to probe Mallarino's memory of the time twenty-eight years ago when she was a seven-year-old girl and a friend of Mallarino's daughter Beatriz, that dreaded day when she paid a visit to this very house.

Yiyun Li wrote in her New York Times review, "Reputations can be read and enjoyed on many levels: for its reflections on art, memory and fate; for its account of recent Colombian history at a slant, which is Vásquez's trademark approach; for its Jungian exploration of lives intersecting."

With Ms. Li's words in mind, I'll let readers discover the many facets of the tale on their own. For the purpose of my review, I'll zero in on what I judge the most captivating aspect of the novel: Mallarino's ideas and feelings regarding the power of art and political cartooning.

“The black square, the slender strokes, the line of text of brief dialogue beneath the frame: the scene that left his desk each day and was praised, admired, commented on, misinterpreted, later repudiated in a column of the same newspaper or another, in the irate letter of an irate reader, in a debate in some morning radio show. Yes, it was a terrible power.”

Juan Gabriel Vásquez is keenly aware of the ways power can influence a person's sense of identity and self-esteem. The author explores the various dimensions of Mallarino's sense of self-worth, most especially his stature in the eyes of Magdalena, both back when Magdalena was his wife and now, living and drawing on his own.

“Painting was his thing. . . . So at that time the caricatures were a short-term way of earning a living.”

How many artists and writers have abandoned their true calling and employed their talents in a much different manner as a way to pay the bills? And once the money starts flowing in, how easily the short-term can turn into long-term, consuming an entire lifetime.

“Why was he still doing what he did, what real effect would his cartoon have on the out-of-focus and remote world that began at the edge of his worktable, that slim wooden precipice.”

The key word here is "real." Sure, Mallarino's political cartoons capture the public's attention, but has he reduced himself to what Nietzsche termed "the hero of the hour"?

“Mallarino was beginning to wonder if it had been worthwhile giving up his oils and canvases for this: the adrenaline rush he no longer felt, the imaginary reactions of imaginary readers he never got to meet, this vague and perhaps false sensation of public importance that caused him private trouble; relatives who greeted him less warmly, friends who stopped inviting him to dinner with their wives. For what?”

Mallarino, the great conscience of an entire country. . . but at a price: friends and family must be sacrificed. Mallarino wrestles with the pros and cons throughout.

“Good cartoons seek and find the constant in a person: something that never changes, what stays the same and allows us to recognize someone we haven’t seen in a thousand years.”

I reflect on Mallarino's statement here in light of the book's teasing, quizzical epigraph, "Identical noses do not make identical men."

“Ricardo Rendón, my master,” he hurried to say, “once compared the caricature to a stinger, but dipped in honey.”

What's a political cartoon without an element of humor? After all, we all enjoy that distinctively human capacity: laughing. Outstanding cartoonist Ricardo Rendón, now long dead, continues to cast his shadow in Mallarino's life. On the beginning pages of the novel, Mallarino even sees Ricardo Rendón walking down a street in Bogotá. Juan, is this an instance of magical realism? I suppose an author growing up in the land of Gabriel García Márquez just can't help himself.

“Life is the best caricaturist. Life turns us into caricatures of ourselves. You have, we all have, the obligation to make the best caricature possible, to camouflage what we don’t like and exalt what we like best.”

The cartoonist's statement reminds me of a quote from German philosopher Artur Schopenhauer, "After a certain age every man is responsible for his face." On a personal note, do you, reader, take responsibility for your face?

“I don’t like them. I don’t even make digital corrections, which is something many do. I don’t. I draw by hand, and what comes out is what goes out. Digital technologies make everything boring, predictable, monotonous.”

This is an aesthetic worthy of respect; particularly since mistakes, so called, frequently enhance an artist’s individuality and signature when creating a work.

Again, I took a particular angle for my review. Many more areas of intrigue within Juan Gabriel Vásquez's fine novel await a reader.


Colombian author Juan Gabriel Vásquez, born 1973

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Mollarino is a political cartoonist, in Bogotá, a man who after many, many years is going to be recognized and lauded at a public dinner. At the event, a young woman his daughter Beatrice's age, claiming to be a reporter asks him for an interview. The next day at his home he discovers not only is she not a reporter but she wants his help remembering an event that happened at his house when she was seven.

It is easy to be seduced by Vasquez and his wonderful prose and I loved his insights on memory and power. First novel I have read about a political cartoonist and found that interesting as well. This is a novel about thoughts, on life, marriage, where your responsibilities lie and the legacy and reputation you leave behind. Well and good, so much to like but....I despised the ending, or maybe did not understand it, but it lowered my opinion, rightly or not, on this book.

Now to be fair I do intend at a later date to reread the ending and may come back and revise my review, but until then, this one stands.

ARC from publisher.

