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savvy999's review
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
A whirlwind of emotions. Subtly dazzling and rich. The distinct and provocative voices of the characters emphasize this complicated portrait of just how human a monster can be. We see M from all perspectives, in all of the viscera and gore and introspection that he entails. Grief transforms and makes new the bodies of those involved. Loss of the son, grief at not being the son that was lost, grief from up close and afar. “The monster stands at the borders of the possible”(quote from cohens monster theory, which definitely enhances a reading of this book) Monstrilio engages with the possibility of constructing a life and living it borrowed, that born of tradition/folklore and aided by science this being could be walking alongside others. but also stands with the pain of living amongst without feeling full, of being an outsider in their space and body. The possibility of embracing one’s own monstrosity is daunting and dangerous, but to M is ultimately a triumph of spirit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Sexual violence, Death, Body horror, Animal death, Violence, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Child death
pnwbibliophile's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
What a weird little book! Using elements of Mexican folklore, Monstrilio tells the story of parental grief and the complexities of choosing when to stifle your kids versus letting them be themselves. We follow Magos and Joseph who have lost their 11 year-old son, Santiago, because of Santiago’s congenital lung condition. In her grief, Magos pulls from a Mexican folklore story, convinced by the tale she can grow a new son by taking out a piece of Santiago’s lung postmortem and feeding it in a jar. The lung does grow into something—a furry ball with an “arm tail” that Magos soon finds has animalistic instincts for blood and the cats and birds of her neighborhood. She names the creature Monstrilio and first tries to hide the creature from her friends and family. The creature is discovered after it atacks one of them. I’m going to refer to all the adults in Monstrilio’s life as “the family” for simplicity’s sake.
The family—Magos, Joseph, Magos’ mother, the mother’s caretaker, and Magos’ friend— all are navigating how their grief ties into their relationships with one another while making sure Monstrilio doesn’t hurt anyone else and still showing him a humane level of love that at times feels very tender as if Monstrilio were somewhere between human and loved but unruly pet. Magos, firm in her belief Monstrilio will grow into Santiago, treats him as such and is his biggest “protector” while the others feelings towards Monstrilio grow and evolve throughout the novel. They all try to stifle Monstrilio’s cravings for blood to make him behave more human. About halfway through, the adults decide Monstrilio is trying to grow into a human, but his “arm tail” is holding him back so Magos’ doctor friend amputates it. This leads us to the last section of the novel where Monstrilio becomes exactly like Santiago, possessing his memories and appearance, but still having a disquieting appetite for human blood and a mouth which can unhinge (though he can hide the mouth). The adults pivot to calling him “M” now that he’s “human.” During this time, we see Monstrilio navigating both his desire for other men and his kink(?) to bite the men he sleeps with. His desire to bite grows into a desire for blood and human flesh and pulls the family into the drama of trying to hide the aftermath. At it’s core this novel is about grief, but the metaphor and symbolism then can be interpreted in various ways such that readers will likely think the book represents different things.
I’m going to expound a lot about my own life next, not because I think my life is important or interesting, but more to get the point across about why I connected so much with this book. I wouldn’t say I love it because it’s horror and not supposed to elicit that emotion, but it certainly got me thinking outside the pages. The author deserves kuddos for that alone. As a neurodivergent gay child of divorce who lost my brother at age 12 and saw that singular event ripple through my family, this felt hauntingly written for me. Because I have a lot of trauma surrounding my own sexuality and my brother’s death, I have perhaps too emotionally complex feelings about the time where I was 12-21. During this time, I was processing my own grief sans therapist, watching the same grief manifest itself in my family members in ways I struggled to process, and simultaneously feeling terrified I would be outed and lose all of my family and friends. It was this odd double-estrangement from my family—one part grief, one part identity. I’m still not healed from the scars of those years and never will be. And I had parents who loved me and genuinely did their best, yet not even the most “perfect” parents can shield their child from being scarred by all that.
How does this apply to Monstrilio? It was hard not to see my own story in his own. Part of what made this novel so poignant to me was that the author uses metaphor and symbolism but what is being represented is left wide open to reader interpretation, which makes it feel dynamic, complex, and mysterious. Some authors use these rhetorical devices less subtly such that they lead their readers with obvious clues so what the devices represent is undeniably obvious. This author figuratively said, “Screw that, I’ll give them the scaffolding and let the reader construct the whole damn building.” What you think this story represents can vary from reader to reader and even within your own head over time. That was unique. I am still digesting this novel days later such that my ideas surrounding the novel’s meaning feel like neverending branching, budding fractals. My ideas about the novel’s meaning have only budded more complex ideas, which budded more, on and on.
Here are some of the many questions and considerations I found myself pondering:
-Is Santiago a symbol of a child born out of a sham marriage? Joseph, the father, remarries a man and Magos, the mother, clearly has a bi-curious side at minimum. As their marriage dissolves, are we seeing the symbolic death of this kid’s childhood as the divorce forces him to grow up in ways unfair to the child?
-Is Monstrilio a symbol of what parental grief can do to children not old enough to process their parent’s emotions? We see this in the awkwardness of Monstrilio as he grows and tries to interact—often awkwardly—with the adults navigating their grief.
