Jose Eduardo Agualusa: The Book Of Chameleons

[Nellie]

Has anyone else read this? I was both wowed and slightly confused by it!

I have been trying to liken this book to something else I have read, but have failed. The book is narrated by a gecko living on the living room ceiling of an albino man, Felix, in Angola. Through the lizards witty observations we watch as Felix meets two photographers, each impacting his life in different ways.

The plot is not strong nor is it edgy, but it addresses some very serious ideas, in particular the a person's identity. The prose is beautiful, and cleverly nothing is really ever referred to directly, but just hinted at. I was gently moved along by the writing and was feeling quite relaxed when the final chapters hit me. The ending was polar opposite of the rest of the book, action packed, and fast paced, but left me with a feeling of optimism for the characters.

It would be great to hear what others think as I have never read anything like this before!

 

[Heteronym]

I liked the idea of a man who creates and sells new pasts for people. It's a short and quick read, made faster by its use of the thriller genre to tell a story about identity.

The ending really got to me, it left me in a brief state of sadness.

I keep telling myself to read more by Agualusa, but I never get round to it.

What's the difference between a gecko and a chameleon, by the way? I just ask this because English isn't my native tongue.

 

[Nellie]

I agree about the ending, I was sad too. Did you feel slightly shaken by it too? I think the rest of the book had lulled me into a nice sense of nothing was really happening, and the suddenly we had the "big reveal".

I almost feel I might enjoy it even more if I read it again, now knowing what the ending is!