[Roula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Πριν από κάποια χρόνια είχα διαβάσει το "ο ήχος των πραγμάτων όταν πέφτουν", που με ίντριγκαρε πολύ και με έκανε να θέλω να διαβάσω και άλλα βιβλία του συγγραφέα. Αργότερα, με τη "μορφή των λειψάνων", απλά λάτρεψα τον τρόπο γραφής του, ενώ με "τις υποληψεις", ο Βασκεζ μπαίνει δυναμικά στη μεγάλη, ομολογουμένως, λίστα μου με τους αγαπημένους μου συγγραφείς..
Όπως και στα άλλα βιβλία του, έτσι και εδώ, υπάρχουν κάποια σταθερά μοτίβα, όπως φυσικά η καθημερινότητα στη σύγχρονη Κολομβία, το παρελθόν, το παρόν  και πως οι δύο αυτές έννοιες μπλέκονται και χάνονται τα όρια τους. Το πιο σημαντικό όμως είναι η έννοια της μνήμης και συγκεκριμένα πως αυτή επηρεάζει την πορεία της ζωής μας.
Το στόρι είναι, επιφανειακά τουλάχιστον, αρκετά απλο. Οι πρωταγωνιστές απλοί και καθημερινοί άνθρωποι με τα πάθη και τα λάθη τους, αλλά ο συγγραφέας με το μαγικό του τρόπο στον οποίο αναφέρθηκα και πιο πάνω,που κατά τη γνώμη μου οφείλεται κυρίως στην πρόζα του, σε κάνει να σκέφτεσαι τόσα επιπλέον πράγματα και να βουλιάζεις ��έσα στις σελίδες του με απόλυτη προσήλωση. Απόλυτα χαρακτηριστικό για μένα είναι ότι διάβασα τις περίπου 200 σελίδες του σε λίγες μόνο ώρες, μη μπορώντας να το αφήσω από τα χέρια μου. Όπως είναι ιδιαίτερα σημαντικό να μπορεί ένας συγγραφέας να γράφει εκατοντάδες σελίδες και να κρατά το ενδιαφέρον ζωντανό, έτσι είναι εξίσου σημαντικό να μπορει μέσα σε ελάχιστες σελίδες να χωρέσει ιδιαίτερα νοήματα και μια εξαιρετικά ενδιαφέρουσα πλοκή. Και ο Βασκεζ τα καταφέρνει 100%σε αυτό..

[Gorkem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vasquez'e ilgim, şüphesiz latin edebiyatına ilgimle başlayan birçok yazarın keşfi sırasında ortaya çıktı. Türkçe basılan kitaplarını nedense günümüz latin edebiyat kapsamında bitirdiğimde okuyacak bir şey bulamam korkusunu Türkçe'ye çevrilen son kitabıyla biraz da olsa rahatlayarak sonunda ilk adımı attım. İyi ki de atmışım.Vasquez, diğer latin edebiyatçılar gibi kendi toplumunu her açıdan hiciv ve kara mizah öğelerini ustaca harmanlayarak okurlara sunan bir yazar.

İçerik:

İtibarlar, üç bölümden oluşmaktadır. Politik bir duruşa sahip, siyasi çevrelerden korkulan,isyankar ve ulusal anlamda saygısı olan Bogotalı bir karikatürist olan Javier Mallarno'nun hayatını konu alan kitap, onun ödül alma töreni süreci öncesi ile başlıyor.

İlk bölümde bu başarı sürecine nasıl geldiğini öğreniyoruz. Tören almaya giderken eski karısı Samanta Lear ile karşılaşması ile okuyucuyu bu başarılı karikatürcünün gizli dünyasına yavaşça giriş yapılıyor ve son yarısında kitap bu gizli dünya içinde meydana gelen olayları tartışıyor.

Açıkcası, ilk bölümü nefesim tutarak ve çok keyifle okudum. Vasquez, son derece eğlenceli bir anlatımla Mallarno'nun karakterini okurun zihninde çok başarılı olarak oluşturdu. Girişte Proust'a yapılan atıf ile son derece psikolojik ve ikna edici bir karakter ile karşılacağımızı düşünürken, ne yazık ki bu tez biraz havada kalacak bir şekilde bitti. Bu neden bende hayalkırıklığı oluşturdu sanırım.

Sonuç:

Her şeye rağmen, İtibarlar, Mallorno dünyasından bakarak okuru eğlenceden eğlenceye sürükleyen, hayal kırıklıkları ve başarı duygusunu çok iyi veren güzel bir kitap. Sadece keşke kitabın ilk kısmındaki dil ve biçim ve Proust atıfı tüm kitap boyunca kendisini koruyabilseydi demeden edemiyorum.

İyi okumalar dilerim.

5/3,5

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Caricatures might exaggerate reality but they can’t invent it. They can distort, but they never lie.”

So says Javier Mallinaro, the protagonist of Reputations, and one of the most influential and legendary political cartoonists in Colombia. A caricature from him can define someone for life and make and break a reputation. He fancies himself a humanist, a satirical illustrator, a “driller downer” of complicated personalities and a revealer of the true core of what lies beneath.

But at the heart of this slim, provocative and insightful novel lays this question: can caricatures, indeed, invent reality? Even with good intent, can they lie? Does it do any good for anyone afterwards to explore doubt? And what do the caricatures say about the person who creates them?

This is a novel of ideas with philosophical underpinnings. Juan Gabriel Vasquez ruthlessly explores a man at the end of his career, conscience stricken over a caricature he created years ago that may have destroyed lives. Whether the caricature was justified or not is almost immaterial; the fact that Mallinaro had the power to make it happen makes all the difference.

I’ve come to really respect Juan Gabriel Vasquez’s works and once again, I was not disappointed. His translator, Anne McLean, has served him well in this English translation, that masterfully explores – in the words of Lewis Carroll – a poor sort of memory that only works backwards.

