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His Name was Death by Rafael Bernal

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adoredwords's review

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adventurous reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

klimts15thchild's review

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funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

delore's review

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3.0

I found the concept of this book surreal, Kafkaesque and fantastic. Bernal somehow manages to make sections that are essentially stylised as extended scientific explanations of an absurd regime of authoritarian mosquitoes some of the most engaging/best-written sections of the book. All at the same time, these sections are written in such a way to come across as serious and objective without devolving into pure slapstick (the best way I can describe it is like reading a pop-science book that explores some hair-brained concept from a Thomas Pynchon novel).

That being said, I found some of the nihilistic/religious overtones of the book very hamfisted. The protagonist is written as a fairly cliched alcoholic, life-has-no-meaning type character - which in my view was not explored with much subtlety or originality.

So overall, the book skips along at a fairly fast pace due to the absurdity of its central ideas, but gets weighed down to some extent by cliches and heavy-handedness.

profpeaton's review

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dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

judgejackholden's review

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Almost seems so modern in style so it's impressive to have been such a pioneer.
While it didn't blow me away, it has stayed with me, so may think more of it in a re read.

elmeco's review

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dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A wild and insane ride with a premise that's so ridiculous, it wouldn't work if not for Rafael Bernal's intricate craftsmanship and dedication. Hard to believe this was written in the 1940's, and even harder to believe that it wasn't translated into English until now! Massive kudos to Rafael Bernal for tackling something so ambitious, relenting, and morbid... and absolutely sticking the landing.

Content Warnings