-Is Monstrilio a symbol for a young person navigating their queerness or kink in a world that looks down on these things?
-This is a little out there, but could his “arm tail” amputation be looked at in the same way parents put their kids through circumcision or FGM?
-Is Monstrilio just a broader metaphor for raising a kid? Parents have to make such difficult decisions about when to shelter their kids versus when to let them be exposed to the real world to grow, develop, and learn.
-The adults in Monstrilio’s life try to mold and repress his true nature both because they are afraid of him and because they want to protect him and that felt so authentic to the way many parents deal with neurodivergence, sexuality, and gender expression. Yet the conflicted nature of these adults as they struggle with letting Monstrilio be who he is versus needing to suppress his nature to protect him and others also felt very tender and authentic. Each character’s motivations are portrayed well.
-Is Monstrilio a metaphor for a child forgotten after their sibling dies where the parents succumb to grief and forget to raise the remaining child?
-This one is a stretch, but could Monstrilio be a metaphor for a child and parents navigating the child’s sexual abuse by an outside person we never meet in the book?
-Is Monstrilio not even a real, corporeal being but just represents the life Santiago’s parents imagine for their dead son in their grief and the “monster” bits are the bittersweet nature of imagining one’s dead loved ones “could be” life. Even when you imagine their life being so idyllic, it’s tainted by the fact that they’re gone.
-Queer people often first grapple with their sexuality at puberty’s onset in ways that make it feel like your own inner child is killed off as you try to understand very adult topics. Santiago’s death at age 11 could symbolize this.
-Does Monstrilio represent the idea that “hurt people hurt people” and the cycle of abusive parents raising kids that grow to abuse others?
-Could Monstrilio represent a child the parents never wanted but try their best to raise. Yet that lack of true love for the child ends up causing the child to grow up scarred as they grow up and piece together the signs their parents never wanted them.
-Does Monstrilio just represent grief? You could see this in how all the adults navigating Santiago’s death try to support one another and Monstrilio, but no matter how genuine and deep their love is, it can never undo the scars grief left behind.
-Could Monstrilio represent the idea of parents unprepared for a child’s disability?
-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.
-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.
Those are all questions I pondered and that’s what I loved about the open-ended metaphor and symbolism in the novel. For a shorter novel, it really got my mind whirring. It’s easily to see how anyone can see some of their own complex feeling about their own parents in the novel. At it’s heart, that is what makes this novel truly unique.
Other aspects I loved:
-Use of setting to complement plot. What happened in Berlin felt even scarier to me because I knew the participants were all visitors or on visa, which heightened the stakes of getting caught.
-Mexican folklore was incorporated well with metaphor and symbolism and the literary style of writing.
-Each character perspective felt fleshed-out and served a separate purpose in the wider story. I often don’t love multi-POV novels but this one worked for me.
-How tender and complex the love was between those in the family. Even if the language itself didn’t dive directly into this or linger in the moments it was highlighted, I still felt all these characters cared deeply for each other even when they were in conflict with one another. Capturing that family dynamic well in writing can be tricky, but the author pulls it off.
This book won’t be for everyone because it incorporates horror and doesn’t have a neat, happy ending, but it worked for me. It’s one of those books that I’m not going to say I “loved” because your not supposed to love grief. But it was certainly unique and got me thinking far more than most novels. It elicited a lot of complex emotions in me. I also felt “seen” by this novel, which is why it warranted 5 stars. What does it say about me that I felt so seen by a novel about a monster? 👹😅😆
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Cannibalism, Grief, Blood, Sexual violence, Body horror, Medical trauma, and Death
thegayestghost's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Body horror, Violence, Gore, Blood, Animal death, Death, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma
hannaheinhorn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
very heartfelt. published in 2023 but feels like a true classic. this was a great blend of folklore and horror. this might be a spoiler, but it’s giving flowers for algernon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cannibalism, Blood, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Gore
kumquats87's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Grief, Gore, Blood, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Medical trauma
Minor: Medical content
beanaroni's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
This may be coming from a part of my mind still processing Lou Sullivan's We Both Laughed in Pleasure, but Monstrilio feels so remarkably transmasc (and autistic!) to me. I'm utterly fascinated by Sámano Córdova's mind and how, whether he intended to, he has so succinctly managed to capture the insatiability that comes when you've tasted the truth of your being and the ache of diminishing yourself for those you love.
They are happy to believe I forgot how they maimed me.
They are happy to believe I forgot how they maimed me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Child death, Murder, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Gore, Cannibalism, Grief, Violence, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use
michaelion's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I've never read a book where the characters are gay and it's not central to the plot and have that book be anything less than 4.5 stars. Gay for no reason! Gay people being people who also happen to be gay!
