Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Permafrost by Eva Baltasar

13 reviews

firstiteration's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 Permafrost reads like poetry. The shapes of the protagonist’s relationships and life reveal themselves slowly, and reading is like watching a watercolour painting as it is gradually created. This really is the kind of book where details and images eventually come together to form a whole, especially since the ending was not what I expected when I began my read, but it felt right.

I know not a word of Catalan, so I’m grateful to Julia Sanches for translating this book. I can’t speak to the quality of translation itself, but the translator’s note makes it clear that Sanches worked with a great deal of care and attention to detail. In English, Permafrost is an excellent read.

As a lesbian, Permafrost is one of those books that feels real. I think many of us lesbians feel tense when lesbian sexuality is depicted in fiction because for so long, we’ve been portrayed by non-lesbians in a variety of ways that are exploitative or insulting, especially when it comes to sex. The sexuality in Permafrost is raw and honest. I think that’s incredibly valuable, both because as a lesbian I really enjoy reading it and because it’s good that this kind of portrayal of lesbian sexuality by a lesbian exists. It's not the only one, I know, but it's still rare enough that it's notable to me.

But it goes beyond the sex part of being a lesbian. The protagonist’s feeling of being mismatched with the life that is expected of her and especially the lives of her family members is explored well throughout the book. I really enjoy how Eva Baltasar portrays life, and next I’m going to see if any of her poems have been translated to English.

If you liked Permafrost, I suggest Qiu Miaojin’s Last Words from Montmartre or Virtuoso by Yelena Moskovich. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

very_mellifluous's review

Go to review page

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

3.5

This is a book that I somewhat disliked on first read because it deals with subjects that I am sensitive to: suicide, depression, and the mother wound. However, Permafrost also feels like a book that I will return to, and grow to like more and more as I digest and reflect upon it. I did not relate to the narrator's motives or ways of thinking, and while this was sometimes unsettling and jarring to read, it was also intriguing to 'experience.'

For readers considering Permafrost: the summary on the book jacket is basically irrelevant and mostly useless. Read if you're interested in a character study, love sturdy sentences, and enjoy a non-chronological progression with a killer ending (not a spoiler!). 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

literaryinfatuation's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...