BoulderBoulder
Score Modern
What it's about
Working as a cook on a merchant ship, a woman falls in love with Samsa, who nicknames her Boulder. When Samsa gets a job in Reykjavik, they move there together, and Samsa, at forty, decides she wants a child. Boulder, less enthusiastic but unable to say no, finds herself on a journey that feels thankless and alien.
Why it's worth reading
It was a finalist for the International Booker Prize. Eva Baltasar writes with fierce, poetic intensity.
You'll love it if you liked
The Details
Still Born
On Earth We're Briefly GorgeousGood to know
It's very short and translated from Catalan.
By the numbers
- Readers43 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics27 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller17 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz37 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #227 of the 309 literary novels we rank
- #1025 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #1888 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving
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Quick answers
Is Boulder worth reading?
Yes. It was a finalist for the International Booker Prize. It ranks #1,888 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 64.9 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Boulder about?
Working as a cook on a merchant ship, a woman falls in love with Samsa, who nicknames her Boulder. When Samsa gets a job in Reykjavik, they move there together, and Samsa, at forty, decides she wants a child. Boulder, less enthusiastic but unable to say no, finds herself on a journey that feels thankless and alien.
How long does it take to read Boulder?
About 3 hours (112 pages), or about 6 days at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Boulder?
If you liked it, try The Details by Ia Genberg, Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel or On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong.