Reviews

The Taiga Syndrome by Cristina Rivera Garza

pearloz's review against another edition

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4.0

Another breezy, cool but mostly weird literary mystery from this author. Loving the Mexican lit I’ve read lately—it’s like they’re writing for each other, they’re all so ethereal and dreamy and strange.

soynatnat's review against another edition

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mysterious

3.0

laurenboys's review

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dark mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

seashelly's review

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5.0

I read this very slowly for how short it is -- but it was worth it. I found it effective in its construction, the focus on the report, and how short its sentences often were. How fragmented it felt did reflect fragmented truths, and overall I'd say it accomplished its aim remarkably well! I understand why the lack of concrete answers is a main thing in this, but personally I'd have appreciated a clearer narrative from *something* in this, even if it had been a bird, because despite how muddled people want it to be, there is one truth, in real life.

nica00's review against another edition

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4.0

This is the strangest book I have ever read.
Read doesn’t seem like the right word. I deeply sensed this story rather than comprehended the words. The suggested playlist included with this book complimented the story’s atmosphere.
This story is a vague, poetic, horrible, surreal, metaphoric fairy tale hallucination that I immediately wanted to reread. I will have to sit with this experience for a while & see what sense I can make of it.

katreviewof's review against another edition

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2.0

man oh man i am one stupid lil girl. i know this is probably a really good lil book but also i don’t have the mental strength to figure out what’s going on. it gets bonus points for being incredibly short.

jvillanueva8's review against another edition

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2.0

Perhaps the only book I’ve read that I’d consider too abstract and metaphorical for me.

BEAUTIFUL prose. This is a stunning translation.

In general, does a nice job capturing some universal themes of the human experience.

reallbee's review against another edition

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2.0

I liked the concept but half the time I had no idea what was happening while I was reading it.

thistledownhair's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

mrsklrv's review against another edition

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4.0

beautiful writing