[Sevi Salagianni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Μια νουβέλα με φαινομενικά απλή ιστορία, που όμως καταφέρνει να σε παρασέρνει, όπως θα έκανε ένα βιβλίο άνω των 500 λέξεων. Μνήμη, παρελθόν και παρόν, εξουσία, όλα μαζί δημιουργούν μια τρομερή ιστορία, που τσακίζει τον αναγνώστη και τον κάνει να κλείνει το 200 λέξεων βιβλίο του αναρωτόμενος πού αρχίζει και πού τελειώνει η εξουσία, πώς οι πράξεις έχουν αντίκτυπο και το είναι ηθικό. Υπέροχο βιβλίο!

[Keith Bruton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read! Though the ending was anticlimactic, I still enjoyed the plot and was impressed by the writing. James Joyce and Virginia Woolf were among the authors he read as a child. It is evident from his writing that he was influenced by those authors.

Exceptional writing by J.G.V, truly fascinating story but the writing is where his talent lies. It flows smoothly and was a perfect length, at 190 pages. Any longer, it would have spoiled the novel.
.
I highly recommend this author, this book and reading more stories from Latin America

[Marta Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️
“Os grandes caricaturistas não esperam o aplauso de ninguém, nem desenham para o conseguir: desenham para provocar, para incomodar, para serem insultados. (…) E a única coisa que eu sempre disse, a única resposta às queixas é às agressões é a seguinte: as caricaturas podem exagerar a realidade, mas não a inventam.”

Neste livro encontramos um protagonista no auge da sua carreira de caricaturista, numa Colômbia onde a história, a política e a moral fazem parte do seu traço.
Gostei da construção inicial desta personagem, contudo com o decurso da leitura foi perdendo substância. Não sei se devo culpar a personagem feminina, desinteressante.
Mas pela escrita, vale sempre a pena!

[Burak · Rating 4 out of 5]

İtibarlar'ı sevdim sevmesine ama kafamda oturmayan bazı şeyler de var. Yazarın dili - ve tabi çevirmenin marifeti- oldukça iyi bence, upuzun cümleler başlarda biraz zorlasa da ilerledikçe anlatıma alıştım ve okurken çok keyif aldım. Yazarın en sevdiğim tercihlerinden biri roman boyunca tek bir karakterin peşinden gitmemize, sadece onun hikayesini okumamıza rağmen üçüncü şahıs anlatımı kullanması oldu. Bu sayede başkarakterin hep yanında olsak da aramızda belli bir mesafeyi de hissediyoruz. Bu mesafe bazı şeyleri değerlendirmeyi benim için daha kolay kıldı.

Bir diğer sevdiğim şey de Vasquez'in romana yedirerek yaptığı gerek hafıza gerekse saygınlık üzerine bazı akıl yürütmelerdi. Kesin bir yargıya varmak yerine başkarakterin yaşadığı olaylar üzerinden senaryolar sunup okuru kendi düşüncelerini oluşturması için teşvik ediyor. Ben olsam ne yapardım diye sorduğum birkaç yer var romanda ve yazar bana herhangi bir yol önermiyor, sadece başkaraktere bir tercih yaptırıp bunun olası sonuçlarını sunuyor. Hatta romanın sonunda bir netice sunmuyor da, yine bir ihtimal gösteriyor bize ama buna rağmen havada kalmış da hissetirmedi bana.

Peki neleri sevmedim? Kitabın merkezinde yer alan, başkarakterin itibarını kaybedebileceği bir tercih yapma durumu bana inandırıcı gelmedi hiç. Kariyerinde olabilecek en yüksek noktaya çıkmış, o noktada daha fazla kazanacağı ve haliyle kaybedeceği bir şey olmayan 60 küsur yaşındaki bir adamın böyle bir çelişkiyle karşılaşması biraz zorlama. Bir de romanın sonunda verdiği kararı itibarı ya da bir başka şeye değil eski karısıyla yaşadıklarına dayandırması kitapta bize varmış gibi gösterilen o tehlikeyi önemsiz kılıyor.

Parti esnasında yaşananlar da birazcık sıkıntılı bence. O ortamda o topluluğun öyle bir olayın ardından verdiği tepki daha farklı olurdu diye düşünüyorum. Yani romanda yapılan sorgulamaları sevdim ama bunların dayandırıldığı temeller oldukça zayıf benim için. Fakat böyle kısa bir hikayede bu eksikliği çok da önemsemediğimi söyleyebilirim.

Vasquez'le iyi bir başlangıç yaptığımı düşünüyorum, diğer eserlerini de mutlaka okuyacağım.

[Makis Dionis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ο Vasquez τοποθετεί το παρελθόν του καθενός μπροστά του, στο ορατό σύνορο , στο γνωστό σύμπαν, κ το μέλλον του πίσω του, στο άγνωστο που περιμένει τη σειρά του.

Κ τα αναμοχλευει, αναδεικνύοντας
θριάμβους και συντριβές.

