Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Iliac Crest by Cristina Rivera Garza

3 reviews

onthelam's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

i loved the idea but didn't see anything beyond the summary in the book. Maybe it was the translation but really nothing happened, no plot line was tied up. The little questions that had me interested in the starting were just not answered.It felt like one of those abstract art thats just a bunch of squiggles. Maybe i am not smart enough but just expected more.

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maria_winther's review

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4.0

god men samtidig forvirrende (gah)

men den er bevidst forvirrende – jeg tror, forvirringen og udeblivelsen af detaljer og lignende er til for at give læseren en oplevelse af den magtesløshed og manglende kontrol/indflydelse, minoriteter (i bogens tilfælde særligt kvinder og kvindelige mexicanske forfattere) oplever

samtidig diskuterer bogen køn og udfordrer virkelig læserens forudindtagede holdninger og konnotationer (når jeg bliver bedre til spansk vil jeg helt sikkert gerne læse den på spansk)

temaet grænser fylder også meget i bogen, men jeg har brug for at læse den igen for at forstå den bedre (lol)

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annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

was not nearly smart enough for this. the writing was pretty at times but entirely incomprehensible at others. i was really clawing my way through this desperate for any comprehension; i hoped the final sentence would make everything make sense but of course it didn't and i don't fault the book for that. thanks to the wikipedia page for getting me started on some semblance of understanding.
my working theory is that
the narrator and the False and True Amparo Dávilas are all the same person, Amparo Dávila at different stages in her life just minus some/most biographical details. the narrator is maybe intersex? but also i'm sure that's missing the point of the book about gender being more complicated than society's prescribed concrete binary which i know all too well by taylor swift but i can't help but try to rationalize the apparent conflicts between the narrator's self description and the ending's implication
.
went into this with 0 relevant historical knowledge—very embarrassed to admit that i convinced myself the setting was Spain and didn't learn otherwise until i read the wikipedia page—so i don't think it was as effective for me as it might have been had i been familiar with the work of Amparo Dávila. it was like objectively a good book, like this is what literature is, and i really do love forming my own theories on cryptic texts (Beloved!!), but i was just way too unprepared for this to fully appreciate it. i give it like 3⅞ stars
cover design review (i'm choosing to review a different cover than was on the digital edition i read because i like it better): ★★★★½. the title typeface is beautiful. the general layout is very pleasing: the ilium diagram, the line from the titular part of the bone to the title like a label, the background's weathered pattern. i love the bone's shade of blue. my only criticism is that it doesn't really represent the contents of the book.

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