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Multiple Choice
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
60 posts | 47 read | 106 to read
Multiple Choice is unlike anything Ive ever encountered before. . . . Reading this book is a wonderfully disconcerting and unforgettable experience. Francisco Goldman, author of Say Her Name There is no writer like Alejandro Zambra, no one as bold, as subtle, as funny. Multiple Choice is his most accomplished work yet. This book is not to be missed.Daniel Alarcn, author of At Night We Walk In Circles A masterful, pioneering new work of fiction by Latin Americas new literary star (The New Yorker) The works of Alejandro Zambra, the most talked-about writer to come out of Chile since Bolao (New York Times Book Review), are distinguished by their striking originality, their brevity, their strangeness, and their flouting of narrative convention. Now, at the height of his powers, Zambra returns with a book that is the natural extension of these qualities: Multiple Choice. Written in the form of a standardized test, Multiple Choice invites the reader to complete virtuoso language exercises and engage with short narrative passages via multiple-choice questions that are thought-provoking, usually unanswerable, and often absurd. It offers a new kind of reading experience, one where the reader participates directly in the creation of meaning. Full of humor, melancholy, and anger, Multiple Choice is about love and family; privacy and the limits of closeness; how a society is affected by the legacies of the past; and the conviction that, rather than learning to think, we are trained to obey and repeat. Serious in its literary ambition but playful in its execution, Multiple Choice confirms Alejandro Zambra as one of the most important writers working in any language.From the Trade Paperback edition.
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review
Cinfhen
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Pickpick

This book has a very clever concept, a story in multiple choice format, but I‘m not sure I really understood all of it. If I took the quiz today I‘d probably get a C 🤓 Big thanks to @rockpools and @Magpiegem for putting this slim novel from Chile on my #ReadersRadar - I rate it a B+ for content A+ for creativity 👩‍🏫

Magpiegem Great review 😁 2y
Cinfhen Thanks @Magpiegem I don‘t think I could ACTUALITY explain this one in a review😄 2y
Magpiegem @Cinfhen I know the feeling 😂😂 2y
rockpools @Magpiegem @Cinfhen Yup 😂. And as for ‘getting‘ big chunks of it…. Nope 🤷🏻‍♀️ Worth reading though. 2y
73 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Cinfhen
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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I‘ve decided upon my #TravelStack 📚only 4 paperbacks but a fully loaded kindle and iPad with Audible, Scribd, NetGalley, Hoopla & OverDrivee😄‼️Plus you never know what I may find on my travels 😉

TrishB Great choices 😁 have a fab break!! 2y
squirrelbrain Always best to have a *lot* of digital choices! Have a lovely time! 2y
KarenUK Lovely stack! Enjoy! 💕 2y
See All 6 Comments
BarbaraBB Such a great stack! Wise choices 😉 2y
vivastory It's good to have multiple choices 😆📚📚 2y
Cinfhen Hahahaha @vivastory 😁I‘m excited for my choices and my trip @TrishB @squirrelbrain @KarenUK @BarbaraBB 2y
85 likes6 comments
review
Magpiegem
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Pickpick

34/22 finished this one whilst being hit on the head with cars being rolled down my hammock 😂

I was much more moved by this slim book than I thought I would be. It was bananas, yes, but it was also poignant, intriguing, funny, sad, and very clever. Chile is not a country I know that much about but this book gave me an abstract flavor. I highly recommend 4.5⭐️ #booked2022 #makeyourownprompt & first book of #192025 challenge #2014

Cinfhen I‘m looking forward to reading this one!! Glad you weren‘t knocked unconscious 😉 2y
Librarybelle Great review! 2y
rockpools That sounds like the ONLY way to read this book! 🚗 👦 And I loved your review. 2y
34 likes3 stack adds3 comments
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Magpiegem
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Question- Finish the following sentence:

I Should be

A. Cleaning the house
B. Doing work
C. Finishing this little beauty for #booked2022

Answer- I think we all know 😉

rockpools 😆 We definitely do! 2y
25 likes1 comment
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Magpiegem
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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So for #booked2022 #makeyourownprompt I will be using the prompt “weirdest Litsy review that made you read a book”. Thank you @rockpools for inspiring my prompt 😂 I hope it lives up to your one sentence review!

rockpools 😂😂😂😂 That‘s so funny! I feel very flattered. And more than a little nervous now. I do hope you like it! 2y
Cinfhen Ohhhh, I can‘t wait to hear your thoughts on this one! And I love your prompt idea!!! 2y
BarbaraBB I stacked the book because of @rockpools review too! 2y
See All 6 Comments
Cinfhen I just bought this book!! 2y
rockpools @Cinfhen @BarbaraBB Oh ‘eck! The pressure! 😆 2y
Cinfhen IM SUPER EXCITED about this book @rockpools ❣️❣️ 2y
26 likes6 comments
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rockpools
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Pickpick

Well, that was an experience.

