Scan barcode
oversherin's review against another edition
- 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
This book is incredibly violent and dark. You get right into the mind of the characters who are deeply troubled and hateful people who are wrecked by their environment. Chapters are long dark spirals into the depths of these characters and their darkest thoughts imaginable. Despite this, Melchor is very skilled in giving them just enough humanity that I empathized with them and wanted to stick it out to the end. As other reviewers have said, this book is deeply, disturbingly, honest in a way I have never read before. To me, the hardest part of this book is that most of the characters are children who are wrapped up in the worst of the world. The run-on prose took adjustment, but I found it very natural by middle.
Overall, I thought the story was compelling and timeless. I gritted my teeth through the whole book and had to scan some chapters because I just couldn't stomach it. However, I respect this book and the stories it's telling. There is more truth to this book than I'd like to face. It definitely affected me in an artful way.
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Incest, Child abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Rape
snovella's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Incest, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Racism, Murder, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, and Transphobia
ceco_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
In short, this is a brutal book and it's not going to be for everyone. The reading experience is shocking, repulsive, but its lingering effect is profound.
A local Witch is found dead, throat slit, floating in a canal. What follows is a whirlwind exploration of life in a rural Mexican town - its constricting familial relations, sexual violence, and deadly masculinity.
Besides the 'bookending' chapters that function as an introduction and conclusion, each chapter of Hurricane Season is a different character's "retelling" of the circumstances of the murder. I use quotation marks because, truthfully, it's less of a retelling and more of a character study showcasing that person's life, motivations and anxieties, with clues to the Witch's death threaded in between, leaving the reader to piece together what happened and why certain events were interpreted in a particular way.
It's undoubtedly a challenging read, but one that will stick with me for a long time.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Murder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Rape
s4ily's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Rape, Drug abuse, Drug use, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Transphobia, Racism, Animal cruelty, Abortion, Body horror, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Gore, Pedophilia, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Violence, and Abandonment
amelietherin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Addiction, Racism, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Abortion, Hate crime, Drug use, Infidelity, Rape, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, and Blood
elchivovivo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Each chapter is a single paragraph with little or no room for breathing.
Melchor changes narrative voices like a boxer delivers his punches. And yet, the story flows like water.
The language is pure, and i am curious to see how anyone could translate this dense, boiling, gulf- Mexican dialect into another language. Or even to see how a non-mexican spanish speaker would absorb all the local slang.
What wrenches the heart is that the story, the darkness, the characters, are all realistic (if not based on true people). It reflects the hopeless trajectory of our country, which in spite of its beauty and depth seems to be cosmically, cosmogonically thirsting for blood drawn with violence.
Graphic: Sexism, Mental illness, Confinement, Abandonment, Murder, Transphobia, Sexual assault, Outing, Infertility, Addiction, Abortion, Rape, Cursing, Racial slurs, Deadnaming, Child death, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Forced institutionalization, Death, Sexual violence, Violence, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Gore, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Misogyny
gansey_02's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Abortion, Vomit, Sexual violence, Sexism, Rape, Pedophilia, Murder, Misogyny, and Mental illness
tessamoose's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Racism, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Infidelity, Drug use, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Incest, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Blood, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Abortion, Grief, Gore, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Rape, Violence, Stalking, Sexual content, Police brutality, Drug abuse, Death, Bullying, Pedophilia, and Murder
entre_fanon_y_weil's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Graphic: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Transphobia, Violence, Torture, Murder, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Drug use, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Abortion, Addiction, and Adult/minor relationship
brnczv's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Addiction, Blood, Death, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence