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alexctelander's review
3.0
Spanish author Julián Ríos, of Loves that Bind and Poundemonium, brings us his latest piece of work, Monstruary, at the hands of translator Edith Grossman. Monstruary is a complex weave work that simultaneously confuses and elucidates.
Our lead character, Victor Mons, is a painter whose most recent collection is titled Monstruary: “a menagerie of personal demons summoned from the disturbing and often erotic images of his past.” The reader travels sidecar to Mons’ mind, as the painter sets out into the world to discover the muses for his palettes. Along the way we meet a multitude of different characters: beautiful models, fiendish figures, phantasms and prostitutes. Then there is the architect who is attempting to deconstruct a real city by constructing imaginary ones, and the anonymous patron who wishes to have his portrait painted upon the very skin of his mistress.
In Monstruary the reader is taken on a Technicolor trip by the create and skilled hand of Julián Ríos, creating a story that is quite unlike any other.
Originally published on October 8th 2001
For over 500 book reviews, and over 40 exclusive author interviews (both audio and written), visit BookBanter.
Our lead character, Victor Mons, is a painter whose most recent collection is titled Monstruary: “a menagerie of personal demons summoned from the disturbing and often erotic images of his past.” The reader travels sidecar to Mons’ mind, as the painter sets out into the world to discover the muses for his palettes. Along the way we meet a multitude of different characters: beautiful models, fiendish figures, phantasms and prostitutes. Then there is the architect who is attempting to deconstruct a real city by constructing imaginary ones, and the anonymous patron who wishes to have his portrait painted upon the very skin of his mistress.
In Monstruary the reader is taken on a Technicolor trip by the create and skilled hand of Julián Ríos, creating a story that is quite unlike any other.
Originally published on October 8th 2001
For over 500 book reviews, and over 40 exclusive author interviews (both audio and written), visit BookBanter.
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