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buzzybuzzybeefudge's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Sexual content, and Drug use
syllareads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Sea Monsters is Chloe Aridjis' third novel, a short but breathtaking piece of art with a meandering voice weaving in and out of the pages like the waves it's trying to describe.
We follow Luisa, a 17-year-old girl who one day decides to follow a young man she hardly knows, Tomás Román, away from her home and onto the "Beach of the Dead", Zipolite. There is not much else plot to be had - most of the book is taken up with Luisa's musings as to how and why she ended up on this beach, her retellings of the past that formed her and the lonely voice of a young girl crying out to the world without understanding it fully.
Aridjis' way of writing is as mesmerizing as it can be slightly confusing at times. The entire novel feels like one big internal monologue, a feeling which is even more reflected by the missing quotation marks for when characters actually deign to speak out loud - it makes the reader feel as if even those loud words might simply be figments of imagination for our young main character. I was at times unsure about this very thing, not knowing if Luisa was actually talking out loud or simply thinking to herself, but instead of making me confused it gave the book a unique, compelling feeling to it; the feeling that we were, indeed, completely stuck in Luisa's head with no chance of leaving until we finished the very last page.
I thoroughly enjoyed this short read though I am certain that people from Luisa's background might find far more things in this piece of art to enjoy.
We follow Luisa, a 17-year-old girl who one day decides to follow a young man she hardly knows, Tomás Román, away from her home and onto the "Beach of the Dead", Zipolite. There is not much else plot to be had - most of the book is taken up with Luisa's musings as to how and why she ended up on this beach, her retellings of the past that formed her and the lonely voice of a young girl crying out to the world without understanding it fully.
Aridjis' way of writing is as mesmerizing as it can be slightly confusing at times. The entire novel feels like one big internal monologue, a feeling which is even more reflected by the missing quotation marks for when characters actually deign to speak out loud - it makes the reader feel as if even those loud words might simply be figments of imagination for our young main character. I was at times unsure about this very thing, not knowing if Luisa was actually talking out loud or simply thinking to herself, but instead of making me confused it gave the book a unique, compelling feeling to it; the feeling that we were, indeed, completely stuck in Luisa's head with no chance of leaving until we finished the very last page.
I thoroughly enjoyed this short read though I am certain that people from Luisa's background might find far more things in this piece of art to enjoy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Drug use
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