Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk

4 reviews

readingpicnic's review against another edition

3.75

Erotic, but also deeply sad. The dreary, crumbling cemetery setting of most of the novel works so well towards creating a bleak atmosphere. This book wasn't the sapphic romance I initially thought it would be. It centers more on persecution and murder in an ever-changing and unfamiliar world in the vampire's case, and being a single mom and drifting away from everyone while grieving her ever-ailing elderly mother in Alma's case. I do think I preferred the vampire's chapters over the latter half of the book and found them more interesting; Alma's chapters dragged for me at times and it didn't feel like much was happening.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Abandonment and Sexual harassment

deckanddaughter's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.5

This was a startling take on the vampire tale. It’s interesting because the first third of the book is familiar- the story of a turned creature existing for centuries trying to reconcile their feral side with the human world. Then we change to Alma’s perspective. Our human narrator. And it shifts in a profound way. 
This is still a study on death, grief, connection, and of course, thirst (for various things). But the way Yuszczuk comes at it is refreshingly modern and relatable in a way that more traditional vampire literature isn’t (at least for me). 

My main critique (and why it’s a 3.5 for me) is the pacing of the middle third. I understand we have to establish a lot with Alma’s situation but it drags in a jarring way after the first third. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Medical trauma

Minor: Abandonment

Explicit discussion and description of

medically assisted suicide due to a terminal illness

junejunejulyjuly's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

30something_reads's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• 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

4.25

 Death had come to inhabit my body. It was a possession, not a visit. 

I'm still trying to figure out my full feelings about the ending but overall, this was gorgeous. The narrative structure was really compelling- I could not stop reading!
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A sweeping journey from the Old World to modern day Buenos Aires, this story is told in two parts from two very different women. 

The first half of the narrative is told through the eyes of a centuries old vampire as we follow her journey from her violent conception and across the world to Buenos Aires for a new beginning. 

The second half is told through the eyes of a modern day woman in Buenos Aires as she navigates her career, motherhood, and the inevitable loss of her own mother to a terminal illness. 

Two seemingly unconnected stories slowly begin to intertwine in a haunting, obsessive tale about grief, female agency, and desire.
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All of the dark, gothic, sapphic vampire vibes that I was hoping to get out of AEoM- I got them here. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Terminal illness

Minor: Confinement, Sexual content, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic