Match BookThe Living and the Rest
José Eduardo Agualusa
2020 · 229 pages · Literary fiction
How it reads
The Living and the Rest is literary fiction (magical realist literary fiction, specifically), and its dominant mood is melancholy. It's quietly sad, wistful and reflective. It's a slow burn: character-driven, with a payoff that comes from accumulation rather than twists. It rewards attention and suits unhurried reading more than five-minute gaps.
It's set in several locations, in no single period, told in the first person by several narrators. Its central concerns are identity, loss and grief and war. In weight it's heavy and literary — denser, more serious, and more demanding of you.
It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending is left open, for you to argue about. At 229 pages it's a quick read. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.
Pick it up if…
- you're in the mood for something melancholy
- you have time to settle in
- you want something to chew on
Maybe not if…
- you need something funny or hopeful
- you're reading in five-minute gaps
All 15 dimensions
- Genre
- literary fiction
- Author gender
- male
- Author experience
- established
- Setting: place
- multiple locations
- Setting: time
- timeless or multiple
- Mood / feeling
- melancholy
- Pace
- slow burn
- Tone / weight
- heavy and literary
- Length
- short
- Narrative style
- first person, several narrators
- Publication era
- recent
- Popularity
- moderately known
- Series vs standalone
- standalone
- Themes
- identity, loss and grief, war
- Ending style
- ambiguous
What these mean: the 15 dimensions of a book.
Books with a similar reading
The closest books in Match Book's catalogue across the same dimensions, and what they share.
- ImpermanenceDaniel FrisanoShares: literary fiction, melancholy mood, heavy and literary tone, slow burn
The Anna PapersEllen GilchristShares: literary fiction, melancholy mood, heavy and literary tone, slow burn
Last ThingsJenny OffillShares: literary fiction, melancholy mood, heavy and literary tone, slow burn
Our Wives Under the SeaJulia ArmfieldShares: literary fiction, melancholy mood, heavy and literary tone, slow burn- SolenoidMircea CărtărescuShares: literary fiction, melancholy mood, heavy and literary tone, slow burn
The book of evidenceJohn BanvilleShares: literary fiction, melancholy mood, heavy and literary tone, slow burn
Appears in
Find a copy
Reviews on Goodreads ↗Match Book earns a commission on purchases made through these links, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, Match Book earns from qualifying purchases.