Δεν ενθουσιάζει αλλά και δεν απογοητεύει , διατηρώντας το λυρισμό του στο αναμενόμενο επίπεδο

...κ τώρα χώριζαν, φθαρμενοι κι αυτοί απ'τις διάφορες στρατηγικές που διαθέτει η ζωή για να φθείρει τους ερωτευμένους, απ'τα υπερβολικά ταξίδια ή την υπερβολική παρουσία, απ'το συσσωρευμένο βάρος των ψεματων ή των ανοησιών ή των προσβολών ή των λαθών, των πραγμάτων που λέγονται τη λάθος στιγμή και με άμετρα ή ακατάλληλα λόγια, ή αυτά που, μη βρίσκοντας ίσως κατάλληλα ή μετρημένα λόγια, δεν ειπώθηκαν ποτέ, ή επίσης, φθαρμενοι από μια κακή μνήμη, ναι, απ'την ανικανότητα να θυμηθούν το ουσιώδες κ να ζήσουν μέσα σε αυτό...

[Jude Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize this books was going to largely be a man's reflections on a woman's sexual assault, because that is not revealed in the book's description. Would not have read it if so. Beautifully written, some great thought on art and satire's effect on society, but I just don't need to give space in my brain to a man's defensive reflections on a young girl's assault in his house.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This razor-sharp novella about a Bogotá political cartoonist who faces up to a professional decision he made more than 20 years ago would be perfect for readers of Ian McEwan and Julian Barnes. It also reminded me of The Plimsoll Line by Juan Gracia Armendáriz. As you’d expect from the title, it’s all about how reputations can be formed and destroyed in a trice. I liked the metaphor of the political caricature being a stinger dipped in honey. A big thank you to Nancy for passing this book on to me.

Favorite lines:

“you’re nobody in this country until somebody wants to hurt you.”

“People already know what they want to think. People already have their prejudices well formed. They only want someone in authority to confirm their prejudices, even if it’s the mendacious authority of newspapers.”

Fun moment of bookish serendipity: a mention of shoe polish accidentally going on a sock, something that also turned up in the story “End of Season” from Bernard MacLaverty’s The Great Profundo and Other Stories: “worst of all is the man with black polish stains on his socks. It’s the ultimate sloth.”

[George K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Τον Σεπτέμβριο του 2014 διάβασα το πιο πολυδιαβασμένο βιβλίο του Χουάν Γκαμπριέλ Βάσκες, το "Ο ήχος των πραγμάτων όταν πέφτουν", ένα πολύ καλογραμμένο μυθιστόρημα που με άφησε απόλυτα ικανοποιημένο. Στο μεταξύ, από τότε, μεταφράστηκαν στα ελληνικά άλλα δυο τουβλάκια του συγγραφέα, όμως δεν έτυχε να τα αγοράσω καν, πόσο μάλλον να τα διαβάσω. Αλλά αυτές τις μέρες κυκλοφόρησε το "Οι υπολήψεις", και αυτή τη φορά δεν τον παραμέλησα, αγόρασα το βιβλίο και το διάβασα εν ριπή οφθαλμού. Λοιπόν, για δεύτερη φορά ο Βάσκες με εντυπωσίασε με τον ήρεμο αλλά διεισδυτικό και οξυδερκή τρόπο γραφής του, με τον τρόπο που βλέπει και παρουσιάζει τα πράγματα, με την άμεση και έμμεση κριτική που ασκεί στην πολιτική και τον Τύπο, καθώς επίσης και την ικανότητά του να βάζει τους χαρακτήρες να σκέφτονται τα πεπραγμένα τους και να αναθεωρούν όλα όσα είχαν δεδομένα. Η πλοκή αυτή καθαυτή μπορεί να μην λέει και πολλά πράγματα, αποτελεί όμως το όχημα για μια πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα ανάλυση χαρακτήρα και για έναν σοβαρό προβληματισμό γύρω από το πώς χρησιμοποιεί ένας άνθρωπος τη θέση ισχύος που του δίνεται, στη συγκεκριμένη περίπτωση μια καθημερινή στήλη πολιτικής γελοιογραφίας σε κάποια μεγάλη εφημερίδα, με φανατικό κοινό: Υπάρχουν όρια, και ποια είναι αυτά; Και, άραγε, μπορεί να αντισταθεί κανείς στη δυνατότητα να επηρεάζει συνειδήσεις και να θίγει υπολήψεις; Οπωσδήποτε πολύ ωραίο βιβλίο, το οποίο με έκανε να αποφασίσω να αγοράσω στο άμεσο μέλλον και τα άλλα δυο βιβλία του συγγραφέα.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

A celebrated Columbian political cartoonist is sitting on a bench getting his shoes shined when he thinks he sees another long-dead political cartoonist. The image turns out to be symbolic rather than a plot piece but it nevertheless gave me a deja vu-ey feel, as if I'd read that trope before. Haven't been able to put my finger on it, so this will annoy me.

Anyhow, this was a one-day read, and enjoyable enough. The plot is minimalist, mostly the caricaturist's retrospection of the time he ruined a man, and the doubt that is now creeping in.

"Life is the best caricaturist. Life turns us into caricatures of ourselves. You have, we all have, the obligation to make the best caricature possible, to camouflage what we don't like and exalt what we like best. You'll understand that I'm not just talking about physical attributes, but of the mysterious traces life leaves on our features, the moral landscape, if you will--that's the only thing to call it--that moral landscape that gets drawn on our face as life goes by, as we go along and make mistakes or getting things right, as we wound others or strive not to, as we lie or deceive or persist, sometimes at the cost of great sacrifices, in the ever difficult task of telling the truth."

