Reviews with content warning for Murder - Eartheater

Tal como lo dice el título esta novela gira entorno a una chica que come tierra, y es que al ingerir la tierra tomada de un sitio donde alguien pasaba mucho tiempo puede ver dónde se encuentran y qué les pasó. Este talento sobrenatural la convierten tanto en paria como en objeto de fascinación y la persona a la que acuden los familiares desesperados de desaparecidos, en general mujeres. A causa de esto, la protagonista es una persona solitaria, que vive alejada de la sociedad y que experimenta la violencia que sufrieron estos individuos, además de vivir ella en un contexto de pobreza y violencia.

La idea general estuvo muy interesante, la mitología de la cometierra me gustó mucho y me pareció un concepto novedoso a desarrollar pero hasta ahí porque la autora no hace mucho más con eso. Este no es un libro con una trama interesante o emocionante, es más como una serie de historias cortas que le pasan a la protagonista. Traga tierra, ve algún crimen, le dice a alguien, se resuelve el asunto y ya. Tampoco creo que con este libro la autora haya conseguido decir algo interesante o innovador sobre la pobreza, el feminicidio, etc. La trama se quedó en lo superficial. Me hubiera gustado más esto dentro de una antología, me parece que el estilo de la autora se presta para historias cortas.

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locuraxloslibros's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

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doomluz's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

5.0

A heartbreaking and raw story. It addresses the femicides happening in Latin America, specifically Argentina.

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ashleymg99's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Read for 2023 Read the World Challenge - Argentina.

This is a story that is so specific to the country and the region, and it was a nice change of settings from what I am used to. It is 100% a tone that I really enjoy (dark, tense, mysterious and a little bit magical/mystical).

I really appreciated this quote from the translator, Julia Sanches:

“Something has been lost in this translation. Or rather, it was never there to begin with…there is no English-language equivalent of the hyperlocal variant of Spanish in which Eartheater was originally written.”

It really put into perspective that I would never be able to appreciate the story as-written, and all the rich context that the native language brings to it. All that being said, I don’t want that to deter you from reading - by all means, the story is great.

Some of the local expressions and way of speaking are sometimes a bit awkward sounding in English, and the story’s conclusion feels a bit unfinished. Overall, it leaves you with more questions than answers, but that was almost undoubtedly the author’s intent.

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