Reviews - The Devil Takes You Home

The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias

1.47k reviews for:

This didn't really do it for me. I didn't really understand how the main character just suddenly became a cold-blooded murderer. I also didn't really like the magical realism/supernatural elements in this book, and I think overall the plot dragged. Also I think that not speaking Spanish will really detract from the experience of reading this book. There were often full untranslated paragraphs in Spanish… Not the worst ever but I probably wouldn't recommend it.

tey_lynn's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

cancillacat's review against another edition

5.0

This is the best book I have read in a LONG time!! Beautiful writing, was easy to get into, actually made my heart race at parts, and the ending was satisfying!

dz1695's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

book_mark1's review against another edition

3.0

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Liked the ambience of this story and its interest in the material roots of evil. Also really enjoyed the “iykyk” vibe of a borderlands noir going in and out of Spanish, giving enough context in English but respecting the fact that Spanish (or Spanglish) is more realistic for many characters (sorry Brian).

Ultimately felt like this could have been a short story. I liked the elements of supernatural horror introduced, but it didn’t seem like they really were developed or resolved. After the first 30 pages, Mario’s character beats (regret, longing, suspicion) also felt like they were just reemphasized rather than challenged.

Maybe that’s just a deliberate emphasis on what it’s like to spiral in grief, but really thought he’d reach out to his wife at least once?? Or get some kind of update through her Facebook after checking it 10 times??

The book is also occasionally (and intentionally) grotesque, so I found myself skimming through parts to avoid learning what it would really ✨look like✨ to be disemboweled by a monster.