The Old Man Who Read Love Stories

By Luis Sepulveda

Ratings : 4.5 / 5.0

The author died of Covid-19 in this March 2020. Saddest place to begin researching for a review.

I wrote about this a few years ago when I first read it and I quote

“It was a book my reading-guardian angel chucked at me :) truly out of nowhere I found my self purchasing this book leaving a classic for another time. I do not test my taste, nor do I experiment with my reading time but this one- it was gripping in true sense of the word, one sitting two hours, beautiful and enchanting like the jungle. Its the rare read people like me experience only once in a while- I read page after page for the sheer joy of experiencing the quest of the hunter.

Plot cannot be more well-knit than this.”

A book that reminds you of Moby Dick as much as The Old Man And The Sea because at the heart of it is the complex wildlife and man, the intricate mystery of ecological enigma and heart-breaking tale of man and animal bond.

The old Hunter Jose is living his last years among white settlers abandoning his wife’s local tribe due to the complexity of his situation when he is trapped in hunting a vengeful ocelot, a journey of a life time, a dance of love and hate is set off from then on. The fast pace plot, amazing details of living forest and Sepulveda's journalistic pithiness of composition keeps one alert and interested to a nail-biting extent. It is a lesser known work by a prophetic and prolific writer as it was never more relevant than now with the ecological balance taking centre stage.

BaSila Hasnain

18-10-2020