Reviews

Three Novels by Yuri Herrera

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dswift_'s review

adventurous challenging reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This was an excellent little collection of novellas, that really captures the Latinx experience. These are modern stories told with a timeless bend. All three stories are worth your time, but Signs Preceding the End of the World is the clear centerpiece (also the 2nd of the 3 stories). I read this out of order because I had read many times that SPtEotW was the best. I am glad I read it that way, as I felt it finished strongly that way. I am tempted to give this 5 stars based simply on how great that novella was, but the other two, while excellent, are slightly underbaked. 4.5 stars perhaps. Either way, read this.

bennyandthejets420's review

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5.0

Entered a bookstore with no strong intentions of buying anything and was suckered into picking this up. I had collected the 3 novellas contained within over the course of a few years only to see them lost, borrowed, or returned with a strange patina of black mold on account of being left outside. Having them all collected with a new introduction and translator's notes was something of a must, if only to preserve some lost version of myself, the version who read these somewhat ecstatically and pressed them into the hands of people who don't normally read, but who could be suckered into picking up a 100 page novel of inventive, symbolic language and characters with names like The Artist and The Redeemer. I reread The Transmigration of Bodies last night and was again blown away by the compression, the linguistic fireworks, and the unsettling resonance with today's pandemic times. Also the translator who noted that The Redeemer is her version of Herrera's El Alfaqueque. Will be revisiting the other two but this is just a reminder to give these a try if you haven't.