Rating: 
Summary: Don't read this, read the book!!
Review: This book was recommended to my by a very enthusiastic friend, and I must say, having finished the book, I understand why. Roughly, the story is about two men in prison: Luis Molina, the homosexual window dresser, and Valentin Arruiga Paz. That, however, only begins to describe it. It's also about movies: Molina tells the plots of movies, partially to pass the time, partially because these movies -- living these movies -- is his escape. He prefers the movies from the forties and fifties, with the real divas, short hair, lots of blood-red lipstick . . . The movies aren't just time-passers, either: they reflect the events of the book.The style is one of the most outstanding features of the book. It is almost entirely in dialogue, with some brief spates into play-format and a couple of police reports. It varies with the setting. There are also a couple of sections in stream-of-consciousness, where one receives Molina's movies as he thinks of them, no bothering with sentences. It all contributes to a wonderful effect. I have, however, heard, that although this is the only translation available, it isn't the best. For example, Molina refers to himself as a woman throughout the book in the Spanish version. Although this isn't as possible in English, one could have made more of an effort, to preserve the feel of the original. So go learn Spanish (if you don't know it already) -- but read this first!
Rating:
Summary: Don't read this, read the book!!
Review: This book was recommended to my by a very enthusiastic friend, and I must say, having finished the book, I understand why. Roughly, the story is about two men in prison: Luis Molina, the homosexual window dresser, and Valentin Arruiga Paz. That, however, only begins to describe it. It's also about movies: Molina tells the plots of movies, partially to pass the time, partially because these movies -- living these movies -- is his escape. He prefers the movies from the forties and fifties, with the real divas, short hair, lots of blood-red lipstick . . . The movies aren't just time-passers, either: they reflect the events of the book. The style is one of the most outstanding features of the book. It is almost entirely in dialogue, with some brief spates into play-format and a couple of police reports. It varies with the setting. There are also a couple of sections in stream-of-consciousness, where one receives Molina's movies as he thinks of them, no bothering with sentences. It all contributes to a wonderful effect. I have, however, heard, that although this is the only translation available, it isn't the best. For example, Molina refers to himself as a woman throughout the book in the Spanish version. Although this isn't as possible in English, one could have made more of an effort, to preserve the feel of the original. So go learn Spanish (if you don't know it already) -- but read this first!
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful and tragic love story
Review: This is a beautiful book, and I must say that it is much better than the movie. From watching the movie, you get the sense that Molina tells the movies only to pass the time and entertain himself, while the fact that Molina IS the movies that he relates - that he lives the movies in his mind, that they have always been an escape for him, an escape from the prison in which he always finds himself, whether physical or societal - is emphasized much more significantly in the novel. This is a story of immediate feeling and passion, of the harshness and smallness of life, the desire for transcendence through the love of and for another, and the power that the imagination ultimately has over reality. In the end, Valentin gives in to Molina's philosophy, unable to stand the cruelty and torture that he undergoes as a jailed revolutionary. And for Molina, you feel that even though his one true experience of love was momentary, it was enough to give his life meaning.
Rating: 
Summary: GOOD BOOK
Review: THIS IS A REAL GOOD REA
Rating:
Summary: Divinely Beautiful Novel Of Political & Personal Revolution
Review: This novel is mostly set within a prison cell which two men share: a gritty socialist revolutionary imprisoned for his subversive activities & a cross-dressing (transgendered) man imprisoned for homosexual activity with someone he didn't realize was a minor. They start off being very critical of one another and very antagonistic toward each other, but by the end their relationship becomes so profoundly close it made me sob. Fascinating juxtaposition of a chosen radical who risks societal condemnation with a man who can't help that his very self is radical and condemned.
Rating:
Summary: Slightly difficult to follow, but not difficult to love
Review: This was a weird book; it took me over a hundred pages to decide if I liked it, and at the surprise twist of the plot, I couldn't put it down. The two characters are cellmates in an Argentine prison. Molina is incarcerated for a sex crime against a minor; Valentin is a political prisoner. Molina whiles away the nights by telling stories of the heterosexual man he loves from afar, his transgendered issues, and the movies he loves. An unlikely friendship develops. I started out liking neither character, and ended up loving them both. Because I'm used to books that were originally written in English and not translated, I personally had a bit of a problem with this. I also don't like the style in which quotations are presented; it's hard for me to follow. The footnotes, albeit educational, went on and on and had little to do with the plot at hand. (Describing homosexuality, they described one of the characters but had little to do with anything that was going on!) Those issues will cost one "star" in the grading; however, even though I had difficulties following the book, I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, and I recommend it to anyone who'd like to widen their literary preferences.
Rating:
Summary: web of delights, skilfully spun
Review: Two men in jail: one a machismo revolutionary, the other an effeminate moviegoer (in jail for "homosexually corrupting" a minor). This odd and star-crossed pair form the centre of one hell of a heart-rending, suspenseful and thought-provoking novel. Certainly one of the most unconventional, in structure and content. The book becomes more challenging as one progresses, and by the end is transformed into a cliffhanger. (DON'T be like me and greedily jump to the end before you deserve it.) Love, honour, betrayal and shame walk the same tightrope -- who has betrayed whom? What can be sacrificed in the name of a cause, political or otherwise? I leave you to ponder the question.
Rating:
Summary: One of the all-time greats...
Review: We tend to divide ourselves into groups: male, female, gay, straight, conservative, liberal... KOTSW reminds us that, underneath all of the labels, we are all human, and we can all change for the better when we want to. The simple power and beauty of this story overwhelmes me each time I re-read it. Puig created a pure microcosmos with his tale, and let it develop beautifully. I've gone through two copies in English, and my Spanish copy is in tatters. KOTSW is one of the most important stories of the latter half of the century, and should not go ignored.
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