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captainjemima's review against another edition
2.0
Down the Rabbit Hole was an interesting novella, with only 70 pages. It was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award 2011. I can't quite decide whether I liked the story or not.
The novella shows the limited life of Tochtli, living in his father Yolcaut's palace in Mexico. Yolcaut is a drug lord and has many secret rooms filled with guns and all sorts. It is not clear how old Tochtli is, but he has a disturbing lifestyle, including a game he plays with his father where one of them has to name a number of bullets hitting a body part, and the other says whether a person would die, survive, or it wasn't clear either way. Tochtli is not allowed to leave the palace, except rarely, and comes into contact with dealers, servants, prostitutes, and hit men in his daily existence. To keep him quiet, his father buys him hundreds of hats, and Tochtli has his own little world going on inside.
I found the lifestyle of Tochtli to be quite disgusting, as he expressed such innocence and knew no better. He made the best out of what he was given, but it was redeeming that among his favourite things to do were studying Japanese history, and memorising the dictionary. When people got killed he hardly batted an eyelid and described glibly how the tigers ate the corpses. The worst part of the novella, for me, was when Tochtli travelled to Liberia with his father and teacher under assumed names. They went on a safari to find one or two of the endangered species, Liberian pygmy hippopotamus. The lack of respect for these almost extinct animals was horrible.
I wouldn't read another novella or novel by this author. Whilst the writing style was fine, and accurately portrayed the innocence of Tochtli against the brutality of his father, I did not enjoy the subject matter.
The novella shows the limited life of Tochtli, living in his father Yolcaut's palace in Mexico. Yolcaut is a drug lord and has many secret rooms filled with guns and all sorts. It is not clear how old Tochtli is, but he has a disturbing lifestyle, including a game he plays with his father where one of them has to name a number of bullets hitting a body part, and the other says whether a person would die, survive, or it wasn't clear either way. Tochtli is not allowed to leave the palace, except rarely, and comes into contact with dealers, servants, prostitutes, and hit men in his daily existence. To keep him quiet, his father buys him hundreds of hats, and Tochtli has his own little world going on inside.
I found the lifestyle of Tochtli to be quite disgusting, as he expressed such innocence and knew no better. He made the best out of what he was given, but it was redeeming that among his favourite things to do were studying Japanese history, and memorising the dictionary. When people got killed he hardly batted an eyelid and described glibly how the tigers ate the corpses. The worst part of the novella, for me, was when Tochtli travelled to Liberia with his father and teacher under assumed names. They went on a safari to find one or two of the endangered species, Liberian pygmy hippopotamus. The lack of respect for these almost extinct animals was horrible.
I wouldn't read another novella or novel by this author. Whilst the writing style was fine, and accurately portrayed the innocence of Tochtli against the brutality of his father, I did not enjoy the subject matter.
daysreads's review against another edition
4.0
This was so good, I can't believe it was only 70 pages.
clone's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
sarah_grace04's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
hollypeckitt's review against another edition
3.0
Read for Creative Writing: Prose Fiction - 1st Year
I don't know what the hell I just read but okay then...
I don't know what the hell I just read but okay then...
duncanhendry's review against another edition
4.0
*CONTAINS SLIGHT SPOILERS*
The childish abandon encapsulated in this tiny novel is endless. I never read blurbs of books and I'm glad I didn't with this because this book because it deals so much in an unraveling of the truth bit by bit in a beautifully crafted way. The naive Tochtli, our narrator, is funny and unflinchingly honest. His innocence in a very unlawful setting is fascinating. I'll be honest I would have liked to have seen more storyline action - we feel the threats of "something" throughout and even when people leave and swear words are tossed around - it doesn't really change anything and the ending doesn't end in truth - I was half expecting a very grown-up resolution or shock event to cap it all off; even for such a young character he seemed doomed to fail. He is given an ultimatum by his father and then doesn't amount to anything - I would be very happy for that to be part one of a novel and include a gradual maturing through the years. Though for the length, you can't doubt the punch it packs!
The childish abandon encapsulated in this tiny novel is endless. I never read blurbs of books and I'm glad I didn't with this because this book because it deals so much in an unraveling of the truth bit by bit in a beautifully crafted way. The naive Tochtli, our narrator, is funny and unflinchingly honest. His innocence in a very unlawful setting is fascinating. I'll be honest I would have liked to have seen more storyline action - we feel the threats of "something" throughout and even when people leave and swear words are tossed around - it doesn't really change anything and the ending doesn't end in truth - I was half expecting a very grown-up resolution or shock event to cap it all off; even for such a young character he seemed doomed to fail. He is given an ultimatum by his father and then doesn't amount to anything - I would be very happy for that to be part one of a novel and include a gradual maturing through the years. Though for the length, you can't doubt the punch it packs!
rogenecarter's review against another edition
5.0
Magnificently original and well-written. I was completely entrenched.
a_luciamontano's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0