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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova is a unique novel that many will find interesting. It starts with an intense scene and ends with a calmer yet more unsettling one, all while exploring themes of grief, survival, art, and lust.
The novel starts with a scene that explores one of the most intense forms of grief— the loss of a child. Then it follows the consequential actions of a grieving mother who does something that many of us (other than a grieving mother) would find unthinkable, and not just because what she does is based on a fantastical belief and hope. Right off the bat, as a reader, you are thrown into questions surrounding grief and how it connects us to our most honest and basest instincts.
Watching Monstrilio evolve through others’ eyes in the novel was interesting but would have resonated with me more as a reader over the entire course of the novel had there been more scenes with him in it in the middle (meat) of the novel (Lena’s and Joseph’s chapters), when he was growing and changing. For some reason, I didn’t ever really connect with Monstrilio or any of the other main characters all that much, especially during all their sex scenes, of which there were quite a few.
While those sex scenes did draw a complex web of sexual desire to survival and instinct to attempts at love and affection for the main characters, they were mostly devoid of genuine warmth and intimacy in a way that I found striking and, oddly enough, overly distancing. But perhaps that was their purpose? Please note that most readers will not mind this level of distancing from the main characters or might experience something different when reading these scenes. This is a novel about a quasi-monster and those who keep it alive and protect it after all, as they remain conflicted about their own desires and instincts. I, however, ultimately found myself unable to connect with some of the main characters’ perspectives while reading this novel, mainly Joseph’s and Lena’s.
I did appreciate Magos’ chapters and M's chapters the most. They gripped me and held my attention, especially when things started to spiral out of control and get dangerous for others. In fact, I would have liked to read more about their perspectives and unique relationship throughout the novel. And I would have really enjoyed reading more about Magos’ performance art and how it was connected to her relationship with Monstrilio and the other main characters in the novel. I found the underlying question regarding how art is linked to grief and honesty extremely compelling, but wish it was fleshed out more (pun intended).
I also appreciated how the novel ended, and all the conflicting feelings it left, but was left wanting more horrific scenes and or more intimate and sentimental scenes throughout the novel in the end, to better connect with each character.
Overall, I would recommend this novel to readers who enjoy a unique plot with multiple points of view and interesting topics about human nature to explore.
Subscribe to Daily Drafts & Dialogues to receive more book reviews and posts about reading and writing in your inbox every day: dailydraftsanddialogues.substack.com
The novel starts with a scene that explores one of the most intense forms of grief— the loss of a child. Then it follows the consequential actions of a grieving mother who does something that many of us (other than a grieving mother) would find unthinkable, and not just because what she does is based on a fantastical belief and hope. Right off the bat, as a reader, you are thrown into questions surrounding grief and how it connects us to our most honest and basest instincts.
Watching Monstrilio evolve through others’ eyes in the novel was interesting but would have resonated with me more as a reader over the entire course of the novel had there been more scenes with him in it in the middle (meat) of the novel (Lena’s and Joseph’s chapters), when he was growing and changing. For some reason, I didn’t ever really connect with Monstrilio or any of the other main characters all that much, especially during all their sex scenes, of which there were quite a few.
While those sex scenes did draw a complex web of sexual desire to survival and instinct to attempts at love and affection for the main characters, they were mostly devoid of genuine warmth and intimacy in a way that I found striking and, oddly enough, overly distancing. But perhaps that was their purpose? Please note that most readers will not mind this level of distancing from the main characters or might experience something different when reading these scenes. This is a novel about a quasi-monster and those who keep it alive and protect it after all, as they remain conflicted about their own desires and instincts. I, however, ultimately found myself unable to connect with some of the main characters’ perspectives while reading this novel, mainly Joseph’s and Lena’s.
I did appreciate Magos’ chapters and M's chapters the most. They gripped me and held my attention, especially when things started to spiral out of control and get dangerous for others. In fact, I would have liked to read more about their perspectives and unique relationship throughout the novel. And I would have really enjoyed reading more about Magos’ performance art and how it was connected to her relationship with Monstrilio and the other main characters in the novel. I found the underlying question regarding how art is linked to grief and honesty extremely compelling, but wish it was fleshed out more (pun intended).
I also appreciated how the novel ended, and all the conflicting feelings it left, but was left wanting more horrific scenes and or more intimate and sentimental scenes throughout the novel in the end, to better connect with each character.
Overall, I would recommend this novel to readers who enjoy a unique plot with multiple points of view and interesting topics about human nature to explore.
Subscribe to Daily Drafts & Dialogues to receive more book reviews and posts about reading and writing in your inbox every day: dailydraftsanddialogues.substack.com
Gorgeous, painful, excellent. I really think there’s gotta be a bit of surreality to books about grief, because there’s such an element of absurdity to loss, even when it’s the most natural thing in the world. I loved this book’s approach and the ending tore me up. So good.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Sexual content, Murder
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A wonderful and unsettling book about grief and the aftermath of loss. Told through a grieving mother and father that create a monster to replace their son. The 4 POVs give such a glimpse of how people process grief differently and lengths they will go to save the ones they love. I also adore how the book (and whole main family) is also so casually queer.
The last POV especially asks more questions about identity, masking, and perhaps how those who love us are flawed but still beautiful. A melancholy read that I will be thinking about for quite awhile.
The last POV especially asks more questions about identity, masking, and perhaps how those who love us are flawed but still beautiful. A melancholy read that I will be thinking about for quite awhile.
An allegory of grief, Monstrilio is a literary horror that delivers a brilliant concept but ultimately missed the mark for me on its delivery.
I’ve tried to analyse what didn’t land because it definitely has some beautifully sad moments. I think it simultaneously under explored some elements and then over explored others. The hunger metaphor was a little overdone and the body horror I didn’t feel was necessary. Adding the disclaimer here that I’m yet to find a book where I’ve felt body horror is necessary, so that might be a me problem.
I wanted to connect more with the characters and while there were fleeting moments where their grief hit hard, there wasn’t enough depth to the characters for me to fully connect to them. I haven’t read anything like it, it’s an original and ambitious novel but one that fell short of its big ideas.
I’ve tried to analyse what didn’t land because it definitely has some beautifully sad moments. I think it simultaneously under explored some elements and then over explored others. The hunger metaphor was a little overdone and the body horror I didn’t feel was necessary. Adding the disclaimer here that I’m yet to find a book where I’ve felt body horror is necessary, so that might be a me problem.
I wanted to connect more with the characters and while there were fleeting moments where their grief hit hard, there wasn’t enough depth to the characters for me to fully connect to them. I haven’t read anything like it, it’s an original and ambitious novel but one that fell short of its big ideas.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don’t know what I feel after reading this except tired. I loved how it was split into quarters, each with a different pov, as we only get each character’s thoughts for a limited section of the timeline. I was surprised by how much heart there was, though I feel like each character was limited in their true development. Also, Magos is Sally Bowles and no one can convince me otherwise.
I really loved this but, more importantly, I’m obsessed with the cover
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
dark
emotional