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pagesandtales's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: Cannibalism, Sexual content, and Animal death
Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, and Death of parent
ccerpa's review against another edition
2.75
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Murder, Medical content, Grief, Gore, Death, Child death, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Blood
mxunsmiley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It is uneven in its presentation besides; after Magos’s point of view, which begins the novel, we go into Lena, who, while compelling, is not nearly as striking as Magos, who oscillates between aloofness, cruelty, wrought passion… a real spectrum of what is deemed unsavory in a woman, and a grieving mother, at that. She makes bizarre and incomprehensible statements and decisions, unfortunately given attention less and less as the narrative moves to Joseph and Peter, and finally, M, who then takes after his mother in intrigue.
It wasn’t exactly clear what M was meant to be—a reincarnation of Santiago, a creature with memories imposed on him through the willing of his birth, who knows—but that lack of definition framed the novel’s exploration of parenthood and children’s autonomy. A struggle to be that which his parents, or his “creator”, so desperately wanted him to be, insisting they can “tame” him, “transform” him, even as it causes him despair, confusion, and shame. Parents have all kinds of expectations for their children before they are even born; in one of Joseph’s chapters, he speaks of how he fantasized a future in which Santiago was thirty, happy beyond belief, while fully admitting that he didn’t have any idea what could have made Santiago so happy. Magos even says, “I know what Monstrilio is. I made him,” imposing all of her desires onto him, her desire which gave him form in the first place; thus, does he have any right to his own personhood? The plea of the child then seems paradoxical, perhaps, though all they long for is love and acceptance for what they choose—or sometimes, are forced—to become.
While there is a clear differentiation in voices, and a wide cast of characters, there aren’t many moments when it feels as though they are truly present in the narrative. Funnily enough, it’s like performance art, and the characters are set pieces, maybe speaking to the fable-like nature of the novel. The author’s Mexican background is obvious here, with the astute symbolism of a deteriorating house, nevertheless patched up frantically to give a show of respectability and dignity, keeping up appearances… Magos rebelling against that image of the Good Mexican Mother/Woman, particularly during the mass, was especially appreciated.
There’s a lot of clumsiness, but overall, the narrative absorbed me and ultimately, I enjoyed how bizarre it all was, despite the ending feeling a bit too rushed;
Graphic: Animal death, Cannibalism, and Gore
holy_moly_colee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Child death, Gore, Cannibalism, Grief, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Murder, and Violence
pnwbibliophile's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
-Does Monstrilio represent how we all at times dehumanize those around us by focusing on their “otherness” not out of empathy or celebrating their attributes but as a means of separating ourselves from them.
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Cannibalism, Grief, Blood, Sexual violence, Body horror, Medical trauma, and Death
entommoore's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
Graphic: Cannibalism, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror
kalldaff's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Cannibalism, Murder, Child death, Body horror, Animal death, and Gore
Moderate: Drug use
michael_langeloo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Blood, Murder, Animal death, Death, Drug use, Grief, Violence, Body horror, Medical content, Sexual content, and Gore
ghostingarden's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Murder, and Child death
Moderate: Sexual content and Animal death
dezaraemd's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Blood, Grief, Animal death, Gore, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual content, and Infidelity
Minor: Ableism