Waiting for Robert Capa
Susana Fortes
Harper Perennial
208 pages
Artists, Jews, nonconformists, exiles. Gerta Pohorylle meets AndrÉ Friedmann in Paris in 1935 and is drawn to his fierce dedication to justice, journalism, and the art of photography. Assuming new names, Gerda Taro and Robert Capa travel together to Spain, Europe’s most harrowing war zone, to document the rapidly intensifying turmoil of the Spanish Civil War. In the midst of the peril and chaos of brutal conflict, a romance for the ages is born, marked by passion and recklessness . . . until tragedy intervenes.
Product description from Amazon.
I don’t generally post a synopsis of a novel that is not my own, but I had such trouble with this book that I couldn’t really write a cohesive synopsis. I went into this book expecting to enjoy it, and the storyline was not what I had problems with. It was the writing style. I hated it. There was absolutely no streamlining–it was too fluid, as if the author was just rambling. There was really no plot, but instead just a bunch of jumping to and fro. I kept reminding myself “tragedy . . . there is a tragedy coming. Just hang on, it’s sure to be good.” But even the promise of a good tragedy couldn’t keep me going. I finally admitted defeat at page 71. I would have given up defeat earlier but the fact that I had agreed to participate on the tour made me want to push through it.
I am definitely interested in reading other reviews on this one, to see whether I am alone in my reaction.
About Susana Fortes
Susana Fortes graduated in Geography and History at the Universidad de Santiago de 
Compostela, and in American History from the Universidad de Barcelona. She has recently spent time in the USA, combining teaching Spanish in Louisiana and participating in university conferences at the Universidad Interestatal de San Francisco. She currently teaches at a secondary school in Valencia. She has won many awards, including the 1994 Premio Nuevos Narradores, the Premio Primavera, the Premio de la Crítica, and, for Waiting for Robert Capa, the Premio Fernando Lara 2009. Her novels have been translated into almost twenty languages. She is a regular contributor to EL PAIS, as well as various cinema and literature magazines.
Susana’s Tour Stops
Tuesday, September 27th: nomadreader
Wednesday, September 28th: Life In Review
Thursday, September 29th: Books Like Breathing
Friday, September 30th: Reviews By Lola
Monday, October 3rd: Unabridged Chick
Tuesday, October 4th: Rundpinne
Wednesday, October 5th: Life is Short. Read Fast.
Thursday, October 6th: StephTheBookworm
Tuesday, October 11th: Lit and Life
Wednesday, October 12th: Alison’s Book Marks
Tuesday, October 18th: Lit Endeavors
Thursday, October 20th: In the Next Room
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: book review, tlc book tours |
ReviewsbyLola's Blog 
[…] Friday, September 30th: Reviews By Lola […]
Darn, I’m sorry this one didn’t work for you, but thanks for being a part of the tour.
Thanks for having me. I feel awful that I didn’t finish it.
Too bad! I need some structure to my stories as well.
The synopsis doesn’t appeal much to me… impressed that you gave it 71 pages. Hope the next book you pick up will be more enjoyable.
Yikes! I’ve got to start reading this one soon and was so looking forward to it. I’ve heard about Robert Capa and thought this would be so interesting – just goes to show that no matter how great the story, the writing still needs to be good.
Oh dear. This is my worst nightmare about a book … and then it is for a blog tour too.
I was curious about this but wasn’t sure if it will work for me. Now I doubt I will check this one. I will keep an eye out for other reviews before finally deciding.
Rambling rarely works for me, so I can’t blame you for giving up. Sounds like an interesting premise, though.
I was not a fan of this one either! I did manage to finish, but I was glad it was so short. I found the grammar, translation issues and punctuation incredibly distracting, which is a shame.
I was about to order this one, but now I have to think again. I like your honest opinion. There is so much to be read that I accept to myself stop reading if the content or style is not what I expected.
Hi, I gort to page 44 and thought I have to read a review of this book because its definitely not working for me. In the 44 pages I’ve read so far I have found the writing jarring, and the rapid shifts annoying and the overall effect very disappointing. The writing seems poorly thought through and is neither one thing or another. I don’t recommend it.