It’s been too long since my last KaffeeKlatsch so I thought I would resume my KaffeeKlatsch posts with a book that you won’t forget once you take the risk of reading it. As usual, I will be recommending a perfect coffee pairing to match this book. So, grab your favourite beverage, get comfortable and let’s klatsch this week’s book and what Coffee I’ve chosen for this reading session… Then I dare you to get your own copy of this book. But only if you’re prepared to be disturbed…
ABOUT PERFECT DAYS
A twisted young medical student kidnaps the girl of his dreams and embarks on a dark and delirious road trip across Brazil in the English-language debut of Brazil’s most celebrated young crime writer.
Teo Avelar is a loner. He lives with his paraplegic mother and her dog in Rio de Janeiro, he doesn’t have many friends, and the only time he feels honest human emotion is in the presence of his medical school cadaver—that is, until he meets Clarice. She’s almost his exact opposite: exotic, spontaneous, unafraid to speak her mind. An aspiring screenwriter, she’s working on a screenplay called Perfect Days about three friends who go on a road trip across Brazil in search of romance. Teo is obsessed. He begins to stalk her, first following her to her university, then to her home, and when she ultimately rejects him, he kidnaps her and they embark upon their very own twisted odyssey across Brazil, tracing the same route outlined in her screenplay. Through it all, Teo is certain that time is all he needs to prove to Clarice that they are made for each other, that time is all he needs to make her fall in love with him. But as the journey progresses, he digs himself deeper and deeper into a pit that he can’t get out of, stopping at nothing to ensure that no one gets in the way of their life together. Both tense and lurid, and brimming with suspense from the very first page, Perfect Days is a psychological thriller in the vein of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley—a chilling journey in the passenger seat with a psychopath, and the English language debut of one of Brazil’s most deliciously dark young writers.
This story, this main character, this writer will chill you to the bone.
This is a book I’ve actually reread twice now. I don’t often do this with books. But if a thriller leaves me with too many questions or disturbs me, I tend to go back for a reread. This is one of those books.
Raphael Montes is a celebrated crime writer in his native country of Brazil but this book is his English-written debut. Wow! What a debut! In each read-through of this book, I read it in one sitting. It is unputdownable, page-turning, disturbing thriller perfection. Yes, this book is about obsession, delusion and rejection. But this book is very different from other books which feature the same themes. Raphael Montes has got a very distinctive Voice. It is this Voice and the style choices he made to tell this story that make this story a stand-out for me. He has chosen to tell the story from a 3rd person POV in a very distinctive unemotional voice. Everything that takes place in this story is deeply twisted, chilling and disturbing. Using this unemotional, almost cold and rational style to tell this story gives it an even more delusional edge.
This is a story that will stay in your mind for a long time afterwards. Be aware that this is a book that cannot be read lightly. It is a violent story with incredibly psychopathic behaviour. But, it is a story that will haunt you. Just wait until you get to Page 198… Some books have great beginnings, some great endings, some take a while to warm up but the meat is in the middle. But for me the entire horror of the story, the full pay-off is in the first chapter of Perfect Days and the very last paragraph. I knew with the first chapter this would be a page-turner of a story but I knew with the last paragraph that this writer is a master story-teller. Perfect Days has definitely earned a perfect 5 star/coffees review from me.
☕️ ☕️ ☕️ ☕️ ☕️
Read this book if you have ever felt or been the subject of unrequited love. Read this book if you loved Misery by Stephen King or love Gillian Flynn.
I leave you with the quote that Raphael Montes has chosen to include at the beginning of this story and that perfectly sums up the beating heart of this story.
“There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness. | Friedrich Nietzsche”
[I would like to thank Netgalley, the publisher and the Author for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.]
Author|Book
Author Website (Site is in Portuguese)
Buy The Book – Available in Hardback / Paperback / Ebook
What is a good book without coffee?? What is a Kaffeeklatsch without the Kaffee…
For “Perfect Days | Raphael Montes” I recommend pairing this unputdownable book with a few cups of the sinfully delicious Toasted Coconut Mocha. As this book takes you on a twisted road trip of Brazilian pieces of Paradise so it’s time to get in a Paradise mood. Just be warned, Paradise always contains illicit danger…
Tell me, What Books and Coffee (or other delicious poison) are keeping you up at night?
Kim Koning 
Hi there! I just came across this post of yours and your blog in general and I couldn’t help but comment and tell you how much I adore your blog and love this post! Keep up the great work, I am going to follow you so I can keep up with all your new posts!
Thanks! Nice to connect with someone new.
You are so sweet to message me back! You are so welcome, your blog is wonderful and I am so happy I came across it!
Do you have Twitter or Instagram? I would love to follow you!
Yes I have both. Links are in my social media menu at the top of this site.
Great I will follow you now thanks!
That sounds like one freaky book, right up there with the best of the thrillers. As I was reading, it made me think of some of the true crime books I’ve read.
I am currently reading The Lost City of Z by David Grann, a New York Times writer. It’s narrative non-fiction, which I don’t read a lot. It’s a fascinating look at the men who mapped our planet, especially the interior of the Amazon. The author follows in the footsteps on one of the great early explorers who disappeared, along with his son and his son’s friend. I never have enough time to just sit and read for hours, but when I do, I’ll finish it. I’m a lover of history and exploration, so this is right up my alley.
Coffee today is Ethiopian Sidamo, full of red earth, berries and chocolate, with a hint of sunshine. Music is Jurassic Park.
Ooh pour me a cup of coffee, I’ll join you.
Now I must say I haven’t read too much narrative non-fiction but that book definitely sounds intriguing.
You are more than welcome to join me. We’ll sit on the back deck in the summer sun with our coffee and our books.