I've spent the past nine months completely immersed in Brautigan's literary works. Each and every book within his catalogue offers its own distinct and wonderful pleasures.

"An Unfortunate Woman" is like a "calendar map" that chronicles the year 1982 of Brautigan's life. It is filled with a sense of longing and reflection as it delves into the themes of time, age, sickness, and death. Yet, it also contains that classic Brautigan humor that I find simply irresistibly delightful.

I have a deep affection for Brautigan as a narrator. His voice has a certain quality that lodges firmly in your mind, to the point where suddenly your own inner monologue is usurped by his. I feel truly fortunate to have had the opportunity to take a brief glimpse into his mind, regardless of whether it is filled with flights of fancy or a more melancholy tone.

It has been an enriching and captivating journey exploring the world of Brautigan's literature, and I look forward to continuing to discover more of his unique perspectives and stories.

Besides the jokes, escapes, and the overall style of this book - which is interesting in its own right - for me, one of the fascinating things about thinking about this style of writing was the perspective behind this kind of writing and autobiography. And how the reader can, through analyzing this work, gain an understanding of their own situation in the diverse modern world.

I wanted to understand the entirety of this book, as well as many of its details.

The author's unique way of presenting his life experiences and thoughts makes the book not only an entertaining read but also a thought-provoking one. It allows the reader to step into the author's shoes and see the world from his perspective.

Moreover, the book's structure and narrative flow are well-crafted, keeping the reader engaged from start to finish. The use of vivid descriptions and interesting anecdotes adds to the overall charm of the book.

In conclusion, this book is not just a simple autobiography but a work that offers valuable insights into the human condition and the modern world.

A Poor Woman is something similar to the autobiography of the author (lacking in details about a certain period of her life), with the difference that the author does not carry out this work in the usual way and perhaps according to her own words, a travelogue-map would be a more appropriate title for this subject.

She is a woman who has experienced many hardships and challenges in her life. Her story is one of struggle and perseverance, but also of hope and love.

Although her life may not have been easy, she has managed to find meaning and purpose in the simplest of things. She has learned to appreciate the beauty in the world around her and to find joy in the smallest of moments.

Through her writing, she hopes to share her story with others and inspire them to keep going, no matter what difficulties they may face. She believes that everyone has a story to tell and that by sharing our experiences, we can help each other to grow and learn.

In conclusion, A Poor Woman is a powerful and moving account of one woman's life. It is a story that will touch your heart and leave you with a greater appreciation for the beauty and complexity of the human experience.

It's truly heartless to rate this book in a hasty and thoughtless manner.

This book may have taken the author countless hours of hard work, research, and creativity to bring to life.

Each word, each sentence, and each chapter is carefully crafted to convey a message, tell a story, or share knowledge.

Ratings can have a significant impact on an author's career and the success of their work.

A low rating without proper consideration can discourage the author and prevent others from giving the book a chance.

Before rating a book, we should take the time to read it thoroughly, understand its context, and appreciate the effort that went into it.

We should also consider our own biases and preferences and try to be objective in our assessment.

By doing so, we can give a fair and accurate rating that reflects the true value of the book.

After all, every book has its own unique charm and deserves to be judged on its own merits.

I feel that this book is a thousand unfinished questions with incomplete answers attached to them.

I think he has introduced his book very well himself.

And this travelogue is definitely not an ordinary travelogue.

It's like a diary of the retired period of Barat!

This book seems to be filled with mysteries and uncertainties, making it all the more intriguing. The author's description makes me eager to explore the contents within.

It's as if each page holds a new adventure or a thought-provoking question.

I can't wait to delve deeper into this unique travelogue and discover what lies beneath its surface.

Maybe it will take me on a journey I never expected, filled with surprises and revelations.

I'm looking forward to uncovering the secrets and stories that this book has to offer.

Man,

I have spent a full 10 days reading this book.

It consists of 110 pages that are completely filled with words.

You finally managed to get to me.

As far as I am aware, Richard Brautigan did not desire for this book to be published during his lifetime.

He must have mentioned something about it to a friend at a time when he knew he would no longer be alive.

Perhaps he had his own reasons for keeping this work unpublished while he was still here on earth.

Maybe he wanted it to remain a secret or thought it was not yet ready for the public eye.

But now, it has come to light and I have had the opportunity to read it, experiencing the words and ideas that Brautigan put down on those pages.

It makes me wonder what his true intentions were and how he would have felt about its publication after his passing.

The book had no engaging ability. It might be due to improper translation (for example, translating "coffee" wrongly and so on) or the original writing was generally lacking in a story line and just plain text.

If for someone, the daily life and the ramblings of a big name, that is, Richard Brautigan, are not important, then what about this map-calendar?? Most likely it will not be exciting, educational or inspiring.

It was interesting that when I reached the end of the book, I saw my own handwriting under the last sentence that I had completed this book in Ordibehesht 90, which was 8 years ago.

It seems that Ordibehesht is Brautigan's month, or the month of an unlucky woman in my calendar.

