I haven't attempted Rayuela yet, but I am on the same page with you regarding the others. They all came so highly rated, and I did not care for any of them. It's nice to see I'm not the only one.MorkTheFiddle wrote:Those I read or tried to read and did not like were
2666, El amor en los tiemps del cólera, Rayuela (a “wasn’t Paris great? Book, to me, very dated), El tiempe entre costuras (a shaggy dog story, seemed to go nowhere), La catedral del mar (something for a Catalan familiar with the history, perhaps), Corazón tan blanco (reading as being strangled by a boa constrictor), Los detectives salvajes (just way, way too long).
Spanish novels I've read over the past couple years that I enjoyed and can recommend are:
Fernando Aramburu, Patria. The story of two families in the Basque region, and the impact of the conflict on their lives. Made into an HBO series.
Arturo Pérez-Reverte, El italiano. A romance and adventure story set in Gibraltar during WWII.
Mario Vargas Llosa, Travesuras de la niña mala. The life story of a "bad girl" from Peru, told through the eyes of a man who loved her when they were younger.