[Vasileios · Rating 4 out of 5]

Η ταυτότητα του γελοιογράφου εξαρτάται απ’ τις μεζούρες με τις οποίες ανακατεύει τα δύο υλικά, αλλά τα δύο υλικά πρέπει πάντα να υπάρχουν. Δεν υπάρχει γελοιογραφία χωρίς κεντρί, όπως δεν υπάρχει χωρίς μέλι. Δεν υπάρχει γελοιογραφία αν δεν υπάρχει υπονόμευση, γιατί κάθε αξιομνημόνευτη εικόνα ενός πολιτικού είναι εκφύσεως υπονομευτική: αφαιρεί την ισορροπία απ’ τον επίσημο και αποκαλύπτει τον απατεώνα. Αλλά ούτε νοείται γελοιογραφία που να μη φέρνει χαμόγελο, έστω και πικρό, στο πρόσωπο του αναγνώστη...

https://www.vintagestories.gr/oi-ypol...

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book grabbed me from the first pages with the shoeshine man. Then again, Vásquez is a great writer, and why wouldn't he. I was a little miffed that it was such a short book but Julian Barnes Levels put out his last book (Levels of Life) in the novela manner and that was an amazing read.

The subject matter, a famous caricaturist who weilds so much power that everyone yields to him, gets Columbia's highest award after 40 years, makes him even more invincible. Then enters Samanta Leal, a childhood friend of his daughter who enters his life and tries to recall an incident decades ago. This book questions power, fame and of course memory. The subject matter can be uneasy but in Vásquez's hands, he delivers a highly reflective tale.

Of course, Vásquez always introduces something new to the reader (read his Author's Notes) and this is the highly charged world of the political cartoonist. In Canada we like to have a good laugh. In Columbia, that seems to be a more highly wrought issue. Ricardo Rendón, who was a well-known carttonist in the early twentieth century, is the model for our hero, Javier Mallarino, among others mentioned in the Notes. So putting together the personal issues and the political aspects (including a very seedy Govenor), this novela has punch.

On a side note, a question arose in my mind knowing that Vásquez wrote the book in America - is this book a metaphor for certain public figures? Just a thought. I could be wrong.

[Dax · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quiet, reflective novel concerning the power and vulnerability of reputations. This slim work may have a minimalist storyline, but it carries strong perceptions. This likely explains the mixed reviews; the plot might be a little too slow for some, but others probably came away impressed with it's implications. I fall somewhere in between. It is certainly good, however.

[Ian D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Το χρονικό ενός σκιτσογράφου στην έκρυθμη πολιτική κατάσταση της Κολομβίας.
Εξαιρετικά καλογραμμένο, με αμέτρητες παραπομπές, αρκετές αφορμές για προβληματισμό (η μεθυστική δύναμη της άσκησης εξουσίας χωρίς καμία έκθεση, η ευθύνη απέναντι στα πολιτικά δρώμενα, η τήρηση των λεπτών ισορροπιών, η πλάνη της μνήμης) αλλά και απόλυτα προβλέψιμο.

[Christinesoli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Την πρώτη φορά που έπιασα βιβλιο του Vasques στα χέρια μου ήταν επειδή είχε ωραίο εξώφυλλο και εφτασα μαζί του στο ταμείο γιατί η πολιτική πλοκή του ξεκινούσε με μια ιστορία για κάποιους ιπποπόταμους. Τώρα πια μπορώ να δηλώσω πίστη ακόλουθος μετά από την ανάγνωση τεσσαρων του βιβλίων!
Αυτό όμως νομίζω είναι το αγαπημένο μου (έως τώρα τουλάχιστον)!!! Το πήρα μαζί μου στις εξοχές και κράτησε όσο δυο πρωινοί καφέδες! Ας πάμε στο θέμα:
Ένας πολιτικός γελοιογράφος καλείται ξαφνικά να ανατρέξει στο παρελθόν και να βρει την αλήθεια! Αλλα ποια αλήθεια; Αυτή που πίστεψε; Αυτή που θα ήθελε; Η μια διαφορετική και ξένη; Αυτή η αναθεώρηση των πράξεων του καθώς και η χρήση της επιρροής του στον αναγνώστη μέσα από τη στήλη του είναι το μέσο με το οποίο ο συγγραφέας για μια ακομα φορά ασκεί κριτική στον «άνθρωπο με θέση ισχύος» (είτε πολιτική είτε σε αυτό το βιβλιο στον Τύπο). Μπράβο βρε Vasques! Για κάτι τέτοια σε διαβάζω!
Υγ1 Αν και πολύ σύντομο καταφέρνει να έχει μια ροη που εμένα μου θύμισε έντονα θεατρικό έργο από αυτά που παιζουν μόλις δυο ηθοποιοί!
Υγ2 ποσό μπορεί να μοιάζει η κοινωνία μας με αυτή της Κολομβιας;;;;
Διαβάζεται μονορούφι🤫🤫🤫

[Banu Yıldıran Genç · Rating 4 out of 5]

gammazcılar’ı daha çok sevdiysem de hafızaya odaklanan bir kitap olması dolayısıyla itibarlar’ı da beğendim.
küçücük bir ihmal yüzünden değişen hayatlar aslında her şeyin ne kadar pamuk ipliğine bağlı olduğunu gösteriyor. ve hatırlamak istediklerimizi unutuyor gereksiz şeyleri hatırlıyoruz gerçekten.
mallarino’nun sondaki dönüşümü biraz hızlı ve desteksiz geldi bana ama samanta’nın arabada geçirdiği kriz ne kadar etkileyici, ne kadar acıydı...
tüm yaşananların arka planı tabii ki kolombiya. kaypaklık, yalan ve taraf değiştirme, linç tutkusu... tabii ki bize çok benziyor.
vasquez’in türkçedeki bütün kitaplarını okumak farz oldu.