That‘s it. That‘s my review.

Think I‘ll use this for #Booked2022 #MakeYourOwnPrompt, the prompt either being ‘What the flip was that?!‘ Or ‘Like nothing you‘ve read before‘.

I should add, I did come away from this smiling. It‘s highly entertaining, although what he has to say can be quite cutting. Possibly.

BarbaraTheBibliophage I LOVE that prompt idea!! 2y
TrishB Best review. 2y
See All 9 Comments
Cinfhen Agreed @Ruthiella @BarbaraTheBibliophage @TrishB This was the BEST review followed by the BEST prompt idea!!! Well done, Rachel!! Now I need to decide if I‘m ready to read this book!?!!! 2y
rockpools @TrishB 🤣🤣 Thanks. You might actually like (as in not hate) this one. Just pretend it‘s poetry. Much on the Chilean education system as experienced by people of our age. I‘m really selling it here 😂😂 2y
rockpools @Ruthiella @BarbaraTheBibliophage I completely can‘t imagine what I‘d read if that was a prompt 🤣🤣 2y
rockpools @Cinfhen Morning Cindy! It‘s VERY short, with even fewer words in - and it‘s not ‘Difficult‘ or ‘Challenging‘ - it just requires you to put a bit of work in and read it differently. It made me laugh. 2y
Cinfhen Im VERY intrigued!!! Off to search for it xxx Thanks, Rachel!! Hope you‘re having a lovely day xx 2y
Magpiegem That is the most intriguing review and I must now immediately find and read it 😂 bravo! 2y
52 likes2 stack adds9 comments
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rockpools
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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“3. You read books that are much stranger than the books you would write if you wrote.”

Yup.

And I‘ve just spotted question 3 on the front cover. This has made me laugh more than once. Honestly can‘t tell you what it is though!

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rockpools
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Thanks for the tag @julesG 😊

📖Not reading much atm, but I have started the tagged.
📓It‘s a print book. Loving library holds when I can get them.
🤷🏻‍♀️I *genuinely* can‘t rate this yet. It‘s like reading performance art. Or an exam. It‘s weird. I don‘t know if I get it - suspect it may come together later. I‘ll keep you posted.
🖊No, or at least very rarely.

#thoughtfulthursday @MoonWitch94

Tagging YOU if you haven‘t played yet 😁

MoonWitch94 Thanks for playing 📚☺️ 2y
33 likes1 comment
review
LiteraryinPA
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Mehso-so

Well, that was weird. Creative and bold to write a book in the form of a multiple choice test, but ultimately very weird. I‘ll say that I‘m glad I got through the first section, which makes NO sense at all, to read the other sections, which make a small amount of sense.

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stretchkev
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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I'm not entirely sure what this is... But I think I like it. A book of statements written in multiple choice format: sometimes profane, sometimes nonsensical, sometimes provoking, always interesting.

Liz_M Sounds fun! Where did you hear about this one? 3y
stretchkev @Liz_M A book podcast I sometimes listen too called Books Unbound, they were recommending books with unusual formats, this one sounded interesting 3y
plemmdog I really like Zambra‘s writing 3y
stretchkev @plemmdog after this I am tempted to read some of his longer form stuff for sure 3y
21 likes4 comments
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reema
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Pickpick

Relatively short and written in test format, it certainly packs a punch.

6 likes1 stack add
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Sharpeipup
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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It might be too early for this book written in multiple choice.

30 likes1 stack add
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Eggs
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Pickpick

Written in the form of a standardized test, the questions are mostly unanswerable which is what makes this book clever. As you read, the answer choices become more and more absurd, while the passages take on a stream-of-consciousness flow that is unique to Zambra. Quick read, and amusing.
#bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

plemmdog I love Zambra! 4y
LiteraryinPA Sounds fascinating! 4y
TheAromaofBooks Sounds fun!! 4y
Ellies_Books06 👍👍👍👍 4y
Eggs @plemmdog @LiteraryinLititz @TheAromaofBooks @LoydaElionora 👏🏻📚👌🏼it also highlights the absurdity of most high-stakes assessments 4y
65 likes11 stack adds5 comments
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tjwill
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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The whole book is set up like a multiple choice test. In this section, it says to put the sentences in the most coherent order. I love how it‘s like poetry, but not exactly. I love how an order occurs to me based on my experiences but that I imagine others see it differently. I really love this one. Anyone want to share their answer? I‘ll put mine as a spoiler in case anyone wants to choose first, then compare our answers.

