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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Like many, I was deeply confused when I read the last paragraphs of this book. Admittedly, I initially felt let down, because the writing was so good throughout that I expected some spectacular triumph over evil as the ending. It wasn't until I saw a review asking, "What was this book even about?" that I wondered...what was this book even about?
So I reread the last page and something stood out to me that I didn't notice the first time I read it: in the last ~paragraph, the perspective changes from first person Thiago to first person...something else. Why would Moreno do that? Why are the last words about Thiago committing suicide and this entity watching him "claim his seat at the table, among their grating shrieks and yowls"?
It turns out, this is not a beautifully written book about grief and one man's inability to cope: it's a layered story about a generational curse and one man's struggle to break it. It's subtle, but Moreno tells us this throughout the whole book:
(p.22) It only made me revert into myself even more, seeing the family tree that I was a part of, that I was wrapped into. Hanging by their necks from our family tree were women who were raped to death, who were raped and then beaten to death by their fathers for being so stupid as to allow themselves to be spoiled.
(p.23) The herniated roots of the Alvarez family that slithered across the border managed to ensnare other root systems and choke them out for their own absorption.
(p.187) "I already told you, Thiago. I'm from Mexico. We're all a little haunted." (Note: Although this is Diane saying this about herself, Thiago's family is also from Mexico and thus bolsters the theme.)
(p.214) Something was wrong with me, and maybe detectives couldn't draw supernatural conclusions, but these people could. They didn't need to read my statement to know I was damned in some way. The old church ladies would call it El Mal de Ojo, the Evil Eye. Everywhere I went, death and destruction followed. Another mangled branch sprouting on the Alvarez family tree. Two more dead women to hang from it.
(p.248) You needed to see how many lives you've ruined. You couldn't go your whole life without seeing the victims left in your wake, in your family's wake. We're cursed, mijo. And all of our sins flow through you. You keep them alive.
Thiago spends his whole life trying to distance himself from his father's side of the family, but somehow his family demon finds him. It kills Vera, Thiago's wife, and subsequently Vera's mom, Diane. (Two more dead women.) The thing watching him die at the end? It's that family demon. This Thing Between Us. Who does Thiago join at the table? The other killers in his family. Thiago spends the majority of the book not connecting the dots between his sordid family history and the series of horrific events hounding him, and it isn't until the end of the book that he realizes what must be done to break the curse. Before Diane dies, she points out that Thiago doesn't know for sure that committing suicide will actually break the curse or not. The confusing nature of the end of the book, with the demon taking over Thiago while he's at Vera's grave and then watching him die in the hotel room, leaves it up to us, the readers, to decide whether Thiago's suicide breaks the family curse or not.
Moreno writes so masterfully about grief that it's easy to think that this book is *about* grief. (The prose is really so, so good.) But ultimately, if you think that, the ending makes no sense. If, instead, you look at the book as being about one man's struggle to break a family's tradition of men who kill women, the ending ends up being a rather spectacular demonstration of triumph—whether about good over evil or evil over good is up to you.
So I reread the last page and something stood out to me that I didn't notice the first time I read it: in the last ~paragraph, the perspective changes from first person Thiago to first person...something else. Why would Moreno do that? Why are the last words about Thiago committing suicide and this entity watching him "claim his seat at the table, among their grating shrieks and yowls"?
It turns out, this is not a beautifully written book about grief and one man's inability to cope: it's a layered story about a generational curse and one man's struggle to break it. It's subtle, but Moreno tells us this throughout the whole book:
(p.22) It only made me revert into myself even more, seeing the family tree that I was a part of, that I was wrapped into. Hanging by their necks from our family tree were women who were raped to death, who were raped and then beaten to death by their fathers for being so stupid as to allow themselves to be spoiled.
(p.23) The herniated roots of the Alvarez family that slithered across the border managed to ensnare other root systems and choke them out for their own absorption.
(p.187) "I already told you, Thiago. I'm from Mexico. We're all a little haunted." (Note: Although this is Diane saying this about herself, Thiago's family is also from Mexico and thus bolsters the theme.)
(p.214) Something was wrong with me, and maybe detectives couldn't draw supernatural conclusions, but these people could. They didn't need to read my statement to know I was damned in some way. The old church ladies would call it El Mal de Ojo, the Evil Eye. Everywhere I went, death and destruction followed. Another mangled branch sprouting on the Alvarez family tree. Two more dead women to hang from it.
(p.248) You needed to see how many lives you've ruined. You couldn't go your whole life without seeing the victims left in your wake, in your family's wake. We're cursed, mijo. And all of our sins flow through you. You keep them alive.
Thiago spends his whole life trying to distance himself from his father's side of the family, but somehow his family demon finds him. It kills Vera, Thiago's wife, and subsequently Vera's mom, Diane. (Two more dead women.) The thing watching him die at the end? It's that family demon. This Thing Between Us. Who does Thiago join at the table? The other killers in his family. Thiago spends the majority of the book not connecting the dots between his sordid family history and the series of horrific events hounding him, and it isn't until the end of the book that he realizes what must be done to break the curse. Before Diane dies, she points out that Thiago doesn't know for sure that committing suicide will actually break the curse or not. The confusing nature of the end of the book, with the demon taking over Thiago while he's at Vera's grave and then watching him die in the hotel room, leaves it up to us, the readers, to decide whether Thiago's suicide breaks the family curse or not.
Moreno writes so masterfully about grief that it's easy to think that this book is *about* grief. (The prose is really so, so good.) But ultimately, if you think that, the ending makes no sense. If, instead, you look at the book as being about one man's struggle to break a family's tradition of men who kill women, the ending ends up being a rather spectacular demonstration of triumph—whether about good over evil or evil over good is up to you.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Some very creepy moments. A modern, unexpected twist on the back from the dead trope. A little Black Mirror-esque.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Masterful Lovecraftian book on grief and despair. I was choking while reading because the emotion was so thick that it became a weight on my chest, making it hard to breathe. I will not stop recommending this book enough holy crap is it so so good and so so damn depressing.