Scan barcode
pvbobrien's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Murder
Minor: Blood, Grief, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Violence, and Police brutality
starrysteph's review
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
A peculiar, atmospheric novella told in pseudo-documentary style.
In a series of flash forwards and flashbacks, we're dropped into the fictional town of San Cristóbal that suddenly becomes home to a large group of feral children, seemingly from the jungle. While the children start by begging and merely irritate the rest of the community, their behavior sharply heightens and culminates in a stabbing incident in supermarket. Our narrator is a social worker piecing together these events, both from his personal perspective and through a variety of primary and secondary sources.
I have to admit that I hoped for more here. More eeriness, more specificity, more affectedness. The narrator was quite detached ... which led to my personal detachment. There was a LOT of rumination and rhetorical questions, which led to some thought-provoking moments, but also a bit too much lag. This could have been an intense, visceral experience. It has been labeled as horror, but I don't find that to be accurate.
The topics and overarching themes are interesting for sure. The sense of the "other', the labels and assumptions we place on children//childhood "innocence", a sharp criticism of a society that both bemoans and neglects those that are suffering, and so on.
CW: child death, murder, violence, grief, terminal illness, torture, forced institutionalization, injury
In a series of flash forwards and flashbacks, we're dropped into the fictional town of San Cristóbal that suddenly becomes home to a large group of feral children, seemingly from the jungle. While the children start by begging and merely irritate the rest of the community, their behavior sharply heightens and culminates in a stabbing incident in supermarket. Our narrator is a social worker piecing together these events, both from his personal perspective and through a variety of primary and secondary sources.
I have to admit that I hoped for more here. More eeriness, more specificity, more affectedness. The narrator was quite detached ... which led to my personal detachment. There was a LOT of rumination and rhetorical questions, which led to some thought-provoking moments, but also a bit too much lag. This could have been an intense, visceral experience. It has been labeled as horror, but I don't find that to be accurate.
The topics and overarching themes are interesting for sure. The sense of the "other', the labels and assumptions we place on children//childhood "innocence", a sharp criticism of a society that both bemoans and neglects those that are suffering, and so on.
CW: child death, murder, violence, grief, terminal illness, torture, forced institutionalization, injury
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Terminal illness, Violence, and Child death
More...