tjwill B 4y
Mccall0113 Reminds me of choose your own adventure books! 4y
See All 12 Comments
tjwill @Hestapleton 👯‍♀️ 4y
tjwill @Mccall0113 I loved those as a kid! Maybe that‘s why I still love books with interesting formats now. 4y
Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick This sounds interesting! 4y
Eggs B (edited) 4y
Eggs Cool book 4y
Eggs Stacked 4y
tjwill @Eggs 😁 4y
Avanders D... I see the rest of you have said B. I wonder what that says about me... or my family. 🤭😘 @tjwill @Hestapleton @Eggs 4y
tjwill @Avanders I love how there is no right answer, so it gets each person thinking of what that means for them personally. 💕 4y
48 likes2 stack adds12 comments
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tjwill
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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#bookmail These are my new ones, and I‘ll be posting about my kids‘ new books too. My daughter and I read Lumberjanes together, but I still consider them mine when I get new ones. I started Multiple Choice today, amd I‘m loving it. It is so different.

review
Babs_book_obsession
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Mehso-so

What a strange little book! The structure of the book is based on a multiple choice test that is used to get into Chilean Universities. It is hard to rate something this unique but it grew on me as I read it and I will probably remember it because of it's unique format.

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underground_bks
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Pickpick

This absurdist take on the standardized test is sobering, hilarious, and incisive. I expected to appreciate it, but I really really enjoyed it too.

saresmoore I‘m game. 6y
underground_bks @saresmoore Can‘t wait to hear what you think! 6y
9 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Chelapf
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Phenomenal text.

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OneLitChick
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Pickpick

Zambra packs a punch following a standardized test format while covering relationships, academics, politics, and Chilean life. Engaging, funny, sad, and absurd. Despite the style, I‘n not sure it‘ll stick with me... much like the info I crammed before an exam. But, it does inspire me to ask: After reading this write up, do you think I will:

A. Not read anything else by Zambra
B. Trade it
C. Read more by Zambra
D. C. The answer is always C.

20 likes2 stack adds
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OneLitChick
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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An evening with no plans means I plan to read. #HomemadeLondonFog #CurrentlyReading

RealLifeReading Great cover! 7y
OneLitChick @RealLifeReading Right? It‘s super clever... 7y
19 likes2 comments
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Bookishaf
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Pop quiz! It‘s a very interesting read and though short, l feel like it‘s taking me a little while to read t because it really makes you think! :)

WanderingBookaneer I tried and couldn‘t. 7y
45 likes1 stack add1 comment
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LaviniaG
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Pickpick

Such a rewarding read. Consider me amazed.

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xicanti
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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My shelves have precious little by #southamericanauthors on them, so here's an old photo of Murchie with Alejandro Zambra's excellent MULTIPLE CHOICE. #fallintobooks

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Floresj
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Pickpick

The most creative book I've read in quite some time. Funny, clever and quick read. 5 stars goes to the reading comprehension portion.

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BrittFrancko
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
Pickpick

Quick, lovely, challenging exercise

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BooksForYears
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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#AndItsAugust Day 15 - Two-Word Title

✏️The entire flash-fiction/poetry collection/whatever is told in a very experimental style - a standardized test. There's even a bubble sheet in the back for you to fill in your answers📝

The author based the structure on the Chilean Academic Aptitude Test, and looks at the absurdity of this kind of testing to demonstrate learning, and promoting compliance to governmental powers.

Cinfhen Sounds fascinating 7y
GatheringBooks hmmm. interesting premise and one that my teacher-students may enjoy reading. Stacking it! 7y
BooksForYears @GatheringBooks I bet that reading this from a teacher's perspective would lead to some interesting discussions! 7y
GatheringBooks @BooksForYears that's what i thought too! :) 7y
82 likes5 stack adds4 comments
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rach_simone
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Pickpick

What a clever and interesting format. I also really connected to the content.

Read them in the order of the options. Amazing.

18 likes1 stack add
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Sarah83
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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This was posted by @Kalalalatja #bookishwouldyourather

And here are my answers 😎

1. Mostly paperbacks (more space within the bookshelf)
2. New reads
3. I also buy books (because my library wasn't really up to date with new releases )
4. You can find both variations on my bookshelf
5. Lotr
6. 500+

Who would also like to answer this? 🤗

Kalalalatja 👏👏 7y
Yanes I am in 😊 7y
38 likes2 comments
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volatilestatic
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Pickpick

#readathon lunch and my favorite book so far! Loved the unconventional formatting and raw emotion. Read this, y'all. Seriously.

