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12dejamoo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
At once very confusing and super compelling. There was something about it which made me want to keep reading even as I got very lost in much of it. I am hesitant to call it 'weird' because I think it belongs to a culture I don't have experience of, but there definitely is that hazy blending of futurism, dystopia, religion, sex, and questions about gender. Multiple characters have multiple lives going on at the same time to the point where you aren't ever quite sure what's real or who is who. Some of this becomes obvious as you read, but it does leave you quite confused at times.
I wonder how much more would be clear if you had an understanding of orishas and Dominican traditional religion, and how much was lost on me as an outsider. I'm definitely glad I read it but I probably wouldn't rush back to it again.
I wonder how much more would be clear if you had an understanding of orishas and Dominican traditional religion, and how much was lost on me as an outsider. I'm definitely glad I read it but I probably wouldn't rush back to it again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Rape
waterbear0821's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Well. I didn’t really enjoy this. It was too filthy and distressing and literary. It was deeply unpleasant and full of slurs and violence and harm. But the story is brilliant and bizarre and I know it will stick with me and I’ll probably want to read it again.
Pros:
-well-executed, unique sci-fi time travel
-twisty and brain-expanding
-captivating description of dystopian future; good world-building
Cons:
-truly how many racial slurs and homophobic slurs and how much violent misogyny must I read?
-so, so many content warnings
-the author is a musician and the droning, pretentious descriptions of the songs and music characters are playing or listening to throughout the book are cringe and insufferable
-high on aesthetics, light on plot. I’m curious what this author will write in the future
Pros:
-well-executed, unique sci-fi time travel
-twisty and brain-expanding
-captivating description of dystopian future; good world-building
Cons:
-truly how many racial slurs and homophobic slurs and how much violent misogyny must I read?
-so, so many content warnings
-the author is a musician and the droning, pretentious descriptions of the songs and music characters are playing or listening to throughout the book are cringe and insufferable
-high on aesthetics, light on plot. I’m curious what this author will write in the future
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Transphobia, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Homophobia, and Cultural appropriation
beansandrice's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This could've easily been 5/5, and it's sad it's not. A queer latin take on climate fiction, what more could I ask for? A less racist book :/
The African spiritual themes are treated as set-dressing, and black characters are treated terribly throughout the entire book, which makes the spiritual stuff feel appropriative. Even though near the endone of the characters of color says "damn isn't this racist?" it feels almost like a South Park take on racism: do something racist then say "damn that's racist!"
But on the plus side, it's still a great read. It's incredibly maximalist, and is one of the most unique pieces of climate fiction I've ever read. Is it worth it to make a better world if it's a world you can't live in? What would you be willing to do to live the life you've always wanted? I hope Rita Indiana has some introspection, then writes another book.
Last note, I read the English translation, but I'm not sure it's the strongest. There were some moments where I could tell what the original Spanish was and it was clear the English didn't hit the mark. If you want to read this and you can read Spanish, I'd recommend getting a Spanish copy.
The African spiritual themes are treated as set-dressing, and black characters are treated terribly throughout the entire book, which makes the spiritual stuff feel appropriative. Even though near the end
But on the plus side, it's still a great read. It's incredibly maximalist, and is one of the most unique pieces of climate fiction I've ever read. Is it worth it to make a better world if it's a world you can't live in? What would you be willing to do to live the life you've always wanted? I hope Rita Indiana has some introspection, then writes another book.
Last note, I read the English translation, but I'm not sure it's the strongest. There were some moments where I could tell what the original Spanish was and it was clear the English didn't hit the mark. If you want to read this and you can read Spanish, I'd recommend getting a Spanish copy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault
rigeloutinspace's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Mental illness, Drug use, Drug abuse, Classism, Animal death, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Abortion, Incest, Racism, Colonisation, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Animal cruelty
This book is a challenging read and tackles a lot of challenging stuff, but i found it educational, thoughtful provoking, and inspiring. Was hard to put down once I was in it.full_of_flowers's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
3.0
If you appreciate The Tempest, Emily St. John Mandel's Sea of Tranquility, or Philip K. Dick's VALIS trilogy, you may enjoy the shifting and strange structures here. Many interesting thoughts on identity, disaster, and the battle between our agenda and those chosen for us, among other themes.
I was uncomfortable with the book's use of slurs; although this gets some context as the book unfolds, it doesn't feel justified or like it's accomplishing anything. Through such language, it exhibits characters' hateful attitudes without challenging them in a meaningful enough way. Additionally, there are moments that delve into very difficult topics, such as sexual violence and the treatment of marginalized communities, without proper acknowledgement or care. I do wonder if some of these issues read somewhat differently in the original Spanish, and may be interested in reading that version at some point.
I was uncomfortable with the book's use of slurs; although this gets some context as the book unfolds, it doesn't feel justified or like it's accomplishing anything. Through such language, it exhibits characters' hateful attitudes without challenging them in a meaningful enough way. Additionally, there are moments that delve into very difficult topics, such as sexual violence and the treatment of marginalized communities, without proper acknowledgement or care. I do wonder if some of these issues read somewhat differently in the original Spanish, and may be interested in reading that version at some point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Racial slurs
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Transphobia
clara_ward's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Bullying, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Transphobia
Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, and Biphobia
mackenzi's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content
Minor: Sexual assault
vegetablemathematics's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual violence and Sexual assault
Minor: Rape, Racism, and Violence
valpal77's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Addiction, Drug abuse, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Racial slurs, Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Death
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Dysphoria
femmenova's review against another edition
challenging
- Loveable characters? No
For full disclosure: I DNF-ed it at 42 pages and I only got that far into the book because I was trying to make sense of what I was reading. There's just so much exposition dump and sexual and racial violence casually mentioned for the sake of.. shock? To show how post-apocalyptic the state of the world is? The writing is dense and convoluted for the sake of introducing many different stories to understand a character more but I don't see it. The book boasts that it is genre-bending but that phrase feels like a catch-all to pretend that this book was something more than what it was which was: clunky writing, bad pacing, the awkward transition between characters that I thought it was a collection of short stories instead, and bad character studies.
Between that and finding out that the author is a whole ass non-Black person, which immediately made me reading the work uncomfortable because of the casual N-word being thrown around and how every Black supporting person in the book is hated by the main character(s).
Listen, I have read a lot of dark literary books that does not have a single redeeming character in them. Books like The Black Cathedral are of a similar tone to this one but the writing was far more simplistic and the millions of characters that were written were developed in a Show-Not-Dump way.
Not for me at all which sucks because I was excited to read this!
Between that and finding out that the author is a whole ass non-Black person, which immediately made me reading the work uncomfortable because of the casual N-word being thrown around and how every Black supporting person in the book is hated by the main character(s).
Listen, I have read a lot of dark literary books that does not have a single redeeming character in them. Books like The Black Cathedral are of a similar tone to this one but the writing was far more simplistic and the millions of characters that were written were developed in a Show-Not-Dump way.
Not for me at all which sucks because I was excited to read this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Homophobia, Addiction, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Murder, and Drug use