Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - You Dreamed of Empires

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue

9 reviews

warlocksarecool21's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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? It's complicated

4.5

You Dreamed Of Empires is probably one of the most surreal and unique reading experiences I’ve ever had. Transcending genres and literary conventions, Enrigue imagines an alternative version of what happened when Hernan Cortés and the conquistadores arrived in Tenochtitlan. I can’t fully describe how I feel about this book, but it was such an interesting read and there was a lot of subtle yet profound commentary about empires, religion and humanity.

In this book, Enrigue presents a subversive and complex reimagining of the Spanish conquest & the fall of the Aztec empire. It follows a broad cast of characters, from both the conquistadors perspective and Moctezuma and his court. To me, each character represented a different genre & character archetype and it was fun seeing how the author played with those elements to tell the story. There’s aspects of different genres from the old epic chivalric poems, political thrillers and literary fiction. Each character represents a different perspective on the events surrounding the fall of the Aztec empire and what could have happened instead. There’s interesting commentary about how we remember historical events depending on who is the victor and how so much is lost because of that.
I also really enjoyed the historical and cultural details of the Aztec’s way of life and I learned a lot about their culture and language.

This book was witty, nuanced and philosophical and while some of it went over my head, it was a thought-provoking read and I’m glad I picked it up.

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bb_nostradamus's review

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3.5

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klabardee's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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shay_books's review against another edition

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4.5

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gabydoesgrowth's review against another edition

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This is my bad - I really should have checked the trigger warnings and I didn’t. I have to quit after that super unexpected and nonchalant scene with Malinalli and Cortes. I should have seen it coming considering this is still a story about colonizers, however reimagined it is. I’m out.

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