Review by ifeoma obike -- Raquel Says (Something Entirel...

ifeoma obike · Post by **ifeoma obike** » 19 May 2017, 09:12

[Following is a volunteer review of "Raquel Says (Something Entirely Unexpected)" by Mois benarroch.]

2 out of 4 stars

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Do soul mates exist? Can two totally different people lead parallel lives? Mois Benarroch in his book, Raquel Says (Something Entirely Unexpected) shares the story of two parallel journeys through the world, a story of soul mates that never met each other until they reached the age of forty.

The story begins with Mois as a writer facing a lot of difficulties in his life and career. He is frustrated, sad, and depressed over his failure as a writer as well as his wife's reunion with her ex-lover. Mois talks about his loneliness and his need for a woman that truly loves him. He narrates his encounter with a woman named Raquel who turns out to have a life that is parallel to his. Through letters and e-mails both started a relationship which Mois describes as extramundane and extraterritorial; a literary relationship.

This book is a short novel and a translated version of the original story that is written in Spanish. The book reflects on love, parallel lives, and religion. Most of the stories on religion are on Judaism. The story is written in a narrative dialogue style and some of it reads like poetry.

The book has a lot of ambiguities. The plot of the story is difficult to understand. I also can't figure out why the narrator of the story suddenly changed to Raquel in the last quater of the book. The major problem with the book however is that it is difficult to tell if the story is real or not. Sometimes, it reads like an autobiography and other times like a work of fiction. I can't really tell if Raquel is real or a character created out of the author's imagination.

The book contains some beautiful quotes. My favourite is "We live not on land and not under the ozone but on words and under showers of words". I love the parts that are written in a poetic style. They evoke beautiful emotions and ideas about love and the universe. I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars for these reasons. I cannot rate it any higher because of the problems stated earlier.

This book talks a lot about Israel and Spain with the different places, people and lifestyle. People who are familiar with them will love and understand the book more. This book also shares a lot of information on Jewish history and religion and so I recommend it to people who have an interest in it. The book is written in a nice poetic style and will appeal to people that love poetry.

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Raquel Says (Something Entirely Unexpected)
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Manang Muyang · Post by **Manang Muyang** » 25 Jun 2017, 23:23

Hello Ifeoma (Victory)! I also read this book and another by Mois Benarroch. From googling him, I found out that the author is an award-winning poet in Israel. He is aptly described as an enigmatic author. I suppose his books are written that way to keep the enigma. A reader is allowed to interpret the story the way he/she pleases.

I have read various reviews of Raquel Says in this site and have yet to find two that share the same interpretation of the story. I think we make Mois happy as that is what he probably intends.

Happy reading and see you in the forums.

Rosemary Okoko · Post by **Rosemary Okoko** » 26 Jun 2017, 11:10

I read this book and I agree with you that understanding who Raquel is supposed to be is confusing. I think Miriam Molina is right. We are supposed to get confused and come up with our own understanding.

Gingerbo0ks · Post by **Gingerbo0ks** » 26 Jun 2017, 11:27

I also read this book and agree with your review and comments. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who felt that way!

ifeoma obike · Post by **ifeoma obike** » 27 Jun 2017, 07:32

Miriam Molina wrote:Hello Ifeoma (Victory)! I also read this book and another by Mois Benarroch. From googling him, I found out that the author is an award-winning poet in Israel. He is aptly described as an enigmatic author. I suppose his books are written that way to keep the enigma. A reader is allowed to interpret the story the way he/she pleases.

I have read various reviews of Raquel Says in this site and have yet to find two that share the same interpretation of the story. I think we make Mois happy as that is what he probably intends.

Happy reading and see you in the forums.

-- 27 Jun 2017, 07:38 --

Miriam Molina wrote:Hello Ifeoma (Victory)! I also read this book and another by Mois Benarroch. From googling him, I found out that the author is an award-winning poet in Israel. He is aptly described as an enigmatic author. I suppose his books are written that way to keep the enigma. A reader is allowed to interpret the story the way he/she pleases.

I have read various reviews of Raquel Says in this site and have yet to find two that share the same interpretation of the story. I think we make Mois happy as that is what he probably intends.

Happy reading and see you in the forums.

I agree with you, I think some authors intentionally write their books to be kind of confusing and throws it as a challenge to the readers to figure it out. Understanding the character Raquel is the challenge in this book and the author's strong point.
Thanks for reading my review.