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A review by duncanhendry
Down the Rabbit Hole by Juan Pablo Villalobos
4.0
*CONTAINS SLIGHT SPOILERS*
The childish abandon encapsulated in this tiny novel is endless. I never read blurbs of books and I'm glad I didn't with this because this book because it deals so much in an unraveling of the truth bit by bit in a beautifully crafted way. The naive Tochtli, our narrator, is funny and unflinchingly honest. His innocence in a very unlawful setting is fascinating. I'll be honest I would have liked to have seen more storyline action - we feel the threats of "something" throughout and even when people leave and swear words are tossed around - it doesn't really change anything and the ending doesn't end in truth - I was half expecting a very grown-up resolution or shock event to cap it all off; even for such a young character he seemed doomed to fail. He is given an ultimatum by his father and then doesn't amount to anything - I would be very happy for that to be part one of a novel and include a gradual maturing through the years. Though for the length, you can't doubt the punch it packs!
The childish abandon encapsulated in this tiny novel is endless. I never read blurbs of books and I'm glad I didn't with this because this book because it deals so much in an unraveling of the truth bit by bit in a beautifully crafted way. The naive Tochtli, our narrator, is funny and unflinchingly honest. His innocence in a very unlawful setting is fascinating. I'll be honest I would have liked to have seen more storyline action - we feel the threats of "something" throughout and even when people leave and swear words are tossed around - it doesn't really change anything and the ending doesn't end in truth - I was half expecting a very grown-up resolution or shock event to cap it all off; even for such a young character he seemed doomed to fail. He is given an ultimatum by his father and then doesn't amount to anything - I would be very happy for that to be part one of a novel and include a gradual maturing through the years. Though for the length, you can't doubt the punch it packs!