aaronj21's Reviews (912)

This book was a real delight, a wonderful treat that took me several days to finish only because things like work, sleep, and life stuff kept getting in the way. I could easily have finished it in a day if I’d had a free day to spend.

The set-up is basically this; one day every adult on the planet gets a box with a string in it, the string is the total measure of their lifespan. No one knows where the strings came from or what they mean, the one thing the world can agree on are the strings impeccable accuracy. Scientists compare and study the strings and are able to calculate (to within a month or so) the exact age at which you’ll die based on your string.
This of course throws the whole world into upheaval, as suddenly, one of the most pressing questions “when will I die?” can have a definite answer. The book explores this world changing development with remarkable skill and depth. The book follows eight vaguely interconnected characters, of different backgrounds and string lengths, as they try to lead meaningful lives in this new, frightening world. The author juggles these perspectives and stories with charming skill, each character has an interesting perspective to explore and seeing how they work together was truly interesting and remarkable.

This book was, of course, rather heavy at times. I could see it being a great book to discuss with a group pf friends or a book club as everyone will have different opinions about the strings, about what constitutes a full life. In the end, this book was a lot of fun to read and very moving and thought provoking, I’d recommend it to almost anyone.

This book is an odd, delightful treat that won’t take up too much of your time. It’s that weird ice cream flavor you try (maybe lobster or sweet potato) that ends up becoming a personal favorite.

In a Peruvian mountain pass, a seemingly sturdy and reliable rope bridge snaps, sending five souls to their deaths. A Franciscan friar sets out to find out why these five should have died and not someone else, looking for a way to justify to man the divine plan he’s so sure of at work in the world.

What follows is a neat little story delving deep into the lives of three individuals in their time leading up to the fatal bridge collapse. There is Dona Maria, an aging great lady who’s desperate for the love of her aloof daughter, the young Esteban dealing with his strained relationship with his twin brother, and old Uncle Pio, an elderly scoundrel who discovered a peasant girl and raised her into a prodigy of the Spanish stage. While all these stories are intriguing and thought provoking on their own, the ending and what it has to say about the meaning of life and death is what truly makes this a classic worth revisiting.