Customer Reviews

Pacazo

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

the book was 531 pages, but for some reason Goodreads had it listed as 400 pages. My main issue with this book was that I believe it should have been 400 pages. There were too many wasteful moments that could have been spent discussing other things, or taken out of the novel completely. Pacazo is about a man named, John Segovia, who 300 days ago lost his wife, Pilar, after she was raped, beaten and left for dead in a Peruvian desert. John is left heartbroken and angry and tries to deal with his pain while raising his 11 month old daughter, Mariángel. The last time he saw his wife, she was getting into a "taxista" (which is basically a Spanish taxi), headed to the market. The only thing John remembers about the taxista is the license plate which started with a "P" (ironically, the first letter of his wife's name), and ended with a 22 (her age). Wherever John goes he searches for the taxista with this license plate. I had the impression that we were going to suffer along with John. We would grieve with him, and watch how his grief turned into anger. But John is already angry, actually he's crazy and in chapter 1, kills a taxista driver with the license plate beginning with a P, and ending with a 22, who may or may not have killed his wife. We watch him go deeper and deeper into madness trying to find his wife's killer(s?). The interesting thing about this novel is Kesey weaves history into the plot. The beginning of the sentence he is talking about the present, and all of sudden, using a conjunctive jump, added Peruvian history. Being a history nerd, I enjoyed reading these bits, but I thought that sometimes it was too much, and would have much rather read about John and his struggles. This is a story about tragedy, love, language, regret, and revenge. It was a powerful story, and without giving anything a way, I enjoyed the ending, and as a reader, I received some closure and was left with hope.

This homage to Peru, love, history and the beautiful way inwhich non-sequitors capture the torrential streams of our consciousnesses is a must-read. Kesey is riveting, original and smart. The plot revolves around a murder, but encompasses everything from colonialization to botany, floods to academia. And Kesey delivers humor, flashes of brutality and tenderness along the way. It's a big book to read, and you will be glad, because you won't want it to end.

This is a long, heavy, page-turning novel to hole away with - on the couch during a storm, away at a cabin, in bed with a headcold. Join John Segovia, the protagonist, an unforgettably compelling character, flawed, funny, haunted, sassy on his unpredictable journey. The prose is often staged in fresh and unique ways: accepting that the reader is very bright, very intelligent and needs no explanation. The setting is generously revealed - you are immersed in Peru and will still be there for days after finishing the book. The pace, deliriously even and forceful. Highly recommend.

From Piura to Arequipa, from anticuchos to guinea pig, from Nescafe to Halls cough drops, Kesey captures the culture of Peru in a fantastic page-turning postmodern novel that weaves the history of Peru from the Atahualpa to Fujimori into a narrative of the journey of his protagonist from rage to forgiveness. A lovely novel with a cast of endearing characters.

In A World Spinning All Too Fast To Notice Genius, Roy Kesey is just that as evidenced especially by his new novel, PACAZO. In another time, Kesey would have already been hailed like Hemingway, like Steinbeck, like Borges, like Faulkner, like Cervantes, like García Márquez... like these and many more giants of the literary world were in their own times. The disposable, soundbite driven culture of today is preoccupied with celebrity rehab stories and second-rate authors spinning sad, sadistic or just plain saccharin memoirs spun from lives less interesting than the back of a cereal box. I challenge Oprah to choose something this challenging and rewarding, cerebral, emotional, brutal and beautiful for her book club. Buy this, read this, and don't keep it to yourself. Spread the good word of PACAZO by Roy Kesey.

This novel is rich in language, content, and characters. I shared John Segovia's pain, and found myself pulling for him right to the last page. There are several strands in the plot: historical, psychological, and social, that provides engaging food for thought and discussion. This would be a fine choice for a book club! Roy Kesey is a "wordsmith". His use of language makes each character and the setting in Peru leap off the page. I was truly sad when the story came to an end. I did not want to leave Peru or Kesey's wonderful characters behind.

This is a beautiful, incandescent, brilliant roller coaster ride of a book. The characters are fully delineated, even the minor ones, and the reader feels he or she knows these people, knows them well, for the most part likes them very much, and is pleased to be privy to their lives. The protagonist is an American English teacher in a university in Peru, a position he has stumbled on almost by accident. He married one of his students, which would not have been a good move except he loved her more than anything. They had a child, a girl, and his love for her is equal to that for his wife. The wife is murdered. He searches for the murderer.
The language is brilliant. The narrative rockets along, mixing the protagonist's story with the history of Peru and life in that country today. What is life like in Peru today? I will digress briefly to tell a personal story. A few years ago I went with a group on a spiritual journey to Peru. I arrived early at the Lima airport, and since people were coming from all over the US, and a couple of foreign countries, and all had to arrive before we could board our bus, I was there for quite a while. I changed some money at the airport terminal, and after awhile was thirsty, so I went upstairs to a little tienda where I bought a bottle of water. The exchange rate for soles is three to one, and for some reason (the reason is that I am a mathematical idiot) I was having trouble computing the price, My Spanish isn't great either, so I searched for a way to say I was having difficulty. Finally I said, "Este dinero es muy mysterioso." The young lady behind the counter smiled and said, "Like us."
There it is.

Life in Peru is difficult as this realistic novel projects. From Iguana annoyances to floods washing away your deepest love memories, this book gives a harsh look at life in a tropical area of Peru. Much as I felt uncomfortable with the living conditions, I still read with an appetite for more. I was lost at first trying to discern the concurrent story themes. But once I got a handle on Kesey's writing style, I let myself go and enjoyed the ride. In one paragraph you may find six different story lines and you need to learn to keep a bookmark for each.

I found the Incan history intriguing; Kesey contrasted the Spanish domination of the Incan natives against the present day life of Peru still conquering its inhabitants; they are suppressed by heat, flood, inefficient officials, archaic travel modes and a disorganized university. But the chubby main character experiences different levels of life amidst the sweaty down-to-earth Peruvians. They enjoy their Inca Cola, soccer and minor festivals as well as commiserating over Mother Nature's tragedies.

I would recommend this for anyone who wants a "good read" and to get a "feel' for Peruvian life in a small town. I would definitely recommend it for anyone planning a trip that takes them "off the beaten track".