[Célia | Estante de Livros · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quando peguei neste livro, não sabia absolutamente nada sobre o escritor colombiano Juan Gabriel Vásquez nem sobre As Reputações, que por sinal até é o segundo romance que vê publicado em Portugal (o primeiro foi O Barulho das Coisas ao Cair, em 2012). E, às vezes, é muito bom partir para um livro sem saber absolutamente nada sobre ele, sem ideias pré-concebidas ou qualquer tipo de preconceito. Foi isso que fiz aqui, e a boa notícia é que fiquei agradavelmente surpreendida.

A personagem central desta história é Javier Mallarino, um cartunista de 65 anos, que traz consigo uma longa história de desenhos publicados diariamente num jornal nacional, sempre intimamente ligados à história política e social da Colômbia. Dizem que uma imagem vale mais que mil palavras e a habilidade de Mallarino para dizer o que pensava e pôr a descoberto várias realidades através dos seus desenhos trouxe-lhe respeito e veneração das pessoas do seu país. Quando é convidado para uma cerimónia em que será homenageado, a presença da sua ex-mulher e de uma jovem que irá descobrir ter feito parte do seu passado, Mallarino vê-se embrenhado em várias viagens ao passado que o ajudam a perceber o poder das recordações e a forma como acontecimentos aparentemente irrelevantes acabam por ter um impacto imenso.

Gostei bastante da escrita de Juan Gabriel Vásquez. Profunda e cheia de detalhes deliciosos, sem ser demasiado complicada, leva-nos facilmente através da história que decidiu partilhar com os leitores. O livro traz reflexões bastante pertinentes sobre o poder dos meios de comunicação na formação da opinião pública e também sobre o poder da verdade e da sua influência no ser humano que somos e que vamos sendo à medida que o tempo passa. Gostaria que o final tivesse tido outro impacto, mas ainda assim acaba por se adequar à personagem principal.

No final de contas, foi um livro que gostei bastante de ler, sendo a escrita o seu principal destaque. Fiquei com bastante vontade de ler o outro romance que o autor colombiano tem publicado em Portugal.

[Vasilis Manias · Rating 4 out of 5]

Στη μακρινή χώρα του παραμυθιού μας, βασιλεύει ένας σκιτσογράφος ο οποίος με το πενάκι του ανεβάζει και κατεβάζει τους πάντες ανάλογα με την όρεξή του. Ο καλλιτέχνης μας αυτός στο ξεκίνημά της καριέρας του είναι καλός και συμπονετικός με τους συνανθρώπους του, ευρηματικός, οξύς και θαρραλέος, κανέναν δε φοβήθηκε ποτέ, αυτό που είχε στο μυαλό του το έλεγε, το σκιτσάριζε για την ακρίβεια, ανεξαρτήτως τιμήματος και μέχρι και λίγο πριν αποσυρθεί θεωρούσε για τον εαυτό του ακριβοδίκαιο, αναγνωρίζοντας στον εαυτό του πως δεν τον ειχε αλλοιώσει ο χρόνος και η δύναμη του μαγικού του μολυβιού του.
Ο καιρός όμως αλλοιώνει τους ανθρώπους, και όταν ένα κρίσιμο ερώτημα ανακύπτει από το πουθενά, ο αναγνωστης τίθεται μπροστά στο δίλημμα του να ανακαλύψει μόνος του αν ο άνθρωπος αυτός είναι ένας ανεξαρτητος δημοκράτης ή ένας ελεεινός φασίστας, ο οποίος θαμπωμένος από το θαυμασμό των τρίτων προς το πρόσωπό του, ξεπερνάει το όριο κ περνάει στην πλευρά των κακών.
Οι Υπολήψεις είναι το πρώτο βιβλίο του Βάσκεθ που διαβάζω, και ομολογώ πως ξαφνιάστηκα διότι λειτούργησε εντελώς αθόρυβα μέσα μου, δίχως να δείχνει πως μπορεί να εκτοξευτεί κατά την εξέλιξή του, πιάνοντάς με όμως από τη μέση κ μετά από το λαιμό και αναγκάζοντάς με να το τελειώσω αναρωτόμενος πως γίνεται ένας συγγραφέας να γράψει κάτι τόσο επίκαιρο και σημαντικό, δίχως να δείχνει σε κανένα σημείο πως έχει τη δύναμη να σε εντυπωσιάσει ως αναγνώστη με τη γραφή του.
Στα προτεινόμενα, δίχως περεταίρω συζήτηση.

