Reviews

I Was Dora Suarez by Derek Raymond

chrispaul5's review against another edition

5.0

This is the darkest Noir crime novel I have ever read, the scene setting and the darkness stays with you, I was glad when I finally reached the end as it was at times extremely heavy but that proves to me how well it was written and that the author has achieved his aim.

readingoverbreathing's review against another edition

2.0

"Life, people, the places they made for themselves, the traces they leave behind them like the wake fading behind a ship, the earth itself — life is so precious that I fear one day it might blind me, just as it blinded Suarez."

This is by far the most disturbing book I have ever read. I don't know how a human being could even begin to come up with some of the horrific stuff that is in here. I don't even consider myself a squeamish person, especially if something's just in print, but this book genuinely made me nauseous, making this probably the most unpleasant reading experience I've ever had.

I didn't like the way the plot was done, either, as there wasn't so much an investigation as the protagonist and his partner bullying those guys at the club. And honestly, that was really at least a third of the book. They were basically handed a name, and that was how they solved the case; there was no real intrigue, just fragile male egos unable to deal with their own inferiority on either side of the crime.

There were some spurts of well-written passages that saved this book from sinking any lower, but other than that there was nothing to enjoy here, nothing at all redeemable from the graphicness of it all. It's not even that it was particularly violent (although, yes, it still was), as much as it was sexually disturbing. I have no idea how we could have been assigned this book on an academic level, especially with no content warning, but I guess I'll find out in class this week.

lemon_cake's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

3.5

anti_formalist12's review

4.0

Deeply disturbing, deeply disgusting, and deeply unhappy. A sad story, and not for the weak of stomach.

geemont235's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

piccoline's review against another edition

4.0

Yikes. A nasty bit of business. This is definitely a step up from Factory #3, but the sordid details are, well, wow. Just be prepared for some stomach churning bits.

There's one more Factory novel, but I think I need a breather for a bit after this one.

janhicks's review against another edition

3.0

Harder going than the previous books in the series, mainly because of the nature of the killer. Well written and not sensationalist in tone, it was still twisted - more so than The Devil's Home on Leave, which is also about a psychopath. I can't say I enjoyed it. It feels more like I endured it.

alanfederman's review against another edition

3.0

This is the fourth one of I've read of this series, and the least enjoyable. It was incredibly dark and violent, but all at the expense of good story telling.