A review by jayisreading
Woodworm by Layla Martínez

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

I was really hoping that I would enjoy this novel more, but it ended up not meeting whatever expectations I seemed to have had. Before I get into what didn’t really work for me, though, I do want to praise Martínez and the translators for the carefully crafted atmosphere that oozed with tension. I did feel that they all did a great job evoking a sense of feeling trapped in the very house that the characters also found themselves trapped in. I also thought the particular focus on gender and class in twentieth-century Spain was really fascinating.

That being said, there were two things that didn’t work for me, neither of which are the fault of the author or the translators. One was how the story was told. I’m not that picky about nonlinearity or changing perspectives, but something about the way Woodworm was written didn’t quite work for me. I can’t help but wonder if part of my frustration was because the novel was too short for me to find it as an effective way to tell a story. The other thing that didn’t entirely work for me was that I had the impression that Martínez was heavily relying on the reader to know a fair bit about the historical and social contexts of when/where this novel took place. I think it’s safe to say that what’s at stake in this novel will make more sense if the reader is familiar with the Spanish Civil War, which is not the case for me, unfortunately. I think there were certain ideas and cues that I missed, as a result of this knowledge gap, which, combined with the shifting timeline and perspectives, made this novel a bit difficult to engage with.

I don’t think all context is necessarily needed to enjoy this novel, since the themes that Martínez wanted to focus on came through. However, I found myself wanting more than what was given, and perhaps that “more” was given but through subtle cues and contextual information that those in the know would understand. 
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