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A veces resulta sorprendente como un libro sin acción o intriga consigue hacerte disfrutar de la lectura igual que la más trepidante novela de detectives. En este caso se debe sin duda a la pluma maestra de Juan Gabriel Vásquez; su pericia para retratar personajes; sus conversaciones esporádicas pero precisas, necesarias; y su talento para describir ambientes y momentos. Sólo con esto ya sería suficiente para considerar Las reputaciones un buen libro pero es que, además de estas buenas maneras de escritura, la novela nos habla de temas tan interesantes, tan actuales como el poder de los medios, la reputación, el orgullo o los mecanismos de la política. Encontraremos retratos de los poderosos y de los sencillos mientras recorremos las calles de Bogotá con sus encantos y sus miserias.
Un libro absolutamente recomendable para todos aquellos que gustan de la buena literatura y de las historias con capas, que cuentan mucho más de lo que parece. Sin duda Juan Gabriel Vásquez es un autor al que me gustará volver, si tú aún no lo conoces, este es el momento.

[jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

the fifth and latest book to be translated into english from the alfaguara-winning colombian author of the sound of things falling, juan gabriel vásquez's reputations (las reputaciones) is the story of javier mallarino, a late-career political cartoonist — one with the power to make or break elected officials and shape the course of national public opinion. mallarino has enjoyed the benefits and accolades of a successful career, despite a failed marriage and self-enforced mountaintop isolation (he eschews the use of computers altogether). following a celebration of the artist and his widely influential political cartoons, mallarino's professional (and, thus, personal) life is brought into existential disarray when an incident nearly three decades past is brought to the forefront by an unexpected visitor.

while vásquez's new novel doesn't delve too deeply into the nature of accusations, the emotional toll of crimes unacknowledged (let alone unprosecuted beyond mob mentality), or even the tenuousness of reputations solidly built, it does offer an inviting story, however conventional in the telling. vásquez writes well enough, but as one who admires risk-taking, novelty, and ingenuity in his fiction, reputations was a bit too customary for my liking. nonetheless, it's great to see lit in translation make its way to a broader, more commercial american audience, even if it isn't all too indicative of the more experimental excellence currently flourishing in latin american letters.

so certainties acquired at some moment in the past could, in time, stop being certainties: something could happen, a fortuitous or deliberate event, and suddenly all evidence is invalidated, the truth ceases to be true, the seen ceases to have been seen, and the occurrence to have occurred; all lose their place in time and space, are devoured and passed on to another world, or to another dimension of our world, a dimension we don't know. but where is it? where does the past go when it changes? in which folds of our world are they hiding, cowardly and ashamed, the events that had been unable to remain, to keep being true in spite of the wear and tear of time, to win their place in human history?

*translated from the spanish by anne mclean (vila-matas, cercas, halfon, rosero, cortázar, et al.)

[Irma Sincera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tai mano trečioji autoriaus knyga ir aš jau žinau, kur jis pasiėmęs mane už rankos nuves. Pradžioje priešiniesi, nes einama labai lėtai žmonių pilnomis Bogotos gatvėmis, bet galiausiai viskas aplinkui išnyksta ir girdi tik autoriaus balsą. O jis pasakoja dar vieną istoriją apie asmenybę, kuri iki šiol tau buvo negirdėta, o pabaigus knygą atrodo, kad kartu nugyvenai su ja visą gyvenimą.
Šį kartą knygos centre dar viena Kolumbijos žymi figūra, itin gerbiamas, politinių karikatūrų autorius - Javier Mallarino. Jis vienu pieštuko brūkšniu, viena skambia eilute, gali sugriauti kitų žmonių reputaciją, bet kaip jis užsitarnavo savąją? Vienas iš praeities pažįstamas veidas staiga pasirodo jo gyvenime ir jam tenka atsistoti į akistatą su savimi, pasinerti į prisiminimus ir sau pripažinti, kieno sąskaita pastatyta jo paites karjera.
Minimalus siužetas, tačiau puikiai perteikta žodžio galia ir reputacijos trapumo idėja. Knyga nerealiai tinka ir šiems laikams, nes tas pats galioja ir šiuolaikinėse medijose. Žmonės neįvertina, kaip piktas komentaras, pašaipa, gali paveikti tiek gavėją tiek atsisukti atgal su kaupu. Ar karikatūra Bogotos laikraštyje ar instagram įrašas, visi mūsų žodžiai ir veiksmai turi pasekmes, bet ne apie visas sužinome, arba sužinome per vėlai.
Tikrai galima pradėti pažintį su autoriumi nuo šios knygos. O jei ieškot kažko lietuvių kalba - Taip skamba krintantys, taip pat puikiai susumuoja Vásquez stilių. Aš ketinu ir toliau skaityti jo katalogą.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Javier Mallarino - a famous Columbian cartoonist, holds lives of his subjects at the sharp point of his pencil. At the celebration of forty years of his professional career he is forced to revisit a story connected to one of the caricatures he’s made many years ago.
I suppose this book is dealing with responsibility of the media but even more than that, it paints a clear picture of the human need to exercise dominance and power. The satisfaction and strength that some people draw from dragging down and destroying somebody else's life. There is a scene in the book where the protagonist and his ex-wife watch corrida. One after another magnificent bulls enter the arena and the crowd cheers when they see it taken down by the toreador. Maybe this is just what it is with people. There is satisfaction and pleasure in seeing something magnificent fall. How “magnificent” it must feel for a insignificant person to see a powerful individual take a plunge into the depths of despair. Power by proxy i guess…
It's a very good little book well written and very thought worthy, I think I will be looking out for more of Vàsquez writing