I'm clawing at reasons not to give this 5 stars. The best books leave me speechless in my reviews, and this is one of them despite the fact I do have a lil sum sum to say. There's something about it that left me hovering just under 5 stars. M's section alone is worth 5 stars for sure, but for the others I was like oh this book is a 4.25, 4.5, and then M blew it out the park. I love books that leave me with an empty lingering feeling in the pit of my stomach. What an excellent writer. Such beautiful descriptions. I left this book hungry and enjoyed my meal. As a person with an unhealthy, complicated relationship with food, know that's quite a task. And then the story? W O W . I love when families ❤️ There's truly layers to this. And it was so hard renting this from my li rary it doesn't seem to stay on the shelves, FOR GOOD REASON !!! I WILL be buying it.
I'm clawing at reasons not to give this 5 stars. The best books leave me speechless in my reviews, and this is one of them despite the fact I do have a lil sum sum to say. There's something about it that left me hovering just under 5 stars. M's section alone is worth 5 stars for sure, but for the others I was like oh this book is a 4.25, 4.5, and then M blew it out the park. I love books that leave me with an empty lingering feeling in the pit of my stomach. What an excellent writer. Such beautiful descriptions. I left this book hungry and enjoyed my meal. As a person with an unhealthy, complicated relationship with food, know that's quite a task. And then the story? W O W . I love when families ❤️ There's truly layers to this. And it was so hard renting this from my li rary it doesn't seem to stay on the shelves, FOR GOOD REASON !!! I WILL be buying it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Sexual content, Gore, Grief, Violence, Body horror, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical content, Animal cruelty, Murder, Animal death, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Abandonment, Drug use, Confinement, and Medical trauma
onlyincursive's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Somehow devastated me and gave me hope at the same time. An interesting look at the ways people handle grief and the challenges of living in a world where you’ll never fit in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Death, Dysphoria, Grief, Medical content, Murder, and Gore
Moderate: Eating disorder, Medical trauma, Violence, and Drug use
Minor: Toxic relationship, Excrement, Cursing, and Suicidal thoughts
littlelines's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Ooh this book was good. It defied my expectations in a very fun way, where I was expecting a gut wrenching, grief-driven horror that dragged me to the pits of hell, but what I got was a mysteriously uplifting family drama with a horrific edge. The language is beautiful and concise, the characters are crafted well and stay consistent throughout. I also loved how queer this book is. It’s so good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Violence, Medical trauma, Child death, and Animal death
smuds2's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
For a first novel, it is quite good - I'd happily read any another novels written by Córdova.
The pacing is quite good - I think it pauses where it needs to pause and speeds where it needs to speed. I think I would have liked it to sit a bit more with Joseph - it felt like his chapter was stuck mostly with narrative and rapid character development to a climax.
There were some unnecessary sexual explicit scenes for my taste (I'm not quite sure the fact that they were sexually explicit added anything valuable to the importance of the scenes). I also think that at times, the first three chapters lapsed into kind of a generic voice.
I think that, thematically, this is a great work of weird-fiction? Magical realism? depicting the grieving process. Lucia, not really understanding monstrilio, but begrudgingly living with it (I'm thinking especially post attack). Lena just being supportive to both her friend(s) and the manifestation of their grief. Magos arc of basically saying "I can fix it", while it 'dragged' on her life (although, not for the worse - I'm thinking of her turning down the Valencia gig to stay with family could easily be interpreted as a reprioritization directly as a result of the strengthened bonds formed during grief).
I don't think Josephs arc is nearly as clean - and maybe that's the point?
And I'm not quite sure how to square away uncle luke in this setting - is he the enabler? Is that good? The safe place to act your worse during grief?
I also think that a major shortcoming of the book was not sitting with lucia's death and then just kind of ignoring jackie. is that because they were not supportive? And as a result faded out of their life? I feel like there could have been thematic commentary for how to grief for a "normal" death.
The pacing is quite good - I think it pauses where it needs to pause and speeds where it needs to speed. I think I would have liked it to sit a bit more with Joseph - it felt like his chapter was stuck mostly with narrative and rapid character development to a climax.
There were some unnecessary sexual explicit scenes for my taste (I'm not quite sure the fact that they were sexually explicit added anything valuable to the importance of the scenes). I also think that at times, the first three chapters lapsed into kind of a generic voice.
I think that, thematically, this is a great work of weird-fiction? Magical realism? depicting the grieving process. Lucia, not really understanding monstrilio, but begrudgingly living with it (I'm thinking especially post attack). Lena just being supportive to both her friend(s) and the manifestation of their grief. Magos arc of basically saying "I can fix it", while it 'dragged' on her life (although, not for the worse - I'm thinking of her turning down the Valencia gig to stay with family could easily be interpreted as a reprioritization directly as a result of the strengthened bonds formed during grief).
I don't think Josephs arc is nearly as clean - and maybe that's the point?
And I'm not quite sure how to square away uncle luke in this setting - is he the enabler? Is that good? The safe place to act your worse during grief?
I also think that a major shortcoming of the book was not sitting with lucia's death and then just kind of ignoring jackie. is that because they were not supportive? And as a result faded out of their life? I feel like there could have been thematic commentary for how to grief for a "normal" death.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Animal death, Drug abuse, Body horror, Cannibalism, Deadnaming, Drug use, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Medical content, Medical trauma, Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Child death, Gore, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, and Torture