Jinjer Yummo!!! What are those???😳 8y
volatilestatic @jinjer pastry pups from Trader Joe's! 8y
5 likes1 stack add2 comments
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BookishTrish
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
Mehso-so

I enjoyed dipping in and out of this book and felt the premise was clever. I'm just not sure I interacted with the text in a meaningful or memorable way.

50 likes1 comment
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shutupsmalls
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra

Insomnia wounds and accompanies you.

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BookishTrish
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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You read books that are much stranger than the books you would write if you wrote

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BookishTrish
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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That rush of blood to the head that you get when you finish two books in 25 hours #booknerdproblems

RealLifeReading Oh my. What a sight. 8y
74 likes2 comments
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Blaire
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Pickpick

Loved how the author used the standardized test format to make wry and touching points about politics, parenting, and relationships. A lot was packed into this 100 pages and I thoroughly enjoyed it. #litsyatoz #letterZ #translation #mmd #readharder #southamerican #lrcchallenge

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Soubhiville
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Pickpick

A strange and interesting way to compose poetry, short stories, and political commentary. I enjoyed most of it. It was a bit like reliving the SATs, but not in a scary way.
#readharder #poetryintranslation #bookriot

LectricSheep I'm super intrigued! 8y
57 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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carolinachapa
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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On days off, I'm usually the first one up. I'll lay in bed or scroll through news on my phone before inevitably dosing off into slumber again. Today I decided to actually get out of bed and read. I had made a New Year's resolution to make more time to read, but a couple weeks in and I already unfortunately see myself falling wayward on that promise. With the help of Litsy and another app, I'll get to my goal! Second book of the year 👌🏼👆🏼

2 likes1 stack add
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Viji
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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We were out of town for a few days. Had these waiting at the library when I came back.

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BookInMyHands
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Pickpick

I found this book fascinating. Structured based on the Chilean Academic Aptitude Test, parts of it read like poetry, and all of it is set, like the title says, in multiple choice.

At 101 pages it's a quick read, and aren't you intrigued by the format?

#notawhiteprotagonist

45 likes6 stack adds
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lauralovesbooks1
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Panpan

I don't think I was the right reader for this. I just didn't get it.

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BookishFeminist
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Pickpick

One of the most creative books of poetry & prose I've seen. Zambra, a Chilean author, has written a collection that explores family, love, & social commentary, particularly our lack of critical thinking in education & the mindless repetition we are forced to endure. Written in the format of the Chilean standard exam for college entrance, Zambra forces us to examine how we think & process our lives with multiple choice questions & sardonic wit. 📝

8little_paws Oohhh I so want to read this!! 8y
BookishFeminist @8little_paws I think you'd really enjoy this one! 8y
See All 11 Comments
Soubhiville Cool! Maybe a contender for #readharder #poetryintranslation ! 8y
rachelm This is going to be my Z for the challenge! Thanks for the review! 8y
BookishFeminist @rachelm this is a good choice for Z! I have his other recent book on my tbr too that I'm looking forward to reading now 8y
BookishFeminist @Soubhiville it definitely is! I was just thinking that earlier but couldn't remember which challenge that task is for. 8y
kgriffith I've had this in my TBR for a while, thanks for the review! 8y
hyacinth It is sooo brilliant. I'm not finishing yet but I love it already. 8y
emmystorms Oooo @Leetha_rose, looks interesting for during/after our trip! 8y
Leetha_rose @emmystorms yes!!!!!!!!! 8y
107 likes28 stack adds11 comments
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Jdscott50
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Pickpick

#6 #libfaves16 An experimental novel wrapped inside a test booklet. Themes of fathers, being a family man, and the Pinochet dictatorship are some of the themes. It becomes an examination of what you can add and take away as a writer. Does it mean the same thing or does that slight pivot alter it significantly?

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tracyramone
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Pickpick
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BooksForYears
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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#SeptPhotoChallenge Day 21 - Translated book

Translated from Spanish, this book is structured like a Chilean standardized test. There are even bubble sheets at the back for you to fill in your answers. Each question is a piece of flash fiction on topics like family, politics, death, and love - followed by four possible "answers". This is a bonkers book about language, Chilean society, and the country's educational practices. #somethingforsept

Zelma Wow, that is super creative! 8y
36 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Blaire
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Read the review this morning. I am intrigued. Testing as political tool. Zambra grew up in chile under Pinochet. Book contains full in the blank and multiple choice sections. #tbr

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Tara
Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra
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Pickpick

Alejandro Zambra is a treasure. Wittiest multiple choice test I have ever read. What are your answers? I like B for both 🤓

mauveandrosysky I pick E for both! 8y
shortsarahrose This looks pretty wonderful. I would say my answers are C (though tempted by B), then E. 8y
6 likes2 comments