Erotic and erudite, tender and wise, this novel tumbles through Chilean literary history via an intimate portrait of a young artist's yearnings; it will delight every lover and poet alike. -- Preti Taneja
A very funny, warm and beautiful novel -- Sheila Heti
His clever irony, his lighthearted yet powerful prose, his gift for capturing this life that passes through and yet still escapes us - everything Zambra has already put into practice in his novellas and short stories explodes with vitality in Chilean Poet. Contemporary, ingenious, magnificent -- Samanta Schweblin, author of * Little Eyes *
Every beat and pattern of being alive becomes revelatory and bright when narrated by Alejandro Zambra. He is a modern wonder -- Rivka Galchen, author of * Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch *
Zambra writes with wit and warmth, and his characters are penned with compassion and humour... An uplifting and at times laugh-out-loud read -- Jo Lateu * New Internationalist *
[Chilean Poet] treats the thorny topic of collective identity not as tragedy, but as a familial comedy. Its laughs are forged across languages * New York Times Book Review *
A tender and funny story about love, family and the peculiar position of being a stepparent ... [Chilean Poet] broadens the author's scope and quite likely his international reputation * Los Angeles Times *
Splendid . . . [it has] one of the best endings to a novel that I have read in years, a scene of beautiful emotional improvisation * Wall Street Journal *
The thing that has always made Zambra's writing irresistible (to me, anyway) is his attention to the seemingly inconsequential matters that render our lives so flush with consequence... wonderfully original -- Il'ja Rakos * The Millions *
[Zambra is] an artist who does not simply notate the numbing details of daily life but spins the quotidian into art * Vulture *
...cleareyed and tender * Kirkus Reviews *
Excruciatingly funny... a highly entertaining, engaging and complex detailing of why words matter -- translated fiction round-up by Michael Cronin * The Irish Times *
So convincing, so tenderly wrought, and so laugh-out-loud funny, that one begins to suspect Chilean Poet might be the best thing [Zambra has] ever written... it is, in short, a complete joy -- Jane Graham * Big Issue *
A heartwarming comedy about parenthood and poetry... deft, poignant and emotionally acute -- Houman Barekat * FT *
Superb... [Zambra is] one of the sharpest writers in Spanish today... Chilean Poet, happily, is accomplished at all it does -- Cal Revely-Calder * Sunday Telegraph *
The pursuit of a poetic life becomes the vehicle for a wry and poignant story of masculine self-discovery ... A sharp-eyed, warm-hearted modern-family romance in the vein of a David Nicholls or Nick Hornby from the Southern Cone... [a] genial, shrewd and tender novel -- Boyd Tonkin * ArtsDesk *
In this profound, at times absurd and often very funny investigation of family and failure, Zambra proves himself to be an important voice in contemporary Latin American literature * Monocle *
