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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Hot Sur a literary thriller that tells the intertwined stories of Maria Paz, an immigrant charged with killing her husband, and Ian Rose, whose son was killed in a motorbike accident. It’s a story with many layers - immigration, prison life, religious fanaticism, ritualistic killings, the legal system, the American dream, grief, love, betrayal and more. I enjoyed its structure - a writer is compiling a book and the source material includes interviews with Ian Rose, notebooks from his son, and a manuscript by Maria Paz. It’s a long book and the style is very discursive. Sometimes I enjoyed it and found it immersive and absorbing; at other times bloated and boring. It’s a very challenging read, slow to get going and come together, definitely darker than my usual fare. At times it compelled my attention yet at other times I was desperate to look away.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, and Violence
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