[Pascale · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book quite engrossing, but realize with the passage of time that the disappointing ending sabotages a lot of what Vásquez has achieved here. At first blush, it looks like the subject of the book, in keeping with its title, is the effect of fame on a man, and the many ironies implicit in a celebrity culture, for instance the almost inevitable canonization of authors whom most members of the establishment have reasons to hate. Yet it turns out that equally important is another sensitive subject, namely child abuse and the better ways to handle it. At the beginning of the novel, Javier Mallarino, once a controversial cartoonist, is having his shoes polished before going into Teatro Colón to receive a life-achievement award. This leads him to reminisce about his first foray into drawing cartoons, his rise to fame, and the need to seek shelter outside Bogotá when his barbs started to make him serious enemies. Two things happen at the ceremony: first, the wife who left him many decades ago attends the event and eventually sleeps with him again; second, a young woman asks for an interview. Although neither her name nor her face seem familiar to him, it turns out that Amanda was Javier's daughter's friend when the girls were 7 years old. One day, at Javier's house-warming party in the hills, a politician crashed the party to beg Javier to stop ridiculing him in his cartoons. Javier found the man utterly despicable and made no promises. Later on in the evening, the grown-ups realized the 2 girls had sipped enough alcohol from the guests's glasses to make themselves really sick. Under doctor's orders, Javier had proceeded to put the girls to bed after rehydrating them with sugared water. But when Amanda's father came to collect her, he found traces of sexual assault on the girl's body. The culprit seemed to be the politician, who was seen hurrying away from the scene. Javier's immediate reaction was to draw a cartoon suggesting that Cuéllar was a pedophile, without making an explicit reference to the incident at his house. Predictably, Cuéllar was unable to defend himself against this veiled accusation, and ended up killing himself after being forced to withdraw from Congress. What's interesting is that all this is news to Amanda, who was in a drunken coma when she was molested. Soon afterwards, her parents took her to a different school and she never saw Javier again until friends dragged her to the Teatro Colón. Seeing Javier and pictures of his study rekindled a vague memory of something, but her primary motive in asking Javier for an interview was not to frame him, since she was unaware there was a story. But unlike Amanda, Javier has spent years reflecting on the events of that night and his responsibility in Cuéllar's suicide. He is only too happy to make a full confession to Amanda, who is dismayed by the discovery that she is a rape survivor. How are these events, of which she has no actual memory, supposed to affect her? Since the focus of the novel is Mallarino, Vásquez doesn't really go into Amanda's side of the story, which is a shame. What he explores is Mallarino's own reaction to the chain of events set off by Cuéllar's aggression. Javier's wife, appalled not so much by Cuéllar's suicide, but by Javier's smug satisfaction at having provoked it with a mere drawing, cut off all relations with him for many years. Now in a self-flagellating mood, Mallarino is hell-bent on meeting Cuéllar's widow and finding out the truth about her husband, at the risk of ruining his own reputation. In spite of her misgivings, Amanda allows herself to be dragged into this confrontation. This builds up to a grand finale, except that Vásquez chooses to end with Mallarino's decision to put an end to his career as a cartoonist. Whether or not he'll have his talk with Cuéllar's widow remains unclear. I take it to mean that from start to finish, Mallarino is so self-absorbed that Amanda's appearance in his life doesn't trigger remorse (for having pushed a man to his death without proof of his guilt) so much as it crystallizes his desire to withdraw from a game he's grown bored with. This is an elegant novel about interesting issues, and it's a shame the ending doesn't live up to expectations.

[Elizabeth (Alaska) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Javier Mallarino is a cartoonist. More specifically he is a caricaturist who has a daily entry in one of Bogata's newspapers. The entry appears in the center of the Opinion Page and usually pertains to a political figure. One can easily imagine he acquires enemies. In the first section (there are 3 sections rather than chapters) Mallarino says Our leaders aren’t leading anything, much less telling us what’s going on. It is part of his personality and what drives his work, but I highlighted it more because it wasn't just happening in Colombia and has been happening in my country (until recently) for several decades.

It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards is a phrase that comes up quite frequently. There is also the reference for this that the White Queen says this to Alice in Alice in Wonderland. At first I was a bit confused because what else is memory and with the reference is this a bit of nonsense? No, memory can actually be applied forward if only you remember you anticipate something or plan to do something. I admit the word memory might be a bit of a stretch here, but it works.

From the GR description, one could assume the title refers just to Mallarino. Let's remember, however, that Mallarino was a political cartoonist and was capable of tarnishing the Reputations of many others of his day. It is why, I think, that the title is a plural.

There is much more here than I assumed from such a short work. It is short enough that many of you would complete it in one sitting. The writing style - and I am aware I have read a translation - is not so much simple as easy to read. The recognition of characterizations sort of crept up on me, and I appreciated that. The story is non-linear. The present is about 3 days, but the novel covers almost all of Mallarino's 40-year career. Quite a feat for a novel under 200 pages and it is done well.

The novel grew on me. My attention span is not as good as it once was but I wanted very much to read and not give in to any distractions. I'm happy with the 5 stars I've colored in, but I admit I might just be gushing a little.

[Stacia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vásquez writes beautifully and this novel examines the moral quandaries of a well-established and influential political cartoonist. He has the power to make or break others, solely through pen and paper. He has used and enjoyed his power, but after decades in the business, an old incident comes to the forefront of the story, making him question his power, his assumptions, and the ultimate ramifications of his art. Slightly melancholic and meditative examination of media, manipulation, memory, and messages.