These ruins puzzle and haunt me. They are like mysterious specters that refuse to be tamed or understood. I stand here, surrounded by their silent presence, yet I haven’t the slightest idea how to catalog them. What museum will they end up in? Will they find a proper place to rest and be appreciated? And this dig, has it just begun or is it over? The uncertainty looms large, like a dark cloud over my thoughts.

I have decided not to use the last line. I’ll leave it to somebody else’s life. I hope they will make better use of it than I would have. But I did try.

Why am I out here alone?

Lyrical melancholy, punctuated with subtle humor, and utterly permeated by death, An Unfortunate Woman has a muted, haunting tone. Elegant Brautigan similes are here in these pages, but without his typical outrageousness. His humor is present, but bone dry - the kind that evokes a smile rather than a guffaw. There is a sense that all is presented in hushed, funereal tones.

The way Brautigan presented this small slice of his life that fit within the pages of one 165 page notebook feels as if a clockwork is winding down. A friend has died. Another friend is dying. He is living in a house where a woman (the unfortunate woman of the title) has recently hung herself. He is estranged from his daughter. He has broken his leg, and seems to be hobbling into an uncertain future. In so many of his works he hid a profound melancholy just below the surface. In this one it is the entire text, a poignant and powerful exploration of life's fragility and the inevitability of loss.

4.5

The simplicity of the narrative fails to describe the naivety and childlike imagination of Baratigan. The story in the book is a part of Baratigan's travelogue and his own life, and it is the last book before his suicide.

Perhaps Baratigan is a very good writer, or perhaps I like Baratigan a lot, but this is the most childlike and at the same time the saddest travelogue I have ever read. It seems as if "Baratigan" and "death" have written the book together.

"I bought a hot dog and went to the bench on that street, right across from the hotel. My soul and my body didn't feel any pleasure. Suddenly, I lost interest in the rest of the hot dog that I had eaten half of."

Aces and eights, and he was well aware of it. He neither ran towards it nor shirked away from it. However, it is simply impossible not to view this as a conscious farewell. The reference to Euripides/Agamemnon/Iphigenia is just... shit. It is both heavily beautiful and phantasmally funny, like reportage from the abyss that disarms and stands on no pride or posturing.

It made me want to smear my face in white greasepaint.

Aces/eights, the late-greats. They hold a certain allure, a mysterious charm that draws one in. It's as if they are a symbol of something deeper, something that cannot be easily defined. Maybe it's the end of an era, or the beginning of a new one. Or perhaps it's just a random combination of cards that holds a special meaning only to him.

Whatever it is, it has left an indelible mark on his psyche, and on mine as well.

Space that Brautigan is known to most only for "Trout Fishing in America", a cult work and surely representative of a certain trend, but which in my opinion does not fully show the true face of its author.

In his more personal works, Brautigan has a strange and bitterly smiling way of telling pain that I always find even more moving compared to more ostentatious sufferings.

Just as "Trout Fishing" exuded a childish love for the game (both verbal and narrative), so these works maintain a gaze of infantile purity that shines through despite everything, a nakedness in the face of emotions that makes him too sensitive (and thus in the long run unfit to bear the weight of life). In my eyes, he falls into that category of people with no defenses against the creaking of the world, save for their intelligence and irony (to give an example of another member of this club, Robin Williams comes to mind: I remember his last beautiful segments on David Letterman, where curtains of intelligence and irony barely veiled the melancholy that was actually dismantling the apartment inside).

And, as already in the masterpiece "American Dust", the melancholy in Brautigan is linked to loss and time (always intertwined in a double thread almost to become synonyms): the book is in every respect a diary related to the length of the notebook bought at the tobacco shop, and when it is finished, the book will be finished too. The narration unravels along the numerous movements of the author between the United States and Canada, between fragments of memories, thoughts, fantasies that interrupt and deviate the meager project because, just like in life and as life itself, it cannot be planned in advance.

The style is his, extremely effective in its simplicity, full of humanity and irony. In some ways, it reminded me of my beloved Coupland but without the halo of success surrounding him.

And so much melancholy is reinforced in me as a reader by the awareness that Brautigan would commit suicide two years after writing this book. He himself states at one point that what gives meaning to this period is precisely the book he is writing. And what he concludes with the sentence "There are ten useful lines left on this page and I have decided not to use the last line. I want to leave it for the life of another person. I hope they make better use of it than I could have. But I tried.", this, with the hindsight, weighs like a boulder.

270 stars for this book. It is truly a remarkable piece of work. I find myself completely engrossed in its pages, and I wish there were a thousand more.

Richard Brautigan's writing is like a unique dish that can be prepared in various ways. And this particular version of his work is my absolute favorite.

His words have a magical quality that transports the reader to a different world, filled with vivid imagery and profound emotions.

Each page is a new adventure, and I can't get enough of it.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves to read and explore the depths of the human imagination.

It is a literary masterpiece that will stay with you long after you've turned the last page.

Brautigan's talent shines through in every sentence, and I can't wait to discover more of his works.

This book is a must-read for all book lovers out there.