Reviews with content warning for Rape - Paradais

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Paradais by Fernanda Melchor

130 reviews

jlebon's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Whilst I did still overall enjoy this book, it is undoubtedly a frustrating read from cover-to-cover. Whether it is Melchor's sprawling sentences and aversion to punctuation, paragraphs or chapters, or the fact that nothing really happens for the first 95% of the book and the narrative climax is condensed into a few, brief, confusing final pages, there are a number of criticisms I have with this book.

This is particularly frustrating in that I think the concept of the text is fantastic, being extremely dark in nature, presenting incel culture through the lens of the two main characters Polo and Franco and the destructive effect this mindset has upon both themselves and the people around them. However, Melchor has to be given plaudits in her nuanced presentation of such issues, cultivating characters that are products of their environment and aspects of society. Nevertheless, I do think that this was elongated to an unnecessary extent with a great portion of the middle of the text going over well-trodden ground. However, I understand how this could also be symbolic of the trapped mindset the protagonist Polo finds himself in.

As a final point, given the huge build-up to the climax of the narrative, I found the ending unsatisfactory in its briefness and confusing nature.

Again, I understand that this is representative of Polo's loss of mind but for the build-up I wanted that bit more.

By no means a bad book but I definitely think it could have been improved in a multitude of aspects.

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joita_mitra's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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hannahjilll's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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? It's complicated

3.5

i loved the stream of consciousness writing in this and i grew to enjoy the narrator. i think the content was not my usual cup of tea but i appreciated the story and cried nonetheless

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gabrielaclarke's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Paradais also involves a pair of characters who feel dissatisfied with their lives. In this case they are a pair of teenage boys who are willing to take whatever action is needed to get what they want. Polo works as a gardener’s assistant in a luxury housing complex. He’s desperate for money and the freedom it will offer him. Franco lives in the complex with his grandparents. What he wants is to have sex with one of his married neighbours with whom he is obsessed. Over stolen whisky they hatch a plan they believe will get them what they want. Spending time with these two was not a pleasant experience - their sense of entitlement, their self-justification, the gross objectification of women’s bodies and the fat phobia precluded that. But the writing was compelling and the story highlighted important issues such as social and economic inequalities, sexism and toxic masculinity. The ending was not surprising, but horrifying all the same. Deeply disturbing and unforgettable.

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